- NTT INDYCAR SERIES returns from three-week break following the Olympics
- Two-time series champion Alex Palou still chasing first career oval victory
- Arrow McLaren Racing’s Alexander Rossi cleared to return following thumb surgery
MADISON, Ill. (August 14, 2024) – The Bommarito Automotive Group 500 presented by Axalta and Valvoline at World Wide Technology Raceway represents the much-anticipated return of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES following the Olympics break and one of the final five races in the 17-event season that will determine the series champion.
Following a three-week layoff, the NTT INDYCAR SERIES is center stage once again with its first race since Sunday, July 21, when Colton Herta of Andretti Global with Curb/Agajanian won on the streets of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Saturday’s Bommarito Automotive Group 500 presented by Axalta and Valvoline will be the first of four oval races in the final five events of the season. The series will head to the only road course in that stretch next week – Portland International Raceway on Aug. 25 – before closing out with a doubleheader at The Milwaukee Mile (Aug. 31 – Sept. 1) and the season finale at Nashville Superspeedway (Sept. 15).
World Wide Technology Raceway could be an early indicator on which drivers will have the edge on short ovals, especially those in contention for the championship.
The two-day show opens Friday with a pair of NTT INDYCAR SERIES practices and pole qualifying to set the field. The series will begin with a one-hour practice beginning at 11:45 a.m. CT and follow with knockout-style qualifying at 3:20 p.m. The INDYCAR stars return in the evening for a final one-hour practice beginning at 7:30 p.m.
The weekend culminates with Saturday evening’s Bommarito Automotive Group 500 presented by Axalta and Valvoline, beginning at 5:30 p.m. (TV: USA, Peacock, Radio: INDYCAR Radio Network, SiriusXM).
Here’s “Five Things To Watch” for the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 presented by Axalta and Valvoline:
- Two-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Alex Palou is in position for a third title, but will have to successfully navigate a run of four ovals in the final five races, beginning with the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 presented by Axalta and Valvoline at World Wide Technology Raceway’s 1.25-mile layout.
Despite two championships, 11 wins and 30 podiums in 76 career races, the fifth-year superstar with Chip Ganassi Racing has yet to win on an oval. In 23 career oval starts, Palou has just four podium finishes, but has made progress with half of those coming this season (fifth at the Indy 500, second at Iowa Speedway). However, he has been very consistent top-10 finisher with 14 of those efforts.
The first challenge comes at World Wide Technology Raceway, where he has a pair of top-10 finishes in five career starts. Those have come in his last two visits, with a ninth in 2023 and seventh last season. However, he has started among the top 10 just once (fifth in 2022) and has yet to lead a lap.
Palou’s two closest competitors in the championship – Team Penske’s Will Power and CGR teammate Scott Dixon – have combined for 35 oval victories in their respective careers and are previous winners at World Wide Technology Raceway.
Power, who trails Palou by 49 points, owns 10 oval wins, including one at World Wide Technology Raceway in 2018. Dixon, who is 53 points behind his teammate, has 25 oval victories, including a pair at this track. His first came in the 2020 doubleheader and the six-time series champion added another last season. The latter was a dominant performance as Dixon’s 22.2256-second margin of victory established the track record for an INDYCAR race.
Colton Herta of Andretti Global with Curb/Agajanian is fourth in the series championship, trailing Palou by 57 points. He is coming off his first win of the season at Toronto and, like Palou, is still seeking his first career oval victory.
- Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden has found a second home in Madison, Ill.
Since the NTT INDYCAR SERIES returned to World Wide Technology Raceway in 2017, Newgarden has dominated the 1.25-mile oval with four wins in eight career starts over that span. His inaugural one came in that first season back and then he added three in a row from 2020 (second race of the doubleheader) to 2022.
Newgarden only has finished outside of the top seven twice, including last year when he finished 25th due to contact after leading 98 of the 210 laps he completed. He has led 48 or more laps in all but two of his starts and holds the track mark for that category with 582.
Newgarden also has recorded two poles, the most recent coming last season, and has started outside the top three just once (sixth, 2020-1st race).
- Arrow McLaren Racing’s Alexander Rossi, who missed the previous race at Toronto due to a fractured right thumb, has been cleared by the INDYCAR medical team to compete in this weekend’s Bommarito Automotive Group 500 presented by Axalta and Valvoline.
Rossi sustained the injury during a July 19 practice incident at Toronto and was replaced for the remainder of the race weekend by Theo Pourchaire, who finished 14th. Rossi, in the meantime, underwent successful surgery and took full advantage of the break in the schedule to recover.
Prior to missing Toronto, Rossi had been on a bit of roll with finishes of eighth or better in six of his previous eight races, including a season-best third at Laguna Seca. He is ninth in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship standings, one point behind Josef Newgarden.
Arrow McLaren announced in early July that Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s Christian Lundgaard would be replacing Rossi in the No. 7 Chevrolet beginning next season. Rossi is expected to be a highly sought-after free agent and his ability to return and exhibit that he is fully recovered from the injury should only enhance his value to another organization.
In last season’s Bommarito Automotive Group 500 presented by Axalta and Valvoline, Rossi qualified seventh and finished fourth. It was his third top-six finish in eight starts at World Wide Technology Raceway.
- Two drivers to keep an eye on who have yet to win at World Wide Technology Raceway are Arrow McLaren Racing’s Pato O’Ward and Meyer Shank Racing’s David Malukas.
O’Ward has been so, so close with runner-up finishes in three of his last four starts at World Wide Technology Raceway. He also is a perfect five-for-five in his career for top-five finishes at the venue. O’Ward has started among the top seven in every visit, including a best of second in the first race of the 2020 doubleheader.
Malukas only has made two previous appearances – both with Dale Coyne Racing with HMD Motorsports – and posted podium finishes in both. He finished runner-up in 2022 and followed with a third-place performance last season. The second-place finish remains a career-best performance for the third-year driver.
Also, Malukas put an end Tuesday to the speculation of where the free agent was going to wind up for the 2025 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season. AJ Foyt Racing announced that the organization has signed the 22-year-old American to a multi-year deal.
- Team Penske has swept the ovals thus far this season, with Josef Newgarden winning the Indianapolis 500 and teammates Scott McLaughlin and Will Power taking the doubleheader at Iowa Speedway.
Newgarden and McLaughlin, along with Pato O’Ward, are the only drivers to record podium finishes in two of the three oval races, but there is just one driver who has been able to post top-five finishes in all three.
Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon opened with a third-place finish in the Indy 500 and added fourth-place performances at Iowa.
Dating to the 2021 season, Dixon is just one of three drivers with multiple wins in the 17 oval races competed during that span, which includes this year. Newgarden dominates with nine while Dixon and O’Ward have two each.
