As this championship winds down with two races to go, the Verizon IndyCar Series heads to Watkins Glen International, in the Finger Lakes region of western New York. At this time last year, Susan and I told each other we would be at this race. However, life and budgets got in the way over the past year and it was obvious before the season even started that it was not going to happen this year. Hopefully next year we can make it, since we’ve never been there.
On Monday, Racer.com reported that Andretti Autosport is staying with Honda after many had been speculating for weeks that Michael Andretti was headed back to Chevy, whom they left after the 2013 season. Other reputable sites were also reporting the same. But by Tuesday, it seemed there was still some doubt to those reports
After very little sleep and a long drive home yesterday, I found time to ponder the events of this past weekend – from the moment I first arrived at Gateway Motorsports Park on Friday at lunchtime, to leaving the track in the wee hours of Sunday morning long after the huge crowd had departed the grounds.
The return to Gateway Motorsports Park by the Verizon IndyCar Series got off to a rocky start Saturday night. The crowd was phenomenal following a fifteen year stretch since IndyCar left. I’m no expert at estimating crowds, but I would guess that there may have been over forty-thousand on hand. The stands looked full and I’m hoping it looked as good on television as it did in person.
By Susan Phillips
This is our final IndyCar race for the 2017 season, the Bommarito 500 at Gateway Motorsports Park in Madison, Illinois. Before I get into the sights and sounds, a word from our sponsor. If your not from the Missouri area, Bommarito Automotive Group is the largest retail network in Missouri and the 54th largest in the United States. They sell every automobile brand from Audi to Volkswagen—in case you were wondering.
Good afternoon from a sunny Gateway Motorsports Park just across the Mighty Mississippi River from St. Louis. So far, this has been a mostly positive experience. I had heard horror stories about the location of the track that led me to believe that I would be dodging bullets and at the very least be a victim to a car-jacking. While no one would mistake the surrounding area for Beverly Hills, I would describe it as a mostly commercial/industrial area. As soon as we left the track last night, we were immediately on the interstate and minutes from our hotel in Fairview Heights, IL.
One by one, the cars went out to tame the 1.25 egg-shaped oval that is Gateway Motorsports Park in Madison, Illinois. As each car went out, the temperature continued to drop, making the conditions better and better for each car. I’m not sure if it is due to the fact that he was the last car to qualify, or if he simply had the fastest car – but Will Power is your pole-sitter for tomorrow night’s Bommarito Automotive Group 500.
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