2021 Bommarito Automotive Group 500

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Flag of the United States.svg 2021 Bommarito Automotive Group 500
Race details
13th round of the 2021 IndyCar season
Gateway Motorsports Park diagram.svg
DateAugust 21, 2021
Official name Bommarito Automotive Group 500
Location World Wide Technology Raceway, Madison, Illinois
CoursePermanent racing facility
1.25 mi / 2.01 km
Distance260 laps
325 mi / 522.6 km
Pole position
Driver Flag of Australia (converted).svg Will Power  (Team Penske)
Time00:49.8289 (total time from 2 laps)
Fastest lap
Driver Flag of Japan.svg Takuma Sato  (Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing)
Time00:25.7998 (on lap 195 of 260)
Podium
First Flag of the United States.svg Josef Newgarden  (Team Penske)
Second Flag of Mexico.svg Pato O'Ward  (Arrow McLaren SP)
Third Flag of Australia (converted).svg Will Power  (Team Penske)

The 2021 Bommarito Automotive Group 500 was an IndyCar motor race held on August 21, 2021, at the World Wide Technology Raceway. [1] It was the 13th round of the 2021 IndyCar Series.

Contents

Josef Newgarden of Team Penske won his second race of the season, ahead of Arrow McLaren SP driver Pato O'Ward in second and polesitter Will Power in third. [2]

Background

INDYCAR used only the Saturday of the two-day event, with NASCAR Truck Series racing on Friday and INDYCAR on Saturday, starting at noon and ending on the night of August 21, 2021. It was held one week after the Big Machine Spiked Coolers Grand Prix at Indianapolis and three weeks before the Grand Prix of Portland. It was the last oval race of the 2021 season.

Josef Newgarden was the previous race winner, having won the second race in the 2020 double-header event.

Championship standings before the race

Álex Palou remained top of the standings with a 21-point gap over Pato O'Ward, despite his dismal 27th-place finish at the Big Machine Spiked Coolers Grand Prix. O'Ward, who finished fifth in that race, moved up to second, as Scott Dixon was demoted to third, sitting above Josef Newgarden in fourth and Marcus Ericsson in fifth.

Entrants

24 drivers entered the race. IndyCar rookie Jimmie Johnson was replaced by Tony Kanaan, who had signed with the team to race in the season's oval races in place of Johnson. [3] Ed Carpenter returned to pilot the No. 20 in a similar deal, replacing Conor Daly, who went to drive the No. 59 Carlin. [4]

Rookie Romain Grosjean participated in his first oval race, after initially only signing with Dale Coyne Racing to race in road and street courses. [5]

KeyMeaning
 R Rookie
 W Past winner
No.DriverTeamEngine
2 Flag of the United States.svg Josef Newgarden  W  Team Penske Chevrolet
3 Flag of New Zealand.svg Scott McLaughlin  R  Team Penske Chevrolet
4 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Dalton Kellett A. J. Foyt Enterprises Chevrolet
5 Flag of Mexico.svg Patricio O'Ward Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet
7 Flag of Sweden.svg Felix Rosenqvist Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet
8 Flag of Sweden.svg Marcus Ericsson Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
9 Flag of New Zealand.svg Scott Dixon  W  Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
10 Flag of Spain.svg Álex Palou Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
12 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Will Power  W  Team Penske Chevrolet
14 Flag of France.svg Sébastien Bourdais A. J. Foyt Enterprises Chevrolet
15 Flag of the United States.svg Graham Rahal Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda
18 Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg Ed Jones Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser-Sullivan Honda
20 Flag of the United States.svg Ed Carpenter Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet
21 Flag of the Netherlands.svg Rinus VeeKay Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet
22 Flag of France.svg Simon Pagenaud Team Penske Chevrolet
26 Flag of the United States.svg Colton Herta Andretti Autosport with Curb-Agajanian Honda
27 Flag of the United States.svg Alexander Rossi Andretti Autosport Honda
28 Flag of the United States.svg Ryan Hunter-Reay Andretti Autosport Honda
29 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg James Hinchcliffe Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport Honda
30 Flag of Japan.svg Takuma Sato  W  Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda
48 Flag of Brazil.svg Tony Kanaan Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
51 Flag of France.svg Romain Grosjean  R  Dale Coyne Racing with Rick Ware Racing Honda
59 Flag of the United States.svg Conor Daly Carlin Chevrolet
60 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Jack Harvey Meyer Shank Racing Honda

Practice

Practice took place at 1:15 PM ET [1] and ended with Josef Newgarden topping the charts, with a lap time of 00:25.1715. [6]

Top Practice Speeds
PosNo.DriverTeamEngineLap Time
12 Flag of the United States.svg Josef Newgarden Team Penske Chevrolet 00:25.1715
23 Flag of New Zealand.svg Scott McLaughlin  R  Team Penske Chevrolet 00:25.3280
328 Flag of the United States.svg Ryan Hunter-Reay Andretti Autosport Honda 00:25.3462
Source: [7]

Qualifying

Qualifying was held at 5:00 PM ET. [1] Each driver set two laps in the session. Positions were then determined based on the total time of those two laps.

Will Power won pole position, with a total time of 00:49.8289. [8]

Qualifying classification

PosNo.DriverTeamEngineLap 1Lap 2Total TimeFinal
grid
112 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Will Power  W  Team Penske Chevrolet 00:24.978100:24.850800:49.82891
226 Flag of the United States.svg Colton Herta Andretti Autosport with Curb-Agajanian Honda 00:24.923100:24.930600:49.85372
32 Flag of the United States.svg Josef Newgarden  W  Team Penske Chevrolet 00:25.009000:24.849900:49.85893
422 Flag of France.svg Simon Pagenaud Team Penske Chevrolet 00:24.941700:24.956400:49.89814
55 Flag of Mexico.svg Pato O'Ward Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet 00:25.085500:24.944100:50.02965
68 Flag of Sweden.svg Marcus Ericsson Chip Ganassi Racing Honda 00:24.986000:25.058900:50.04496
727 Flag of the United States.svg Alexander Rossi Andretti Autosport Honda 00:25.037400:25.077100:50.11457
89 Flag of New Zealand.svg Scott Dixon  W  Chip Ganassi Racing Honda 00:25.127400:25.015300:50.14278
915 Flag of the United States.svg Graham Rahal Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda 00:25.211800:25.067400:50.27929
107 Flag of Sweden.svg Felix Rosenqvist Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet 00:25.195000:25.104600:50.299610
113 Flag of New Zealand.svg Scott McLaughlin  R  Team Penske Chevrolet 00:25.289400:25.014200:50.303611
1210 Flag of Spain.svg Álex Palou Chip Ganassi Racing Honda 00:25.182400:25.215600:50.398021 1
1318 Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg Ed Jones Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser-Sullivan Honda 00:25.289600:25.164400:50.454012
1428 Flag of the United States.svg Ryan Hunter-Reay Andretti Autosport Honda 00:25.201100:25.259400:50.460513
1551 Flag of France.svg Romain Grosjean  R  Dale Coyne Racing with Rick Ware Racing Honda 00:25.183700:25.315700:50.499414
1660 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Jack Harvey Meyer Shank Racing Honda 00:25.260000:25.276300:50.536315
1730 Flag of Japan.svg Takuma Sato  W  Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda 00:25.274000:25.323200:50.597216
1848 Flag of Brazil.svg Tony Kanaan Chip Ganassi Racing Honda 00:25.368000:25.428200:50.796217
1914 Flag of France.svg Sébastien Bourdais A. J. Foyt Enterprises Chevrolet 00:25.421800:25.460600:50.882418
2029 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg James Hinchcliffe Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport Honda 00:25.463100:25.433800:50.896919
2159 Flag of the United States.svg Conor Daly Carlin Chevrolet 00:25.492600:25.485400:50.978020
2220 Flag of the United States.svg Ed Carpenter Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet 00:25.565900:25.495100:51.061022
2321 Flag of the Netherlands.svg Rinus VeeKay Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet 00:25.554400:25.518900:51.073323
244 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Dalton Kellett A. J. Foyt Enterprises Chevrolet 00:25.814000:25.672400:51.486424
Source: [9]
Notes

Race

The race started at 8:00 PM ET. [1] The start, led by Team Penske's Will Power, went underway with no incidents. On lap 2, Power was overtaken by Colton Herta, who assumed the lead of the race. The following lap saw a caution brought out, as Graham Rahal and Ed Jones made contact in Turn 2, sending both drivers into the wall. Both drivers would retire from the race, classifying second last and last respectively. The caution lasted 12 laps. As the race restarted after the caution on lap 15, teammates Josef Newgarden and Simon Pagenaud made contact, damaging the right side of Pagenaud's front wing, which would detach and land on the track, causing another caution that lasted four laps. A light malfunction caused the third caution of the day to be triggered on lap 21, lasting four laps.

On lap 54, Ed Carpenter spun and crashed out of the race in Turn 4, causing the fourth caution of the race, which would last until lap 63. Sébastien Bourdais took the lead of the race, as the front three pitted. Herta lost the effective lead of the race to Newgarden, who exited the pit lane first. Another caution would be declared on lap 65, as Rinus VeeKay crashed into Álex Palou in Turn 1, who then hit the rear of teammate Scott Dixon's car, sending the three into the wall. The race restarted with Newgarden in the lead, after Bourdais made his pit stop.

On lap 139, Herta overtook Newgarden for the lead, but lost it as he pitted on lap 185. Herta would retire from the race as his driveshaft broke during pit exit. On lap 200, Alexander Rossi hit the wall in Turn 2 during his out lap after his final pit stop, ending his race and causing the sixth and final caution of the race, which lasted nine laps. Felix Rosenqvist had a mechanical failure on lap 211, which prompted him to retire from the race.

Josef Newgarden won the race, half a second over Arrow McLaren SP's Pato O'Ward in second. Polesitter Will Power finished third.

Race classification

PosNo.DriverTeamEngineLapsTime/RetiredPit
Stops
GridLaps
Led
Pts.
12 Flag of the United States.svg Josef Newgarden  W  Team Penske Chevrolet 2602:24:10.94043313853
25 Flag of Mexico.svg Pato O'Ward Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet 260+0.539735141
312 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Will Power  W  Team Penske Chevrolet 260+5.866031137
43 Flag of New Zealand.svg Scott McLaughlin  R  Team Penske Chevrolet 260+6.662031132
514 Flag of France.svg Sébastien Bourdais A. J. Foyt Enterprises Chevrolet 260+8.95662181831
630 Flag of Japan.svg Takuma Sato  W  Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda 260+8.261841628
728 Flag of the United States.svg Ryan Hunter-Reay Andretti Autosport Honda 260+14.025941326
822 Flag of France.svg Simon Pagenaud Team Penske Chevrolet 260+15.542164125
98 Flag of Sweden.svg Marcus Ericsson Chip Ganassi Racing Honda 260+18.76763622
1060 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Jack Harvey Meyer Shank Racing Honda 260+20.120731520
1159 Flag of the United States.svg Conor Daly Carlin Chevrolet 260+22.103642019
124 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Dalton Kellett A. J. Foyt Enterprises Chevrolet 260+24.558152418
1348 Flag of Brazil.svg Tony Kanaan Chip Ganassi Racing Honda 260+26.836741717
1451 Flag of France.svg Romain Grosjean  R  Dale Coyne Racing with Rick Ware Racing Honda 259+1 Lap41416
1529 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg James Hinchcliffe Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport Honda 243+17 Laps71915
167 Flag of Sweden.svg Felix Rosenqvist Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet 211Mechanical41014
1727 Flag of the United States.svg Alexander Rossi Andretti Autosport Honda 200Contact3713
1826 Flag of the United States.svg Colton Herta Andretti Autosport with Curb-Agajanian Honda 185Mechanical3210113
199 Flag of New Zealand.svg Scott Dixon  W  Chip Ganassi Racing Honda 100Contact2811
2010 Flag of Spain.svg Álex Palou Chip Ganassi Racing Honda 64Contact12110
2121 Flag of the Netherlands.svg Rinus VeeKay Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet 64Contact1239
2220 Flag of the United States.svg Ed Carpenter Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet 54Contact2228
2315 Flag of the United States.svg Graham Rahal Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda 4Contact197
2418 Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg Ed Jones Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser-Sullivan Honda 2Contact0126
Fastest lap: Flag of Japan.svg Takuma Sato (Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing) – 00:25.7998 (lap 195)
Source: [11]

Championship standings after the race

Pato O'Ward took the championship lead after his second-place finish, with Álex Palou dropping down to second, above race winner Josef Newgarden, who rose to third over Scott Dixon, who was demoted to fourth.

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References

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  5. "Grosjean to make his oval IndyCar debut at Gateway". www.motorsport.com. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
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  10. "Alex Palou handed penalty ahead of WWT Raceway at Gateway". Racing News. August 21, 2021. Retrieved September 23, 2021.
  11. 1 2 "Race - Results - Final" (PDF). IndyCar Series. August 21, 2021. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 29, 2021. Retrieved September 24, 2021.
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