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Winners and Losers: IndyCar Gateway 500

Writer's picture: DIVEBOMB MotorsportDIVEBOMB Motorsport

Updated: Aug 22, 2024

Written by Archie O’Reilly & Dan Jones


Credit: Joe Skibinski

IndyCar’s annual visit to the 1.25-mile World Wide Technology Raceway, or Gateway, oval offered up one of the series’ best races of the season. It was an all-action affair with its contentious incidents, dosed with hints of flaring tempers.


Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden came out on top for his fifth win in nine Gateway visits and his first win of the season outside of the Indianapolis 500. Teammate Scott McLaughlin came home second ahead of rookie and now two-time podium-sitter Linus Lundqvist for Chip Ganassi Racing.


DIVEBOMB unpicks the winners and losers from the weekend…


Winner: Josef Newgarden 


Josef Newgarden has had a challenging 2024 season. And it was a year that started with a dominant victory in St. Petersburg, only to see that wiped in a season-altering and ultimately season-defining disqualification ruling amid the illegal use of push-to-pass.


The Indy 500 win was an undoubted high but Newgarden only recorded top-15 finishes in three of the first nine races - fourth in Long Beach, the 500 win and second at Road America. Third and seventh at Iowa Speedway - both recovery drives - marked a return to form but still a downturn on his dominant weekend sweep in Corn Country last year.


Seeing teammates Scott McLaughlin and Will Power win at Iowa was no doubt a source of frustration for Newgarden. So, starting third with Power one place back and on-form McLaughlin on pole, outduelling both fellow Penske drivers to win at Gateway - impressively bouncing back from a Lap 196 half-spin - marked an emphatic return to form for Newgarden.


He remains eighth in the standings and out of meaningful title contention with four races remaining in 2025. But some more consistency has been achieved since Mid-Ohio - a lowest finish of 11th coming in a messy Toronto race - and Newgarden has more momentum on his side than at any point in the season. And there are still three oval races still remaining.



Archie


Credit: Joe Skibinski

Winner: Linus Lundqvist


This is a big result at an even bigger time for Linus Lundqvist. The Swede will be the first person to say that his 2024 season has had plenty of highs and lows, but a first oval podium ends what has been a difficult stretch of races since his maiden IndyCar podium in Alabama. 


Lundqvist said post-Barber that he felt a ‘fairly small part in this [the podium],’ but reflected on Gateway with more optimism, believing he ‘drove a pretty good race.’ Even more so for a driver who only has eight oval races under his belt in his entire motorsport career to date.


Although Lundqvist is yet to find consistency, it continues to emphasise the potential he has in the series. And it comes at a time where Chip Ganassi Racing are expected to drop to three cars, Lundqvist not part of the equation.


With seats filling up fast ahead of 2024, Lundqvist needed to give team owners a reason to put their faith in him, much like Chip Ganassi did after just three IndyCar races. Lundqvist’s highs show a pole and two podiums - that’s not a bad resume by any means for an IndyCar rookie. A lot remains to be resolved, but Lundqvist’s name might just be circling in a few more heads.


Dan


Credit: Chris Owens

Winner: Alex Palou


Alex Palou took a huge stride towards a second successive IndyCar championship, and third of his five-year IndyCar career, at Gateway. While other title contenders struggled, the Chip Ganassi Racing driver progressed through the from 16th - courtesy of a nine-place engine penalty - to finish fourth at one of his weakest tracks statistically.


The Spaniard’s previous best result at Gateway was seventh in 2023, with short ovals generally regarded as his weakest tracks. But halfway through the six-race span of ovals within an eight-race period at the end of the 2024 season, Palou has actually grown his championship lead from 48 to 59 points. 


Of the six remote championship contenders, only Scott McLaughlin (second) finished better than Palou but is still 73 points adrift in the championship. Colton Herta, now second in points for Andretti Global, finished one position ahead of Palou on the road but a late blocking penalty saw him drop to fifth.


Palou again showed his knack to play the percentage game but still be clinical when opportunities arose. He stayed out of incident where previous closest challenger Will Power was caught up, made greater headway than teammate Scott Dixon (who started 19th with an engine penalty) and saw Pato O’Ward drop out with an engine failure from Arrow McLaren.


Palou’s buffer to Dixon in third is now 65 points, with Power one point further back.


Archie


Credit: Joe Skibinski

Winner: Oval racing


This was a much-needed race for IndyCar. The Iowa disaster was not well received, and even though the primary reason was the repave, optimism was not high for this weekend. Drivers held major concerns over overtaking opportunities, and simply expected the race to be won in pitlane. Thankfully, this was not the case.


Instead, we saw the high-quality short oval racing that we all desperately craved. Friday’s high-line practice session was clearly a success, with the second groove being utilised by many in the early stages, only helped by consistent cautions that gave the opportunity for the sweepers to do their work. 650 on-track passes were the most since IndyCar returned to Gateway in 2017, that was a statistic that nobody saw coming pre-weekend.


Multiple strategies, multi-lane racing with the unpredictability is what makes an IndyCar oval race, and it certainly had that. Josef Newgarden said he ‘was shocked’ at the raceability of the high lane. Both Newgarden and McLaughlin were quick to praise the package that IndyCar had brought, even with the weight concerns of the hybrid.


It gave some much-needed relief after an underwhelming Iowa double-header weekend, and gives a much more optimistic outlook for the upcoming double-header at Milwaukee and the all-important season finale at Nashville Superspeedway.


Dan


Credit: Joe Skibinski

Winner: First-time top 10s


There were plenty of standout results through the order at Gateway - few more so than maiden top-10 finishes.


Sting Ray Robb’s previous best finish across two years in IndyCar was 12th in an attritional 2023 Laguna Seca race. There have been flashes of speed in his sophomore season after switching from Dale Coyne Racing to AJ Foyt Racing - a 15th-place finish at Iowa the standout result - but a top 10 was missing. 


But after leading laps for a second time in 2024 - first holding his own out front on an alternate strategy in the Indy 500 - Robb was rewarded with a ninth-place Gateway result, beating the likes of six-time champion Scott Dixon on merit.


Even further up the order, Arrow McLaren rookie and mid-season introduction Nolan Siegel notched a seventh-place finish, beating a previous best of 12th at Laguna Seca and Iowa. As with Robb, Siegel led eight laps and held his own out front, including against the likes of Dixon, as he continues to gain valuable experience.


If not for a pit speed violation, Siegel could have been in the podium picture at the end of the race. But his recovery from that drive-through penalty in little over 100 laps was exceptional and proof as to why Arrow McLaren recruited the 19-year-old.


Archie 


Credit: Travis Hinkle

Loser: Championship hopefuls 


When all is said and done at the end of 2024, if Álex Palou looks back over the course of the season, this may very much be the race that all but sealed it for him. A championship lead of 59 points the buffer, and that’s before Palou heads to his strongest venue at Portland International Raceway.


When Scott Dixon moved to the alternate strategy, it very much felt like déjà vu, where the Kiwi could pull off the impossible. A combination of unfortunately-timed cautions saw any hope for Dixon fall away, the six-time champion finishing two laps down. He still lays third in the standings, but a 65 point gap is a steep mountain to climb.


There was a period early on in the ‘points as they run,’ where Will Power’s gap to Palou lay at 20 points. It would have set up an enthralling final four races. Instead, Power’s dramatic restart crash sees him 66 behind, in maybe the weekend that a potential third title all fell apart for Power.


Pato O’Ward’s hopes are now over. It was a shame for the Mexican, a day which felt like ‘what could have been,’ with the Arrow McLaren running in the top five before a mechanical issue. O’Ward now lies 98 points off Palou, a practically insurmountable amount - his wait for a maiden title must go on.


Is this the race that Palou all but sealed the title?


Dan


Credit: Paul Hurley

Loser: David Malukas


All weekend at Gateway, David Malukas showed just why AJ Foyt Racing, with their strong ties to Team Penske, have snatched him from Meyer Shank Racing for the 2025 season.


A podium-sitter in each of his two previous visits to the track as an IndyCar driver with Dale Coyne Racing, he was fast out of the blocks to top the opening practice session. This converted into a third-place qualifying finish but maiden front row start as Felix Rosenqvist dropped nine places due to an engine penalty. 


Malukas was at the head of the field all race long, dicing it up with the trio of Penske drivers in the front-running positions. And when it came to crunch time, a battle with Will Power appeared as though it could be for the win with the prospect of leading pair Scott McLaughlin and Josef Newgarden - on a different strategy - having to pit for a splash of fuel.


So why is Malukas a loser? Well, through none of his own doing. But unfortunately his bulletproof Gateway podium record came to a crashing end on Lap 239 of 260 as he slid rearwards into the Turn 2 barrier after contact with Power.


The Penske driver inadvertently cut down on Malukas as the latter attempted a possible maiden race-winning move. It was heartbreak for Malukas and tears were shed post-race. But as he has since posted on social media: “Revenge story loading.”


Archie 


Credit: Joe Skibinski

Loser: Andretti Global


It felt like a race that summed up Andretti Global’s year. Great speed, great potential which all became undone, this time through no fault of their own.


It’s been an underwhelming year for Marcus Ericsson, but this truly felt like a day where he may have turned things around, leading 13 laps and competing at the front all day long. Ericsson would retire with a mechanical after 151 laps. Yes, it’s an impossible shot at saying how his day may have ended, but this seemed like a season-defining opportunity for the Swede.


Kyle Kirkwood had been the picture of consistency in 2024, but found himself with his most difficult day of the season. An unfortunate victim of Rinus VeeKay’s check-up, Kirkwood found his front wing and towlink damaged in a Juncos sandwich. It was a shame for Kirkwood, who had qualified particularly well, but it’s how short track oval racing can bite.


As for Colton Herta, a disastrous qualifying crash was quickly amended with an impressive performance on Sunday, as he recovered to fifth, and even that was unfortunate after a harsh penalty was placed on the Californian for blocking Linus Lundqvist.


There still hasn’t felt like a race where Andretti has got it right on all three sides of the garage. This felt like it could have been it, but it was not to be.


Dan


Credit: Paul Hurley

Loser: Juncos Hollinger Racing


There was so much potential for Juncos Hollinger Racing (JHR) at Gateway. Both Romain Grosjean and new addition Conor Daly - replacement for Agustin Canapino with the No.78 Chevy in Leaders’ Circle trouble - were around the top 10 through the weekend. 


Grosjean ultimately qualified eighth and Daly 12th, though penalties promoted the pair to sixth and ninth. But the story of the race was all too familiar.


Just like in the opening Iowa race, both cars were caught up and damaged in an early-race incident. Daly’s former Ed Carpenter Racing (ECR) teammate Rinus VeeKay checked up after a wiggle, causing a big concertina effect.


Daly ended up running into the back of VeeKay and was punted by Andretti Global’s Kyle Kirkwood behind, leading to a spin for the No.78. Daly was thankfully not collected and was able to limp on but Grosjean was not as fortunate, running heavily into the back of Kirkwood and falling multiple laps down as damage was addressed.


Mercifully, Daly soldiered on with a part-wounded car and salvaged crucial Leaders’ Circle points in 13th, satisfyingly placing the car within three points of Daly’s former No.20 ECR entry on the right of safety. Grosjean recovered to 16th despite needing more repairs after being caught in the late restart crash.


It was a big case of ‘what could have been’ for JHR.


Archie


Credit: Travis Hinkle

Loser: Race control


The state-and-church feel of the Penske-owned series with a Penske team as the frontrunners in the series is always going to be a contentious discussion, particularly when it comes down to penalty decisions or the like, but IndyCar didn’t seemingly do themselves any favours on Saturday night.


The Will Power - David Malukas collision did not go down well with many, the IndyCar veteran seemingly squeezing the No.66 against the inside curbing, which saw the two-time Gateway podium sitter career into the wall. Power would not be penalised for an incident which saw him cause the collision.


You’ve all seen the restart, we know what happened, and even if Newgarden was correct by the letter of the law it still raises questions. Why wasn’t the restart waived off if Newgarden was so slow? You think of previous circumstances where it has - why wasn’t it done on this occasion?


Herta’s penalty also seemed far-fetched, in a manoeuvre that saw Linus Lundqvist overtake the American anyway. Herta’s move was aggressive, and one that deserved a penalty - had Lundqvist not got past, but it felt a juxtaposition against the lack of Penske penalties.


Bryan Herta said “there was a growing feeling in the paddock there is not a level playing field”. After the St. Petersburg disqualifications, and the incident at Gateway, race control’s decisions do not help the Penske favouritism allegations.


Dan

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