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NTT IndyCar Series: IndyCar Title Chase Wide Open After Gateway Race Won by Newgarden

Photo Credit: Chris Owens/IndyCar


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The final oval event on the 2021 NTT IndyCar Series calender, Saturday night’s Bommarito Automotive Group 500 at World Wide Technology Raceway gave fans one more chance to see the truest sensation of blazing speed of open wheel race cars this year. The Madison, Illinois track’s fast-paced challenge against competitors would ultimately serve as a massive reset to the championship.


Photo Credit: Joe Skibinski/IndyCar



Will Power qualified on pole for the 260-lap race on the 1.25-mile with an average lap speed of 180.618 miles per hour, the pilot of the #12 machine would control the opening lap until the second-place starter Colton took the top spot and held it for 56 consecutive laps. The yellow flag flew often in the opening one-quarter distance of the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 including one occasion for a lighting malfunction. It would be the fifth caution of the race after a restart on lap 65 that had instant ramifications for this year’s drivers’ championship in the NTT IndyCar Series. Entering turn 1, Rinus Veekay tapped both the #9 car of Scott Dixon and teammate Alex Palou in the #10 machine. All three drivers retired from the race leaving drivers such as Pato O’Ward and Josef Newgarden with the opportunity to greatly improve their title prospects.


Photo Credit: Chris Owens/IndyCar



With the retirement of race win contender Colton Herta after 185 laps, the Bommarito Automotive Group 500's lead was put into the capable hands of Josef Newgarden and powered his #2 Team Penske machine to victory. The Tennessee native’s second win of the 2021 IndyCar Series season, he stands 22 points behind the new leader in the drivers’ championship. Finishing second on the World Wide Technology Raceway oval, Pato O’Ward is now at the top of the championship points chart with a 10-point margin on Alex Palou. Will Power, Scott McLaughlin and Sebastien Bourdais rounded out the top five after 260 laps on Saturday night.


Canadian driver Dalton Kellett had a decent outing in the #4 A.J. Foyt Racing machine finishing on the lead lap with a 12th place result. James Hinchcliffe suffered an electrical issue on-board his #29 Andretti Autosport car before the race even started. While the team was able to resolve the problem, Hinchcliffe ran many laps behind the lead pack and settled for 15th place completing 243 laps.

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