The 2017 Bommarito Automotive Group 500 was the 15th round of the 2017 IndyCar Series season. The race was held on August 26, 2017, at Gateway Motorsports Park in Madison, Illinois, just east of St. Louis, Missouri. Will Power qualified on pole for the race, while Josef Newgarden won the race after gaining the lead on lap 217.

Background On August 25, 2016, the IndyCar Series announced a multi-year deal with Gateway Motorsports Park—with the inaugural race scheduled for August 26, 2017. IndyCar's return to Gateway Motorsports Park marked the first premier-level open-wheel race in the Greater St. Louis area since 2003.

In July 2017, the entire racetrack was resurfaced as part of an effort by the track to update and upgrade the venue. Both IndyCar and NASCAR supported the repaving project. Other major upgrades to the venue included new catch fences, paving part of the inside track, and expanding the SAFER barrier.

The race saw the return of Sébastien Bourdais, who had not raced since fracturing his hip and pelvis in a violent crash during Indianapolis 500 qualifying.

Qualifying Qualifying was held on Friday, August 25. Will Power qualified on pole position with a two lap time of 47.4579 (189.642).

Race The newly repaved track surface, which had impressed drivers during testing, quickly became a source of concern after multiple incidents at the beginning of the race. Tony Kanaan's car spun on the pace lap and made contact with the SAFER barrier in turn 2. Kanaan was eventually able to re-enter the race three laps down, though his crash delayed the start of the race until lap 5. When the remaining field took the green flag, polesitter Will Power spun on the first green-flag lap of the race. The spin caused Power's car to hit the wall in turn 2. As Takuma Sato and Ed Carpenter attempted to avoid Power, the two cars made contact with each other. Both drivers subsequently contacted the wall, causing all three drivers to retire from the race.

Josef Newgarden passed Will Power for the lead on the outside of turn 1 immediately prior to Power's spin-out. Newgarden maintained the lead until pitting on lap 60. Sébastien Bourdais then led the race for the next 5 laps until he was forced to pit as well. Max Chilton became the race leader for a single lap before also making a pit stop. As both Bourdais and Chilton were on alternate pit strategies, Newgarden remained the effective leader of the race.

After Chilton's pit stop on lap 66, Newgarden officially regained the lead on lap 67. The third caution of the race came out when J. R. Hildebrand crashed into turn 4 on lap 102. During the caution period, all of the race leaders pitted. Hélio Castroneves beat Newgarden out of pit road to take the race lead.

The green flag came back out on lap 112. By lap 155, Castroneves had extended his lead to just over three seconds ahead of Newgarden. During a pit stop on lap 157, Castroneves stalled while exiting his pit box. Although his crew was able to restart his car almost immediately, the long stop dropped Castroneves from leading the race to fourth place. The incident also gave the race lead back to Newgarden.

The fourth caution occurred on lap 166 when Max Chilton spun into the outside wall of turn 4. During the caution, Chilton's teammate Tony Kanaan was called to the pit lane by team owner Chip Ganassi. Kanaan's car had been loose throughout the race, prompting Ganassi to park Kanaan's car for the remainder of the race. The decision was reminiscent of one from the previous race at Pocono, in which Ganassi parked Chilton's car.

The race returned to green flag conditions on lap 174. A notable incident occurred on lap 181 between Conor Daly and Charlie Kimball. Daly, running in eleventh place at the time, got a run on Kimball. As Daly began to pass Kimball on the inside of the track, Kimball abruptly swerved to his left. Daly was furious, as it appeared that Kimballs move was a clear attempt to block him. The incident was reviewed, but no action was taken against Kimball.

The fifth and final caution arose on lap 203 when Ryan Hunter-Reay entered turn 4 too high and brushed the SAFER barrier as he exited the turn. Simon Pagenaud gained the race lead over Josef Newgarden on lap 206 when both drivers made pit stops under caution.

Newgarden regained the lead on lap 217 after passing Pagenaud on the inside as the two entered turn 1. During the pass, the two cars' tires made slight contact, sending Pagenaud to the outside of the track. Although a crash was avoided, Pagenaud was forced to lift off the gas to avoid hitting the outside wall. Scott Dixon, who had been running in third, seized the opportunity and passed Pagenaud as well.

Shortly after retaking the lead, Newgarden pulled more than a second ahead of Dixon. Pagenaud held his position roughly a half-second behind Dixon. Newgarden held his position for the remainder of the race, clinching his fourth win of the season.

Results Key Meaning R Rookie W Past winner

Qualifying Pos No. Name Lap 1 Time Lap 2 Time Total Time Avg. Speed (mph) 1 12 Will Power 23.7206 23.7373 00:47.5 189.642 2 2 Josef Newgarden 23.9311 23.861 00:47.8 188.316 3 3 Hélio Castroneves W 24.0149 23.9960 00:48.0 187.457 4 1 Simon Pagenaud 24.153 24.0406 00:48.2 186.747 5 20 Ed Carpenter 24.3965 24.3766 00:48.8 184.528 6 26 Takuma Sato 24.4513 24.4124 00:48.9 184.186 7 9 Scott Dixon 24.4873 24.4663 00:49.0 183.848 8 14 Carlos Muñoz 24.5696 24.4448 00:49.0 183.620 9 98 Alexander Rossi 24.5769 24.4485 00:49.0 183.578 10 5 James Hinchcliffe 24.5588 24.4801 00:49.0 183.528 11 4 Conor Daly 24.6002 24.5041 00:49.1 183.283 12 19 Ed Jones R 24.5747 24.6326 00:49.2 182.900 13 15 Graham Rahal 24.5780 24.6480 00:49.2 182.830 14 28 Ryan Hunter-Reay 24.7697 24.5376 00:49.3 182.529 15 21 J. R. Hildebrand 24.7475 24.5679 00:49.3 182.499 16 8 Max Chilton 24.7441 24.6328 00:49.4 182.271 17 10 Tony Kanaan 24.7556 24.6420 00:49.4 182.195 18 83 Charlie Kimball 24.7400 24.6733 00:49.4 182.137 19 18 Sébastien Bourdais 24.8272 24.6652 00:49.5 181.846 20 27 Marco Andretti 24.8235 24.8478 00:49.7 181.191 21 7 Sebastián Saavedra 25.3628 25.2843 00:50.6 177.700OFFICIAL BOX SCORE

Source for individual laps:

Race Driver Team Engine Laps Time/Retired Pit Stops Grid Laps Led 1 2 Josef Newgarden Team Penske Chevrolet 248 2:13:22.0358 4 2 170 53 2 9 Scott Dixon Chip Ganassi Racing Honda 248 +0.6850 4 7 0 40 3 1 Simon Pagenaud Team Penske Chevrolet 248 +0.9743 4 4 13 36 4 3 Hélio Castroneves W Team Penske Chevrolet 248 +1.5668 4 3 52 33 5 4 Conor Daly A. J. Foyt Enterprises Chevrolet 248 +1.7446 5 11 0 30 6 98 Alexander Rossi Andretti Herta Autosport Honda 248 +2.9101 4 9 0 28 7 83 Charlie Kimball Chip Ganassi Racing Honda 248 +4.2365 4 18 0 26 8 5 James Hinchcliffe Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda 248 +4.8498 4 10 0 24 9 14 Carlos Muñoz A. J. Foyt Enterprises Chevrolet 248 +7.8832 5 8 0 22 10 18 Sébastien Bourdais Dale Coyne Racing Honda 248 +8.1831 6 19 5 21 11 7 Sebastián Saavedra Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda 248 +8.6604 5 21 0 19 12 15 Graham Rahal Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda 248 +8.8457 4 13 0 18 13 19 Ed Jones R Dale Coyne Racing Honda 248 +12.3444 4 12 0 17 14 27 Marco Andretti Andretti Autosport Honda 248 +19.8702 7 20 0 16 15 28 Ryan Hunter-Reay Andretti Autosport Honda 205 Contact 4 14 0 15 16 10 Tony Kanaan Chip Ganassi Racing Honda 168 Mechanical 5 17 0 14 17 8 Max Chilton Chip Ganassi Racing Honda 164 Contact 4 16 3 14 18 21 J. R. Hildebrand Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet 100 Contact 1 15 0 12 19 26 Takuma Sato Andretti Autosport Honda 6 Contact 0 6 0 11 20 12 Will Power Team Penske Chevrolet 5 Contact 0 1 5 12 21 20 Ed Carpenter Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet 5 Contact 0 5 0 9OFFICIAL BOX SCORE

Notes Points include 1 point for leading at least 1 lap during a race, an additional 2 points for leading the most race laps, and 1 point for Pole Position.

Source for time gaps:

Championship standings

Driver standings Pos Driver Points 1 Josef Newgarden 547 2 Scott Dixon 516 3 Hélio Castroneves 505 4 Simon Pagenaud 504 5 Will Power 464

Manufacturer standings Pos Manufacturer Points 1 Chevrolet 1,293 2 Honda 1,158

Note: Only the top-five drivers in the standings are included.

References

External links Gateway Motorsports Park website 2017 Gateway Indy 250 IndyCar Page 2017 Gateway Indy 250 on YouTube