This weekend’s Bommarito Automotive Group 500 will be the fifth and final oval race of the 2022 NTT INDYCAR SERIES schedule. The World Wide Technology Raceway, a 1.25-mile oval in Madison, Illinois, host the round which is timed to go at 5:30pm local time on Saturday (10:30am Sunday – NZ time).
Can Scott Dixon take over the lead from Will Power?
NTT INDYCAR SERIES Point Standings:
Power 450, Dixon 444, Ericsson 438, Newgarden 428, Palou 417, McLaughlin 392, O’Ward 391, Rossi 330, Rosenqvist 325, Herta 315, VeeKay 300, Pagenaud 284, Rahal 281, Grosjean 273, Lundgaard 272, Daly 249, Malukas 231, Castroneves 224, Sato 208, Ilott 181, Johnson 178, Harvey 178, DeFrancesco 159, Kirkwood 144, Kellett 108, Tony Kanaan 78, Santino Ferrucci 71, Ed Carpenter 67, Tatiana Calderon 58, JR Hildebrand 53, Juan Pablo Montoya 44, De Silvestro 26, Marco Andretti 17, Sage Karam 14, Stefan Wilson 10
Here are the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 Fast Facts
Will Power leads the NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship with three races to go for the fourth time in his career. Power previously led the championship with three races to in 2010, 2012 and 2014. He won the title in 2014.
With 59-points separating the top-seven drivers in the point standings, this is the closest championship in the last 20 years.
There are 11 drivers still mathematically eligible for the 2022 NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship: Will Power, Scott Dixon, Marcus Ericsson, Josef Newgarden, Alex Palou, Scott McLaughlin, Pato O’Ward, Alexander Rossi, Felix Rosenqvist, Colton Herta and Rinus VeeKay.
Any driver who trails the points leader by 108-points or more following the race will be eliminated from contention.
Since the first INDYCAR SERIES race at World Wide Technology Raceway, the winning driver has won the INDYCAR SERIES championship three times: Alex Zanardi (1998), Josef Newgarden (2017) and Scott Dixon (2020-Race 1).
Key championship point statistic: Since 2008, the driver who has led the championship with three races to go has won the championship eight times – Scott Dixon in 2008, 2018 and 2020, Dario Franchitti in 2011, Will Power in 2014, Simon Pagenaud in 2016 and Josef Newgarden in 2017 and 2019
Point differential: The six points that separate Will Power and Scott Dixon is the fourth-closest point margin since 2008. Prior to this season, the average lead with three races to go since 2008 was 30.1 points.
There have been eight different winners in 14 NTT INDYCAR SERIES races in the 2022 season. Scott McLaughlin (Streets of St. Petersburg, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course), Josef Newgarden (Texas Motor Speedway, Streets of Long Beach, Road America, Iowa Speedway-1), Pato O’Ward (Barber Motorsports Park, Iowa Speedway-2), Colton Herta (Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course-1), Marcus Ericsson (Indianapolis 500), Will Power (Raceway at Belle Isle Park), Scott Dixon (Streets of Toronto and Streets of Nashville) and Alexander Rossi (Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course-2) have all won in 2022. The record for most different winners in a season is 11 in 2000, 2001 and 2014.
The Bommarito Automotive Group 500 will be the 14th INDYCAR SERIES race at World Wide Technology Raceway. Josef Newgarden won his third race at WWTR in 2021. Paul Tracy won the first INDYCAR SERIES race at WWTR in 1997. Newgarden, Scott Dixon (2020 Race 1) Takuma Sato (2019), Will Power (2018) and Helio Castroneves (2003) are the former winners entered in this year’s race.
The Bommarito Automotive Group 500 will be the fifth and final oval race of the 2022 NTT INDYCAR SERIES schedule. The previous oval races were won by Josef Newgarden (Texas Motor Speedway, Iowa Speedway-1), Marcus Ericsson (Indianapolis Motor Speedway) and Pato O’Ward (Iowa Speedway-2).
Three drivers have won at World Wide Technology Raceway from the pole – Juan Pablo Montoya (2000), Gil de Ferran (2002) and Helio Castroneves (2003).
Team Penske has won seven times at World Wide Technology Raceway. Penske’s winning drivers are Paul Tracy (1997), Gil de Ferran (2002), Helio Castroneves (2003), Josef Newgarden (2017, 2020-Race 2, 2021) and Will Power (2018). Chip Ganassi Racing has three wins at Gateway with Alex Zanardi (1998), Juan Pablo Montoya (2000) and Scott Dixon (2020-Race 1).
Twenty drivers entered in the event have competed in past INDYCAR SERIES races at World Wide Technology Raceway. Scott Dixon has seven starts, most among the entered drivers. Twelve entered drivers have led laps at the track (Josef Newgarden 406, Helio Castroneves 271, Scott Dixon 251, Will Power 201, Takuma Sato 145, Pato O’Ward 131, Colton Herta 121, Simon Pagenaud 14, Alexander Rossi 4, Felix Rosenqvist 3, Marcus Ericsson 2 and Conor Daly 1).
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