Bommarito Automotive Group 500 2023-08-27

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Event
Bommarito Automotive Group 500

Date
Sun 27th August 2023 (UTC)
Sun 27th August 2023 (Local)

Timestamp
2023-08-27T00:00:00

Time

00:00:00 UTC (00:00:00 Local)

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League
IndyCar Series

Season
2023

Round
15

Status

Location
World Wide Technology Raceway

Video Highlights

Description

The Bommarito Automotive Group 500 presented by Axalta and Valvoline is an IndyCar Series race held at World Wide Technology Raceway. The event was first held as a CART series race from 1997 to 2000, initially on Memorial Day weekend. From 2001 to 2003, it was held as an Indy Racing League event. After a hiatus of over a decade, the race returned in 2017 as part of the unified IndyCar Series.

Race history
Shortly after the oval track was constructed, the inaugural Motorola 300 was held on Saturday May 24, 1997 as part of the CART series. It was scheduled for the day before the Indianapolis 500 of the rival Indy Racing League. Rather than scheduling a race directly opposite the Indy 500 (as they had done in 1996 with the U.S. 500), CART scheduled Gateway the day before to serve as their Memorial Day weekend open-wheel alternative without direct conflict. On one instance, a couple of drivers actually competed in both events in the same weekend. The race was held on Memorial Day weekend for three seasons.

For the 2000 season, the race was moved off of Memorial Day weekend and scheduled for September. Track management did not want the race to be scheduled the same weekend as the Indy 500, as it was splitting the fanbase and affecting gate attendance. With the two races in neighboring states, fans generally chose to travel to the Indy 500 for the weekend instead. In addition, CART officials decided to leave Memorial Day weekend open to allow their teams the opportunity to cross over and compete at Indianapolis if they desired.

In 2001, the race was dropped from the CART series schedule, and switched alliances to the Indy Racing League. The distance was shortened, and the race became known as the Gateway Indy 250. The event suffered from continually declining attendance. The event was dropped altogether after 2003.

After new management at the facility in 2012, rumors began to circulate about reviving the event with the now-unified IndyCar Series. In 2015, the track was approved as a test facility.

In January 2017, a multi-year agreement was designed with Gateway Motorsports Park and the Bommarito Automotive Group. The Bommarito Automotive Group 500 was announced at the 2017 St. Louis Auto Show and added to the 2017 IndyCar Series schedule. The partnership was renewed through 2021.

In July 2020, the race was shortened to 250 miles (200 laps) to accommodate a revised schedule for the COVID-19 pandemic. The event featured two identical 200-lap races in the afternoon.

Before the start of the 2021 race, event promoters announced a contract extension with IndyCar to secure the race for an additional five years.