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IndyCar: Looking Back at the Past Five Gateway Races

By Asher Fair

MADISON, IL - JUNE 17: A general view of Gateway Motorsports Park during the NASCAR Camping World Trucks Series Drivin' for Linemen 200 on June 17, 2017 in Madison, Illinois. (Photo by Jeff Curry/NASCAR via Getty Images)
MADISON, IL - JUNE 17: A general view of Gateway Motorsports Park during the NASCAR Camping World Trucks Series Drivin' for Linemen 200 on June 17, 2017 in Madison, Illinois. (Photo by Jeff Curry/NASCAR via Getty Images) /
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The Verizon IndyCar Series is scheduled to make a trip to the Gateway Motorsports Park oval. The race was added to the schedule in the 1997 season but has not been on the schedule since 2003.

For the first season since 2003 and eighth season overall, IndyCar will race around the four-turn, 1.25-mile Gateway Motorsports Park oval located in Madison, Illinois. Let’s take a look back at the past five races at Gateway as we prepare for the race on Saturday, August 26th, 2017. What sorts of things might we have to look forward to in this season’s race?

1999

Michael Andretti started the race in 11th place but worked his way up to the lead. He ended up leading a race-high 91 of the race’s 236 laps en route to a slim .329-second victory over Helio Castroneves. Polesitter Juan Pablo Montoya finished in 11th, which was ironically the position where Andretti started.

2000

Like the previous season’s Gateway race, Juan Pablo Montoya led the field from the pole position. Also like the previous season, Michael Andretti led a race-high 121 of the race’s 236 laps after starting deeper in the field, this time back in 15th place. However, an engine issue took him out late in the race, and Montoya ended up going to Victory Lane.

2001

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Unlike the previous two seasons of Gateway races, this race was limited to only 200 laps. Al Unser Jr. won the race after leading 75 laps, a total second to only the 81 laps led by race polesitter Sam Hornish Jr., who finished in 3rd place.

2002

Like the 2001 season’s Gateway race, this race was also limited to 200 laps. The top 3 finishers led all but five of the race’s laps, with 2nd place finisher Helio Castroneves leading more laps than anyone with 85. Polesitter Gil de Ferran won the race after leading 81 laps.

2003

After leading more laps than any other driver in the 2002 Gateway race, Helio Castroneves did the same at the 2003 race, this time from the pole position. He led 96 of the race’s 200 laps, and he converted that success into a victory, something he was unable to do in the 2002 race.

Next: IndyCar driver power rankings

What sorts of things do you anticipate in IndyCar’s return to Gateway? Let us know in the comments below, and be sure to follow Beyond the Flag on both Instagram and Twitter. Finally, don’t forget to follow along with Beyond the Flag for the latest news, opinions and analysis stemming from a number of different motorsports series. You don’t want to miss any of it.