Preview – 2020 Bommarito Automotive Group 500
By Dylan Reynolds, The Open Wheel
The INDYCAR season continues this weekend with the NTT INDYCAR SERIES Bommarito Automotive Group 500 at World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Illinois. The Open Wheel will be covering the action all weekend so stay tuned to this site and our Twitter page @openwh33l for all of the latest news.
Photo by Parker Hall/The Open Wheel
Weekend Schedule – Entry List – Spotter Guide – Circuit Map
NTT INDYCAR SERIES Preview: Bommarito Automotive Group 500 – Race 1 Saturday, August 29, 2020 3:00PM (ET) NBCSN & Race 2 Sunday, August 30, 2020 3:00PM (ET) NBCSN – The NTT INDYCAR SERIES enters another doubleheader weekend after a busy two weeks at Indianapolis Motor Speedway to a venue where the recent Indy 500 champion Takuma Sato won last year. Two races in the heat of the day in the Midwest sun will be a grueling experience for the teams, drivers, officials, and even fans as this event is traditionally raced at night.
Previous driver experience at World Wide Technology Raceway shows three former winners in the field in Josef Newgarden (1), Will Power (1), and Takuma Sato (1). The active Top 5 in laps led at the venue are Scott Dixon (223), Newgarden (220), Power (99), Santino Ferrucci (97), and Sato (65). The two most recent winners are Sato and Power. Looking at the box scores from 2019 and 2018, only Simon Pagenaud has finished in the Top 5 in each of the last two races. If that’s expanded to the Top 10, Pagenaud is joined by Sato and Newgarden.
My picks to win: Will Power & Simon Pagenaud – The Team Penske cars have started on the first three rows of the grid in each of the past two races and there’s no reason to think that won’t continue. We know the Penske cars are fast everywhere and that seems to be especially true at Gateway. I look for Will Power to get his first win of 2020 and Simon Pagenaud to win as well.
My fantasy.indycar.com picks: Will Power, Takuma Sato, Tony Kanaan, & Alex Palou – You know my thoughts on Power. It’s too tough to get two Penske drivers into your team without seeing practice, but still may be the way to go with a few $21 options. I like Takuma Sato this weekend hot off his 500 win and previous history at this track. Tony Kanaan should provide good value with his experience on ovals and ability to take advantage of any opportunities that may fall his way. I like Palou the most out of the “budget” options as he’s been fast everywhere and really seems to enjoy the challenge of ovals. His Dale Coyne Racing team has been good here.
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