By: Spencer Neff
June 13, 2025

For the first time in the 2025 season, the NTT INDYCAR SERIES will run under the lights and will do so on a short oval (oval less than 1.3 miles), the first of three on the schedule,

Worldwide Technology Raceway (Gateway) in Madison, Illinois hosts the Bommarito Automotive Group 500. It is the 17th INDYCAR race on the 1.25-mile oval since its 1997 debut. This will be the first time the race is run on a Sunday night. Previously, it ran on Saturday night in 2017-2019, 2021-2022 (rain-delayed finish in 2022) and 2024.

This weekend’s race also marks the second at WWTR with the hybrid system. No other track has run more than one race weekend with it.

Before the weekend on track kicks off, here’s a look at the major stories to keep an eye on.

Headlines

Both the 2025 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season and the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 have been dominated by a pair of drivers.

This season, only Chip Ganassi Racing’s Alex Palou and Kyle Kirkwood of Andretti Global have been to victory lane. Palou won at St. Petersburg, Thermal, Barber and both the Indiianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course event and the 109th Indianapolis 500.

Palou crashed out of the June 1 event in Detroit and finished 25th. He now holds a 90-point lead over Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward.

Kirkwood triumphed on the streets of Long Beach and Detroit, the latter of which being the most recent event on the schedule. Last year, Kirkwood started a career-best fifth at Gateway. In 2023, he finished 15th in, the best in three previous starts.

Palou improved from 18th to a career-best fourth in last year’s race. His best start was fifth in 2022.

Palou’s teammate Scott Dixon and Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden have combined to win seven of the last nine races at Gateway. Newgarden leads all drivers with five victories on the 1.25-mile oval.

Dixon and Newgarden will both look to end a podium-less street that dates back to the March 2 season opener at St. Petersburg, where they finished second and third.

Following his second-place finish in Detroit, the No. 14 A.J. Foyt Racing entry of Santino Ferrucci was penalized. INDYCAR announced the following:

“During post-race inspection of car No. 14, INDYCAR discovered the driver ballast needed to bring the combined weight of the driver and driver ballast to 185 pounds was underweight and not within the driver ballast weight tolerance of 0.00 to + 1.00 pounds.

However, also during inspection, the series found the weight of car No. 14, itself, was 10 pounds over the minimum weight for road and street circuits of 1,785 pounds and competed over the minimum weight requirement on-track.

A.J. Foyt Enterprises was in violation of:

• Rule 14.4.2. Driver Equivalency Weight
  • Rule 14.4.2.2. Driver Equivalency Weight must bring the combined weight of the Driver and Driver ballast to 185 pounds.
  • Rule 14.4.2.5. The Driver ballast weight tolerance is 0.00 to + 1.00 pounds. The Driver Equivalency Weight must be installed and secured in the designed location forward of the seatback. This location may only be used for Driver ballast.

This rule is in place to equalize the weight of varying-sized drivers so there is no advantage based on the weight of the driver. Post-race weight determination, as implemented by INDYCAR, is a common practice after every event and in nearly all forms of motorsports to ensure an equal playing field.

The No. 14 will be allowed to keep the second-place finish; however, the entry has been fined $25,000 and will forfeit 25 championship driver and entrant points. The bonus point for leading a lap also is not awarded. The No. 14 also is ineligible for engine points and prize money associated with the race.

Updated results of the 2025 Detroit Grand Prix can be found here.”

Bommarito Automotive Group 500 Fast Facts  Spotter Guide Pit Assignments

Race weekend: Saturday, June 14-Sunday, June 15 Track: World Wide Technology Raceway, a 1.25-mile oval in Madison, Illinois Race distance: NTT INDYCAR SERIES: Bommarito Automotive Group 500 presented by Axalta and Valvoline 260 laps / 325 miles | INDY NXT by Firestone: INDY NXT by Firestone at World Wide Technology Raceway 75 laps / 93.75 miles Hybrid energy deployment parameters:NTT INDYCAR SERIES Unlimited activation with a maximum deployment of 150 kilojoules (kJ) per lap. Firestone tire allotment: NTT INDYCAR SERIES: Ten new sets for use during the event weekend. An extra set will be provided to teams participating in the high-line session before final practice. INDY NXT by Firestone: Three new sets for use during the event weekend. X: @WWTRaceway, @IndyCar, #Bommarito500, #INDYCAR Instagram: @WWTRaceway, @IndyCar, #Bommarito500, #INDYCAR Threads: @WWTRaceway, @IndyCar, #Bommarito500, #INDYCAR Facebook: @WWTRaceway, @INDYCAR, #INDYCAR TikTok: @WWT_Raceway, @INDYCAR, #INDYCAR YouTube: @INDYCAR Event website: www.wwtraceway.com/ INDYCAR website: www.IndyCar.com 2024 race winners:NTT INDYCAR SERIES Josef Newgarden (No. 2 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet)INDY NXT by FirestoneLouis Foster (No. 26 Andretti Global) 2024 NTT P1 Award winner (NTT INDYCAR SERIES): Scott McLaughlin (No. 3 DEX Imaging Team Penske Chevrolet), 50.0079 seconds, 179.972 mph (two laps) 2024 INDY NXT by Firestone pole winner: Louis Foster (No. 26 Andretti Global), 54.8614 seconds, 164.109 mph (two laps) One-lap qualifying lap record:NTT INDYCAR SERIES Will Power, 23.7206, 189.709 mph, Aug. 25, 2017INDY NXT by Firestone Louis Foster, 27.3986, 164.242 mph, Aug. 16, 2024 FOX Sports telecasts: NTT INDYCAR SERIES: Practice 1, 11:30 a.m. ET Saturday, FS1 (live); Qualifying, 3 p.m. ET Saturday, FS1 (live); High-line and Final Practice, 4:30 p.m. ET Saturday, FS2 (live); Race, 8 p.m. ET Sunday, FOX (live). Will Buxton is the play-by-play announcer for FOX’s coverage of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, alongside analysts Townsend Bell and James Hinchcliffe. Georgia Henneberry, Kevin Lee and Jack Harvey are the pit reporters.  INDY NXT by Firestone: Practice 1, 1 p.m. ET Saturday, FS1 (live) Qualifying, 4:30 p.m. ET Saturday, FS2 (live) Race, 4:30 p.m. ET Sunday, FS1 (live). Kevin Lee is the play-by-play announcer for FOX Sports’ coverage of INDY NXT by Firestone alongside analyst Jack Harvey. Georgia Henneberry is the pit reporter. INDYCAR Radio Network broadcasts: Mark Jaynes is the anchor alongside driver analyst Davey Hamilton. Nick Yeoman is the turn announcer. Jake Query and Michael Young are the pit reporters. The Bommarito Automotive Group 500 presented by Axalta and Valvoline race (7:30 p.m. ET Sunday), INDY NXT by Firestone at World Wide Technology Raceway (4:25 p.m. Sunday) and all NTT INDYCAR SERIES practice and qualifying sessions air live on network affiliates, SiriusXM INDYCAR Nation 218, indycar.com/leaderboard and the INDYCAR App powered by NTT DATA. All INDY NXT by Firestone practice, qualifying sessions and races are available on SiriusXM INDYCAR Nation 218, indycar.com/leaderboard and the INDYCAR App powered by NTT DATA. At-track schedule (all times local): SATURDAY, JUNE 14 10:20 a.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES installation laps 10:30-11:30 a.m. — NTT INDYCAR SERIES practice, FS1 12:05-12:50 p.m. – INDY NXT by Firestone practice, FS1 2 p.m. – Bommarito Automotive Group 500 NTT P1 Award qualifying (single car/cumulative time of two laps), FS1 3:35 p.m. – INDY NXT by Firestone INDY NXT by Firestone at World Wide Technology Raceway Qualifying, FS2 4:45-5:15 p.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES high-line session (two groups/15 minutes each), FS2 5:30-6:30 p.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES final practice, FS2 SUNDAY, JUNE 15 3:31 p.m. – INDY NXT by Firestone INDY NXT by Firestone at World Wide Technology Raceway “Drivers Start Your Engines” 3:35 p.m. – INDY NXT by Firestone INDY NXT by Firestone at World Wide Technology Raceway (75 laps / 93.75 miles), FS1 (Live) 7 p.m. – FOX on air 7:15 p.m. – “Drivers, start your engines” 7:20 p.m. – Bommarito Automotive Group 500 presented by Axalta and Valvoline (260 laps/325 miles), FOX (Live) Header Image By Joe Skibinski/INDYCAR Fast Facts by INDYCAR