INDYCAR RACE REPORT: Bommarito Automotive Group 500
Race Results
| Bommarito Automotive Group 500 |
| Will Power | P8 |
| Kyle Kirkwood | P6 |
| Marcus Ericsson | P2 |
Race Notes
- The NTT INDYCAR SERIES raced under the lights of World Wide Technology Raceway (WWTR) this evening to take on a 260-lap battle on the St. Louis oval, closing out a packed five-weekend stretch.
- Kyle Kirkwood led the Andretti Global INDYCAR team to green from the second row on the grid, but it was Marcus Ericsson who came home with the podium finish. Kirkwood finished just outside the top five in sixth, and Will Power scored a top-10 finish in eighth.
- Ericsson’s podium finish marks Andretti’s 260th INDYCAR podium and the Swede’s 12th INDYCAR podium.
- Tonight’s race was briefly halted with a red flag at the halfway point for moisture on the track and again on Lap 200 for conditions, before going green for the last 60 laps. In addition to the two red flags, there were four caution periods.
- The Andretti INDYCAR team will return to road course racing at Road America after a week off from racing on June 19-21, with live coverage of the race available on FOX and FS1.
Will Power
No. 26 TWG AI Honda
P8
| Started | P21 |
| Standings | P17 (145 points) |
- Making his 11th WWTR race start, Will Power took the green flag from near the back of the field, but quickly utilized a strong start to launch up three spots to 15th before taking his first pit stop on Lap 52.
- As the first caution of the day came on Lap 55, the TWG AI stand called Power back into the pits to top off on fuel just before the field went back to green.
- Battling to get back on the lead lap, Power was able to rejoin the leaders as the second yellow of the day came out on Lap 114 before pitting under yellow for his second stop of the day.
- When the field returned to green on Lap 143 following the first red flag due to inclement weather, Power maintained a spot in the top five, up 16 positions from where he started, by Lap 163.
- Power took on the restart after the second red flag, falling to ninth as the Lap 226 caution came out. The No. 26 car pit during the caution period for tires and tear-off, but a slow pit stop set him back three positions in the pit cycle to take the restart in 14th.
- The fresh Firestones played in Power’s favor as he was able to fight his way back up the field to finish the day in eighth place, taking home his 202nd INDYCAR career top-10 finish.
“Decent day today. There were a lot of strategy calls made, so the guys on the stand were really busy. They made very good calls, and I’m definitely happy to finish in the top eight. On to Road America.”
Kyle Kirkwood
No. 27 Sam’s Club Honda
P6
| Started | P3 |
| Standings | P2 (293 points) |
- Making his fifth start at WWTR today from the second row, Kyle Kirkwood held onto his third-place starting spot for almost 30 laps before dropping back to fifth as teammate Ericsson made a charge around him to the front.
- Pitting from just outside the top five on Lap 52, the No. 27 Sam’s Club Honda had a clean stop before the first yellow of the day came out three laps later.
- As the field went back to green on Lap 63, Kirkwood solidified his place in the top five before pitting for his second stop of the day on Lap 108.
- Following the Lap 143 restart, Kirkwood had to fight for a spot in the top five, but despite a strong effort, began to fall slightly to seventh just over 10 laps later.
- Kirkwood managed to break into the top five once again following the second red flag, but as traffic picked up, he fell back down one position to cross the finish line in sixth place, securing his 39th INDYCAR career top 10.
“I can’t be too upset with P6. Good day for the No. 27 Sam’s Club Honda. It was a hectic day with reds and yellows. With strategy, we kind of just found ourselves in between fourth and 10th the whole race and came out in sixth. Obviously, congrats to Marcus. That was a phenomenal run. I thought he definitely could have had a win there. We added some Championship points to our advantage compared to P3 and P1 in the standings, so that’s a positive takeaway from here. Now, we roll into Road America after a week off.”
Marcus Ericsson
No. 28 Delaware Life Honda
P8
| Started | P2 |
| Standings | P9 (196 points) |
- Marcus Ericsson set out for his ninth race start in St. Louis this evening, quickly vaulting up to the front of the field in the opening laps, making up 11 positions to take the lead by Lap 47.
- Shortly after taking the lead, the No. 28 crew executed a clean first pit stop on Lap 53, sending Ericsson back out to the front of the field.
- After managing the race from the lead through a Lap 63 restart, Ericsson pit for the second time and returned to the front of the field.
- As strategies shuffled, he was running third when the second full-course yellow came out, but he then inherited the lead during the yellow when the two frontrunners pit under the caution.
- Ericsson held onto the race lead well after the first red flag restart until he took his third pit stop. Following the pit stop, he slotted in behind the No. 2 car and, with the differing strategies on track, cycled into fourth place, where he remained when the second red flag came out for more inclement weather.
- As the majority of the field refueled on the caution period that followed the second red flag, Ericsson made the pass to break back into the top three with 50 laps remaining.
- While he fought for the top step of the podium through the final lap of the race, Ericsson took the checkered in second, securing his 12th INDYCAR career podium. The Swedish driver’s dominant run out front produced a career-high 114 laps led, the most he has ever led in a single race.
“After leading that many laps and having a great car underneath me, we drove all the way to the front and were feeling really good up there. But Josef is good around these tracks, and he got track position on us on one of the stops, and it was a bit hard to get around him after that. It’s bittersweet, but I’m still really proud of the No. 28 crew. And the Delaware Life Honda was great all night. I thought it drove really well. Today was a good result for us, but of course, you want that win.”
Ron Ruzewski
INDYCAR Team Principal
“Solid day today with all three Andretti cars in the top eight. Awesome job by Marcus. He was up there in contention all day long. It kind of felt like this one slipped away from him. He seemed to be the car to beat all day. It was also a good run by both the No. 26 and No. 27, and especially a good points day for Kyle as he finished in front of Palou and Malukas. So we’ll take that and go on to our next track at Road America and see what we can do there.”
