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Open Wheel Icons and Vintage Indy Registry bring the sport’s history to the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 at World Wide Technology Raceway

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August 13, 2019, St. Louis Region – The largest assembly of vintage Indy Cars outside of the Indianapolis 500 will take place at the annual Bommarito Automotive Group 500 presented by Axalta and Valvoline for the NTT IndyCar Series on August 23-24 at World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Illinois.

 

The Open Wheel Icons exhibit is a unique opportunity to see the colorful history of the sport through the Vintage Indy Registry’s membership roster. The cars not only will be on display in the infield of the speedway for all fans to enjoy – they also will make exhibition laps on the track on Friday and Saturday. Owners will be bringing their cars in from Australia, California, Florida, Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, Tennessee, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin. Fans young and old will view the progression of the earliest Indy Cars – front-engined racers with narrow tires and riding mechanics – to single-occupant cars to the rear-engine revolution through to the aerodynamic innovations of the 1970s and 1980s. While we all agree today’s INDYCARS certainly are thrilling, there’s nothing like experiencing the gleaming, screaming flashes of motorsports history from your – or your parents’ – childhood.

 

Some of the more notable entries include Johnny Rutherford’s 1979 M24 Budweiser McLaren, Joe Leonard’s Indy 500 pole-winning 1968 STP Lotus Turbine, a classic 1961 Leader Card Watson Offy (Offenhauser) roadster, Bobby Unser’s 1972 AAR Dan Gurney Racing Olsonite Eagle and Cale Yarborough’s 1971 Gene White Firestone Mongoose.

 

This year’s entries include:

1922 No. 22 Winker Ford Special Model T

1932 No. 7 Brightwood Airport Special Ford

1958 No. 9 Seal Fast Kurtis Indy Roadster

1960 No. 2 Dowgard Watson Roadster

1960 No. 98 Willard Battery Agajanian Special (replica) Watson Alfa Romeo

1961 No. 41 Leader Card Watson Roadster Offenhauser

1964 No. 1 Sheraton Thompson Special Watson Roadster

1968 No. 8 G.C. Murphy AAR Eagle Offenhauser

1968 No. 60 STP Lotus Turbine

1969 No. 7 Olsonite Eagle AAR Ford

1969 No. 44 Joe Leonard-Smokey Yunick AAR Eagle Ford

1971 No. 21 Mongoose Ford

1972 No. 6 AAR Olsonite Eagle Offenhauser

1972 No. 92 Sport Magazine/Barbary Coast Casino AAR Eagle Chevrolet

1973 No. 26 Eagle Offenhauser

1975 No. 24 Performance Engineering NCRA Dirt Champ Car

1977 No. 4 Budweiser McLaren Cosworth

1979 No. 56 Penske PC-7 Chevrolet

1979 No. 70 Tipp Machine USAC Dirt Champ Car

1980 No. 8 Lightning Cosworth DFX

1981 No. 6 Gould PC 9B Cosworth

1981 No. 56 Genesee Beer AAR Eagle Offenhauser

1983 No. 1 Calumet Farms March Cosworth

1987 No. 4 STP True Value March

1993 No. 63 USAC Silver Crown Beast Chevrolet

1996 No. 12 Terre Haute First Bank USAC Silver Crown Champ Car

1998 Riley & Scott MKV Oldsmobile Aurora V-8

2005 No. 55 Panasonic Panoz

 

The annual Bommarito Automotive Group 500 presented by Axalta and Valvoline brings the cars and international racing stars of the Indianapolis 500 to the St. Louis-Metro East region. Tickets start at just $40 for adults and kids 15 and under are free. Race day also includes races for Indy Lights, Indy Pro 2000 and NASCAR K&N Pro Series East-West cars – not to mention fireworks and a pre-race show. To purchase tickets or obtain more information about WWTR, please call (618) 215-8888 or visit www.wwtraceway.com. Follow WWTR on Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat and Instagram.

 

Thursday, August 22 – Free fanfest at Ballpark Village; Racing Night at Busch Stadium

4:30-6:30 p.m. – Free fanfest at Ballpark Village in downtown St. Louis across from Busch Stadium. Meet-and-greet with INDYCAR Indy Lights, Indy Pro 2000 and NASCAR K&N Pro Series drivers, show cars, games, prizes.

 

Fanfest driver autograph sessions:

4:45 p.m. to 5:15 p.m. — NASCAR K&N Pro Series East & West drivers.

5:15 p.m. to 5:45 p.m. — Indy Lights and Indy Pro 2000 drivers.

5:45 p.m. to 6:15 p.m. — NTT IndyCar Series drivers.

 

6:45 p.m. – Racing Night at Busch Stadium – St. Louis Cardinals vs. Colorado Rockies. Josef Newgarden, 2017 INDYCAR champion, will throw out the first pitch. Fans who purchase their game tickets at www.Cardinals.com/theme will receive a Harrison Bader race car bobblehead.

 

 

Friday, August 23 – Coors Light Pole Night Showdown

10 a.m. — Parking lots open.

11 a.m.-6 p.m. — James Hinchcliffe Red Cross Blood Drive (drag strip tower).

11:30 a.m. — Spectator gates open; Paddock pass upgrades open.

1-2 p.m. — NTT IndyCar Series practice.

2:15-2:45 p.m. — Indy Pro 2000 practice.

3-3:45 p.m. — Indy Lights practice.

4-5 p.m. — Vintage Indy Registry exhibition.

5:15-6:15 p.m. — Coors Light Pole Night NTT IndyCar Series qualifying.

6:30-7:15 p.m. — Indy Pro 2000 qualifying.

7:30-8 p.m. — Indy Lights qualifying.

8:15-9:15 p.m. – NTT IndyCar Series final practice.

10:30 p.m. – Track closed.

 

Saturday, August 24 – Bommarito Automotive Group 500 presented by Axalta and Valvoline race day

10 a.m. — Parking lots open.

11:30 a.m. — Spectator gates open.

11:45 a.m.-12:15 p.m. — Vintage Indy Registry exhibition.

12:45-2:15 p.m. — Vintage Indy Registry Open Wheel Icons garage party and autograph session.

12:30-1:30 p.m. — NASCAR K&N Pro Series East & West qualifying.

1:45 p.m. — Indy Pro 2000 Championship presented by Cooper Tires (55 laps).

2-6 p.m. — Rumble Before the Roar pre-race party.

2 p.m. — NTT IndyCar Series paddock opens.

2:40 p.m. — Vintage Indy Registry final exhibition.

3-4 p.m. — NTT IndyCar Series driver autograph session.

3:25 p.m. — Indy Lights race (75 laps).

4:35 p.m. — NASCAR K&N Pro Series East & West Monaco 125 presented by West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame.

6:15 p.m. — Parade laps.

6:30 p.m. — Bommarito Automotive Group 500 pre-race show.

7 p.m. — NTT IndyCar Series Bommarito Automotive Group 500 presented by Axalta and Valvoline.

 

About World Wide Technology Raceway

World Wide Technology Raceway is the home of INDYCAR, NASCAR and NHRA racing in the St. Louis region. Located just five minutes from downtown St. Louis and covering more than 340 acres, Gateway Motorsports Park is the largest outdoor entertainment facility in the area. World Wide Technology Raceway’s facilities include a 1/4-mile drag strip, 1.25-mile superspeedway, recently-expanded 2.0-mile road course, a state-of-the-art karting facility and a 14-acre, multi-purpose dirt off-road venue. World Wide Technology Raceway was the recipient of the 2017 Outstanding Facility of the Year Award from the Race Track Business Conference and the 2017 Spirit of St. Louis Award from St. Louis Attractions Association. In 2018, owner and CEO Curtis Francois received the Innovator Award from the St. Louis Convention & Visitors Commission in recognition of his work for restoring World Wide Technology Raceway (known then as Gateway Motorsports Park) to prominence.

 

About Vintage Indy Registry

The Vintage Indy Registry is dedicated to the history and preservation of Indianapolis championship cars from 1911 through 1999. The Registry’s goal is to help ensure that these cars are more broadly appreciated and their history is correctly preserved for future generations of racing fans to enjoy. As founders of the Vintage Indy Registry, Michael Lashmett and Ron Nelson have paved the way for fans to enjoy these historic racing automobiles for years to come. Nelson hails from the Midwest and made a career of photography with Competition Press, covering events that included races at Indianapolis, Road America, the Milwaukee Mile and Watkins Glen. Lashmett, who worked as a crew member under famed Indy-winning chief mechanic George Bignotti on the Vel’s Parnelli Jones and Patrick Racing Indianapolis entries, is an incredible asset to the Registry with a wealth of historical racing knowledge and expertise to add. For more information, please visit www.vintageindyregistry.com.

 

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