MADISON, Illinois – In a race that became a fuel-saving affair for many near the end, two Verizon IndyCar Series drivers instead charged toward the front based on their pace and determination.
Team Penske’s Simon Pagenaud and Ed Carpenter Racing’s Spencer Pigot scrapped for positions all night to finish fourth and sixth, respectively, at the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 presented by Axalta and Valvoline at Gateway Motorsports Park.
The Verizon IndyCar Series field started on entrant points due to a washout of qualifying on Friday. Pagenaud rolled off the grid sixth and Pigot 14th.
Pagenaud worked his way up to third place by midway through the 248-lap race on the 1.25-mile oval, until a close encounter with Team Penske teammate Will Power on Lap 142 sent the Frenchman scrambling. Power made an inside pass that forced Pagenaud off the racing line and into marbles off line. Pagenaud dropped six positions in two laps before he regained momentum and cleaned off his tires.
From there, Pagenaud was in full assault mode in the No. 22 Menards Team Penske Chevrolet, picking off a car at a time. His biggest move came 30 laps from the finish, when he passed both Zach Veach and Ed Jones to move back into third place. Like many, Pagenaud had to make a late pit stop for as splash of fuel and came home fourth.
“Hats off to the team,” Pagenaud said. “Phenomenal pit stops all night and we figured out what I needed for the car. I think we had the best car in the field if it weren’t for a mistake I had when I was fighting for positions.
“It was great racing and a lot of fun battling there at the end. If I didn’t have that mistake, maybe I’d be at the top of the podium.”
Pigot, starting his first Verizon IndyCar Series race at the track, had more ground to make up in the No. 21 Ed Carpenter Racing Fuzzy’s Vodka Chevrolet. It was a slow process for the Floridian, who didn’t move into the top 10 for good until the final 90 laps.
Pigot was running ninth on the Lap 183 restart following the final caution period of the race. He meticulously passed Takuma Sato, Josef Newgarden and Alexander Rossi within 30 laps to climb to sixth place and ran as high as fourth before his late stop for fuel settled him back into sixth spot at the checkered flag.
“I think overall it was a good race,” Pigot said. “We definitely had a good car throughout and the guys did great with the stops and helped us jump people during stops.
“The last 50 laps were fun. People were on different strategies and dicing all around. Overall, I’m happy with the race. If we had qualifying, maybe we would have qualified higher and who knows. But really happy for the guys,” he added.
Pigot, Pagenaud and the rest of the Verizon IndyCar Series field have a quick turnaround as the series heads to Portland International Raceway this week. The Grand Prix of Portland airs live at 2:30 p.m. ET Sunday on NBCSN and the Advance Auto Parts INDYCAR Radio Network.