Fast Track Facts: Gateway Motorsports Park
credit: NASCAR Media |
Gateway Motorsports Park in Madison, IL – just east of St.
Louis, MO – is one of a small number of facilities on the NASCAR schedule that
also hosts the Verizon IndyCar Series and the National Hot Rod Association
(NHRA). Learn more about the track that hosted the Camping World Truck Series
in June in this week’s Fast Facts.
- Gateway Motorsports Park is a multi-use facility that is home to a 1/4-mile drag strip, a 1.25-mile oval and a 1.5-mile road course; it is also the home of Gateway Kartplex, which is located in the infield.
- The former St. Louis International Raceway Park was originally built as a drag racing facility in 1967. The first major event at the facility was a CART race on Memorial Day weekend in 1997, scheduled the day before the IRL’s Indianapolis 500 in the days of split series. The track was closed by former owner Dover Motorsports Inc. in Nov. 2010, but reopened in Sept. 2012 under the management of former Indy Lights driver Curtis Francois.
- From 1997-2010, the track hosted the Busch/Nationwide (now Xfinity) Series, with Carl Edwards leading all drivers with three wins. A unique distinction to the track is its Nationwide Series qualifying record, which is held by both Brad Keselowski and Reed Sorenson, who each qualified with a lap of 33.158 seconds (135.714 mph) in July 2009; both drivers are credited with the record, but Keselowski was credited with the pole because he was higher in owner’s points.
- GMP first hosted the Truck Series from 1998-2010, and again from 2014 to the present. In 17 races to date, only Ted Musgrave is a multiple-time winner (2001 and 2005). Chase Briscoe set the qualifying record for the Trucks in 2017 (32.888 seconds/136.828 mph).
- Find out more about Gateway at www.gatewaymsp.com.
Fast Track Facts: Gateway Motorsports Park
Reviewed by Paula
on
Tuesday, August 08, 2017
Rating: