NASCAR
NASCAR Introducing Gateway, Portland International Raceways This Weekend
In a rare occurrence, this weekend will see not one but two inaugural NASCAR races. Saturday will see the Xfinity Series take on the Portland International Raceway road course, while Sunday has the Enjoy Illinois 300 Cup race from Gateway. With the top two series going to new venues, let’s take a look at each racetrack. Both venues do have past history with NASCAR, but will welcome their respective series for the first time.
World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway
First opened in 1995, World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway has gone through a revival. After hosting IndyCar, Xfinity, Trucks, and NHRA, Gateway was shuttered in 2010. After the 1.25-mile oval was bought by St. Louis real estate agent Curtis Francois though in 2011, the racetrack had life again. The mid-2010s would see both IndyCar and Trucks return to the St. Louis track, as both series had several doubleheader weekends here.
Are there other tracks that can compare to Gateway? The East St. Louis oval is a bit of a hodgepodge of a few other familiar NASCAR ovals. Turns 1 and 2 are very similar in design to New Hampshire Motor Speedway, while 3 and 4 are more like Phoenix with banking. The track’s size and different ends also make it like Darlington. Through its past NASCAR races, this track does handle like a big short track, not unlike NHMS or Phoenix.
This weekend marks another Gateway doubleheader, as the Trucks will join the NASCAR Cup Series at the Illinois track. While it is Gateway race number 22 for the Trucks, the Enjoy Illinois 300 is the first Cup race here. With the Next Gen car plus a brand new venue, trying to predict the outcome of this Cup race is nearly impossible. Of the 36 drivers entered in Sunday’s race, 22 of them do have a past Xfinity or Truck start at Gateway, so this track is far from brand new for many.
Portland International Raceway
For the second of six road course races in 2022, the Xfinity Series heads far west to Portland on Saturday. The nearly flat 1.9-mile circuit includes 12 turns and a clockwise layout. This track hosted two Truck Series races in 1999 and 2000, and has a great history with IndyCar. The Grand Prix of Portland was held from 1984-2007, being reborn in 2018. Portland also saw one ARCA West race last year, as this series will return alongside Xfinity this weekend.
PIR was first built in 1960, being known primarily as a sports car track until IndyCar came in the 1980s. After IndyCar left Portland, the track did undergo manor renovations, making it a premier racing facility.
The most well known and infamous part of this track is the chicane that makes up turns 1-3. In the three recent IndyCar races at Portland, the chicane has brought out a lap one caution each time. See a lap of Portland to see just how tight this circuit is, especially that technical chicane.
Portland will also see special standalone race procedures for Xfinity. There will be no live pit stops, since most crews will be at Gateway. During Stage breaks, all teams will have three minutes to service their car. Fuel can also only be added during Stage breaks. For green flag stops, there will be a minimum time of 60 seconds for drivers between both yellow lines.
No driver from Saturday’s field has any NASCAR National Series experience from Portland. With this in mind, this road course could be the biggest unknown of 2022 for the Xfinity Series. Road course ace AJ Allmendinger will certainly be stout, but the trophy is far from guaranteed for the 16. While many Cup drivers have laps at Gateway, Portland will be all new for most of the Xfinity competitors.
Both inaugural races will put on a show never seen before in Xfinity and Cup. The Pacific Automation 147 will go green at 4:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, with coverage on FS1, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. Catch the Enjoy Illinois 300 on the same channels Sunday at 3:30 p.m. ET.
Written by Peter Stratta
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Photo Credit to Jeff Curry/Getty Images for NASCAR
