NASCAR
Did World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway Earn its Spot on the NASCAR Calendar?
At the time of this writing, Gateway is guaranteed a returning slot on the 2023 NASCAR schedule. This news comes fresh off of last week’s inaugural running of the Enjoy Illinois 300, the Cup Series’ first visit to St. Louis. Just how did this new venue and market perform for the premier division of stock car racing? If nothing else, the capacity crowd of nearly 60,000 spectators on Sunday showed that this region of the country heartily welcomed NASCAR, and should be a mainstay on the circuit. Curtis Francois and his team at World Wide Technology Raceway put a lot of effort into attracting the NASCAR Cup Series to St. Louis, and it paid off tenfold.
The at-track atmosphere truly was buzzing all weekend long. Even during practice and qualifying sessions, fans packed into the stands. Alongside the on-track action were plenty of concerts, local food vendors, and a very lively fan zone. In a city that takes their sport teams to heart, NASCAR was welcomed with open arms.
How did the on-track product fare too for the Cup Series? While passing was difficult and track position was at a premium, it was not impossible to make up time. With the addition of shifting at the ends of each straightaway, another variable was thrown into Sunday’s equation too. Combined with the Ross Chastain drama, and an exciting finish as well, the race delivered in just about every element.
Drivers React to Inaugural Gateway Race
“It’s crazy how close you are to the city,” Bubba Wallace said of the track’s proximity to downtown St. Louis. “Myself, [Ryan] Blaney, and Chase [Elliott] all went to have barbecue and that was fun. Unlike in Chicago when you’re 45 minutes away or Charlotte and you’re 30 minutes away. It’s good to actually have a track that’s in St. Louis.”
“It was a great weekend just being able to come to the St. Louis area, raced with my son Brexton for a few days, and then come out here with a podium,” runner-up Kyle Busch said. “Disappointed we didn’t win, but we gave it all we had. It’s great to have people come out in droves to support an event, you just got to stick with it. Got to keep coming back. Inaugural events are always good, fan sellouts are awesome. We met a lot of them around the area racing with my son. We bought tickets and gave them away for 50 families to come out here today, so hopefully they enjoyed everything. It was a good race, hoping we could have won.”
“It was awesome,” Kurt Busch stated on the event as a whole. “I had to actually block it out a little bit, it was just really neat to see the atmosphere all around. The city vibe, the crew guys talking about things going on downtown in the morning. Just that whole city experience here was really nice, thank you. Two thumbs up [on the racing], it was great racing, you guys all saw it.”
“There’s a ton of people in the crowd today,” Ryan Blaney noted. “Tons of people in the infield too, who were really excited about it. Honestly I thought it put on a good show. I thought the car was fairly racey, so for a first event I think it went off great.”
From fans and drivers alike, Gateway has seemingly found a home on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule. This only continues the recent trend of amazing inaugural races seen at COTA, Nashville, and Road America. With proposed track renovations coming to Gateway in the near future, it will be interesting to see just how much the Enjoy Illinois 300 can grow as a permanent NASCAR event. Come 2023, ideally there will be another sellout crowd for the Cup Series.
Written by Peter Stratta
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Photo Credit to Jeff Curry/Getty Images for NASCAR
