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27-566: The first major event held at the facility was the CART Series on Saturday May 24, 1997, the day before the Indy Racing League's Indianapolis 500 . Rather than scheduling a race directly opposite the Indy 500 (as they had done in 1996 with the U.S. 500 ), CART scheduled Gateway the day before to serve as their Memorial Day weekend open-wheel alternative without direct conflict. For 2000, the race

54-460: A 0.125 mi (0.201 km) drag strip, the track was extended to a full 0.250 mi (0.402 km) in 1971. Having been developed on dormant swampland that was long ago buried by the Mississippi River , the track soon adapted the nickname of "The Swamp". Throughout the 1970s, the raceway primarily held regional drag racing events. However, entering the early 1980s, the interest of adding

81-700: A February 22 agreement in principle to merge with the IRL. The IRL purchased the CCWS's sanctioning contracts, the Champ Car Mobile Medical Unit, the series history, and goodwill for $ 6 million, with Forsythe and Kalkhoven signing a non-compete agreement in exchange for $ 2 million each. While the first "merged" event of the rechristened " IndyCar Series" was the GAINSCO Auto Insurance Indy 300 from Homestead-Miami Speedway on March 29, 2008, due to

108-450: A driver in NHRA's Professional class of Top Fuel Dragster, he competed for several years in NHRA's Sportsman (amateur) class of Top Alcohol Dragster, a slower version of Top Fuel. In four seasons of competition driving Joe Amato 's NHRA Top Fuel Dragster, he compiled a record of 106 round wins versus 75 losses. He won six events and was runner-up at 11 others, out of 81 events entered. In 2004 at

135-434: A road racing circuit to the grounds began to mount, and in 1985 a road course was constructed by then-owner Jody Trover, featuring 2.600 mi (4.184 km) and 1.010 mi (1.625 km) configurations. The asphalt circuit had a 30 ft (9.1 m) track width, 55 pit boxes within the 880 ft (270 m) pit lane, and could officially hold 52,000 spectators. Parts of the existing drag strip were incorporated into

162-417: A scheduling conflict with the 2008 Indy Japan 300 , the 2008 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach was held on April 20, 2008, as a Champ Car sanctioned event using CCWS-spec Panoz-Cosworth cars and the winners getting IRL points, with the event described as a final celebration of CART/CCWS. Spike TV aired all races in 2004, with select races aired on high definition channel HDNet . In 2005 and 2006, coverage

189-478: The Nashville Superspeedway and Dover International Speedway . On November 3, 2010, Dover Motorsports closed the facility. On September 8, 2011, the facility was re-opened by local St. Louis real estate developer and former Indy Lights driver Curtis Francois and renamed Gateway Motorsports Park, saving the facility days before being scrapped. Under its new leadership, World Wide Technology Raceway went from

216-554: The Trans-Am Series and the Atlantic Championship . Champ Car was able to maintain a full field and most of CART's street circuit sanctioning agreements for 2004. Champ Car eventually moved into a 'de facto' all road-course format. The series would experiment with dramatic rule changes, including special compound tires that were to be used for a fixed portion of the race, standing starts, and timed races. Both Champ Car and

243-399: The 2003 season. Champ Cars were single-seat, open-wheel racing cars , with mid-mounted engines. Champ cars had sculpted undersides to create ground effect and prominent wings to create downforce . The cars would use a different aerodynamic kit on the occasions they raced on an oval. With funds low, development was effectively frozen with a focus on developing a universal chassis, and

270-611: The IRL continued to suffer from reduced fields, sponsorship, and television ratings. Merger talks in 2006 were halted after disagreements regarding Champ Car's upcoming Panoz chassis and leaked details of a shared new series upset IMS. The 2007 season saw the withdrawal of Bridgestone and Ford as presenting sponsors and some race cancellations. By January 2008, both the IRL and Champ Car feared they did not have enough participating cars to maintain their TV and sanctioning contract minimums. After successful merger negotiations, in mid-February 2008, Champ Car authorized bankruptcy to facilitate

297-565: The NHRA Sears Craftsman Nationals at Gateway International Raceway in Madison, Illinois, near St. Louis, he was competing in the second round of eliminations against Scott Kalitta when his dragster went out of control and crashed just past the finish line. When the NHRA safety team got to Russell, he was unconscious, but breathing. Russell was extracted from his dragster by NHRA emergency services officials and transported by air to

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324-490: The NHRA required that all top fuel cars switch to the new tire for the race immediately following the Gateway event. The new tires are a harder compound, which improves puncture resistance and also causes the tires to expand less, improving safety. The NHRA also reduced the maximum nitromethane content of the fuel from 90% to 85% to reduce power, changed the maximum primary rear wing element angle to 2 degrees positive (measured when

351-483: The St. Louis Medical Center, where he was later pronounced dead. His dragster broke up after he crossed the finish line. One of the rear Goodyear tires blew out, damaging the back part of the race car. Shrapnel caused by the exploding tire entered the driver's cockpit from the rear, fatally injuring Russell. Flying debris from the explosion killed him, not the impact from the crash. He died of severe head injuries, even though he

378-718: The brink of demolition to one of the very few tracks in the United States to host the NASCAR Cup Series, NTT IndyCar Series, and NHRA Drag Racing Series all during the same year. The track also hosts Formula Drift, the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series and the Confluence Music Festival. St. Louis International Raceway was built in 1967 as a drag racing facility by Wayne and Ruth Meinert on property originally purchased by David Bergfield. Initially conceived as

405-431: The dragster is at rest) to reduce downforce, and required that top fuel cars install a 2 mm (0.090 inch) thick titanium shield behind the driver's head to block shrapnel from reaching the driver. They also required that rear tires have no less than the minimum manufacturer recommended tire pressure, which is 7 psi (48 kPa). To enforce this, Goodyear officials check, and if needed, adjust rear tire pressures at

432-489: The oval track includes a road course that features a 2.000 mi (3.219 km) configuration. (*) Keselowski and Sorenson tied for the fastest lap time in qualifying, both setting a new identical track record. By virtue of being higher in owner's points, Keselowski was given the tiebreaker and credited with the pole. As of May 2024, the fastest official race lap records at World Wide Technology Raceway (formerly St. Louis International Raceway) are listed as: The 2004 event

459-554: The rival Indy Racing League (IRL), declared bankruptcy after the 2003 season. Gerald Forsythe , Kevin Kalkhoven , and Paul Gentilozzi founded Open-Wheel Racing Series LLC (OWRS) to bid on CART's assets and continue the series as its own entity. The IRL intended to bid a higher amount but had only committed to purchasing the series' Cosworth engines and the sanctioning contract for the Long Beach Grand Prix , effectively to make

486-416: The road course build. Coming into Turn 4 was a slight left-hander onto the drag strip's shutdown portion, and after snaking around the back half of the dragway, Turn 12 turned left onto the drag strip back towards the starting line to complete the lap. The course would welcome ARCA , IMSA , and the Trans-Am Series in its inaugural year. Also in 1985, a 0.05 mi (0.080 km) quarter midget dirt track

513-485: The series generally ran on CART-spec 2002 Lola chassis from 2003 to 2006. The new chassis was developed by Panoz and debuted in 2007 as the Panoz DP01 . The chassis was well received by drivers and fans. The series leased 750hp 2.65 L V-8 turbocharged Cosworth XFE engines to teams, which had been purchased by CART for the 2003 season. CART, following the departure of a number of top teams and engine manufacturers to

540-644: The series untenable and allow a takeover on their terms. OWRS was successful, as its bid allowed the highest probability CART vendors would get paid. Once CART's assets were secured, the series began a major push to be able to field enough cars and drivers for the April Long Beach Grand Prix, with the final drivers announced just before practice began. The series featured three longtime CART teams, Forsythe Championship Racing , Newman/Haas Racing , and Dale Coyne Racing . OWRS also became owners of

567-456: The unique shape and different degrees of banking in each corner. The backstretch is confined to run parallel with Illinois Route 203 , making Turns 1 & 2 a tighter radius than Turns 3 & 4. Turns 1 & 2 have similar characteristics to New Hampshire Motor Speedway while Turns 3 & 4 are similar to Phoenix Raceway . The track's egg shape mimics the legendary Darlington Raceway and Mobility Resort Motegi race tracks. The infield of

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594-578: The winter months after the racing season concludes, World Wide Technology Raceway's oval track infield transforms into the WonderLight's drive-through Christmas light display. Champ Car Champ Car World Series ( CCWS ) was the series sanctioned by Open-Wheel Racing Series Inc., a sanctioning body for American open-wheel car racing that operated from 2004 to 2008. It was the successor to Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART), which sanctioned open-wheel racing from 1979 until dissolving after

621-490: Was established at the back right corner of the property when pulling into the facility. In 1994, Chris Pook , promoter of the Grand Prix of Long Beach , acquired the facility for $ 21.5 million. The existing tracks were demolished over the course of 1995–1996 and a new oval speedway and drag strip were constructed at a cost of $ 25 million. The 1.250 mi (2.012 km) oval is a favorite for many fans and racers alike due to

648-482: Was marked by tragedy as Top Fuel driver Darrell Russell was killed in a second round crash. Russell had qualified at the No. 1 position for the second time in his career just the day before. One of the drag strip grandstands is named "The Darrell Russell Stand" in his memory. The Confluence Music Festival is an annual multi-day event during the NASCAR Cup Series race weekend, featuring both acclaimed and local artists. During

675-528: Was moved to the fall. In 2001, it was dropped from the CART series schedule, and switched alliances to the Indy Racing League . After mediocre attendance, the event was dropped altogether after 2003. It was later re-added to the schedule for 2017. In 1998, the then named Gateway International Raceway was purchased by Dover Motorsports , a group that also owned what is now Memphis International Raceway, along with

702-453: Was split among NBC, CBS, and Speed Channel. In 2007, coverage was split among NBC , CBS , ABC , ESPN , ESPN2 , and ESPN Classic . Darrell Russell (dragster driver) Darrell James Russell (September 20, 1968 – June 27, 2004) was an American National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) drag racer . He was the 2001 NHRA Rookie Of The Year. At the time, he was the third driver to win in his Professional class debut. Before becoming

729-622: Was wearing an approved racing helmet. Russell was the first racer to be killed at an NHRA national event since Blaine Johnson , in 1996. Gateway named one of its grandstands "The Darrell Russell Stand" in his memory. He was interred in the Klein Cemetery in Pinehurst, Texas in Montgomery County. Over 2,000 people attended his funeral. After Russell's death, Goodyear quickly designed and released an improved version of their top fuel tire, and

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