Gateway Motorsports Park
World Wide Technology Raceway (formerly Gateway International Raceway and Gateway Motorsports Park) is a motorsport racing facility in Madison, Illinois, just east of St. Louis, Missouri, United States, close to the Gateway Arch. It features a 1.25-mile (2 kilometer) oval that hosts the NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, and the NTT IndyCar Series, a infield road course used by the SCCA, Porsche Club of America, and various car clubs, and a quarter-mile drag strip that hosts the annual NHRA Midwest Nationals event. 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 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 the Nashville Superspeedway and Dover International Speedway. On November 3, 2010, Dover Motorsports would close the facility, citing the Financial crisis of 2007–2008 as a major contributor. On September 8, 2011, the facility would be 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 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 Camping World Drag Racing Series all during the same year. Track History. St. Louis International Raceway Park was built in 1967 as a drag racing facility by Wayne and Ruth Meinert. Initially conceived as a 1/8-mile drag strip, the track was extended to a full 1/4-mile in 1971. Having been developed on dormant swampland that was long ago buried by the Mississippi River, the track was given the nickname of  The Swamp. Throughout the 1970's, the raceway primarily held regional drag racing events. However, entering the early 1980's, the interest of adding a road racing circuit to the grounds began to mount, and in 1985 a road course was constructed by then-owner Jody Trover, featuring and configurations. The asphalt circuit had a track width, 55 pit boxes within the pit lane, and could officially hold 52,000 spectators. Parts of the existing drag strip were incorporated into 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 1/20-mile quarter midget dirt track was established at the back right corner of the property when pulling into the facility. In 1994, Chris Pook, promoter of the prestigious 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. Current Tracks. The oval is a favorite for many fans and racers alike due to 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 Twin Ring Motegi race tracks. The infield of  the oval track includes a road course that features both a and configuration. Oval Track Length. The track length is disputed by the major series that run at WWT Raceway. The NASCAR timing and scoring use a length of . This length was used by IRL in their races between 2001 and 2003, too. The CART measured for the inaugural race in 1997 a length of . This length was also used in the following races between 1998 and 2000. Race History. NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series results. The 2004 event 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. Track Records. (*) 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. Other Events. Metallica's Summer Sanitarium Tour made a stop at Gateway on July 3, 2000. Other artists featured at  the concert were Korn, Kid Rock, Powerman 5000 & System of a Down. The Illinois State Police uses Gateway to train new Troopers in high speed vehicle operations (Emergency Vehicle Operations Course).