– The IndyCar Series will race on a track this coming weekend that is unique in its form on the calendar. It is the 1.25-mile oval in the greater St. Louis area, which has been known for several years as World Wide Technology Raceway (WWTR).
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What’s special about this oval is that it’s not a regular oval. Turns 1 and 2 have a tighter radius than Turns 3 and 4. The back straight therefore does not run parallel to the start/finish straight, but rather moves further and further away from the start/finish straight as it progresses. But not only the curve radii are different, but also the banking, i.e., the superelevation of the curves. The tight Turns 1/2 are banked by 11 degrees, the wider Turns 3/4 by only 9 degrees.
The irregular oval is located in Madison, a suburb of St. Louis. Curiously: While St. Louis is located in the US state of Missouri, Madison is in the US state of Illinois. The Mississippi River marks the border. You have to cross the river to get from Downtown St. Louis eastward to the racetrack. Before the St. Louis-based technology company World Wide Technology invested in the track, the area was known as Gateway Motorsports Park.
IndyCar races have been held on the unique oval since the CART era. The first of four CART races took place in 1997. The Indy Racing League (IRL) then hosted for three years before there was a break of more than a decade. Today’s IndyCar Series has been racing annually in the greater St. Louis area since 2017.
In the 2026 IndyCar calendar, this weekend’s race is the third of a total of six oval races. For spectators in Europe, however, the start time is extremely inconvenient. Because the race doesn’t start until Sunday evening at 8:25 PM local time, with a seven-hour time difference, this means a start time of 3:25 AM Central European Time on Sunday night into Monday!
Compared to last weekend’s race on the street circuit in Detroit, the upcoming race once again presents a stark contrast. The demands are also not comparable to the Indy 500, which immediately preceded the Detroit race.
What counts in St. Louis is most comparable to what was required on the one-mile oval in Phoenix at the beginning of March. This weekend, by the way, the aero package from Phoenix will also be used. Compared to St. Louis 2025, there will now be slightly more downforce.
Speaking of Phoenix: Mick Schumacher showed the strongest weekend of his rookie season in the IndyCar Series there so far. In qualifying, he sensationally drove to fourth on the grid. In the race, he stayed within reach of the top 10 for a long time before a defective impact wrench during one of the pit stops ruined all chances of a top result. On the street circuit in Detroit last weekend, however, Schumacher faced completely different difficulties.
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Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, the team known as RLL, where Mick Schumacher is one of three regular drivers this year, has already won the oval race at World Wide Technology Raceway near St. Louis once. This victory came in 2019 through Takuma Sato, when the Japanese driver himself was still one of the full-time drivers in the team. In 2020, when there was exceptionally a double-header with two races, Sato took P2 once.
Apart from that, there hasn’t been much to show for the Rahal team on the unique oval over the years. Whether the performance of the entire team at this year’s Phoenix weekend was an indication that they can compete for the top 10 this time remains to be seen. As for Mick Schumacher, he completed one of the rare test days on the St. Louis oval in the spring. Therefore, this track is not entirely unknown to him, exceptionally.
IndyCar St. Louis 2026 Schedule (CEST)
Seven hours must be subtracted for local time.
Saturday, June 6
6:30 PM – 7:30 PM: 1st Free Practice
10:35 PM – 11:35 PM: Qualifying
Sunday, June 7
2:05 AM – 2:45 AM: Special Practice (High Line Practice)
3:00 AM – 4:00 AM: 2nd Free Practice
Monday, June 8
3:25 AM: Race Start
The “High Line Practice”, the special practice before the final practice, is a deliberately scheduled session in which IndyCar drivers run on the outer lane of the oval to provide it with tire rubber and thus grip for the race.
Livestream and TV Broadcast IndyCar 2026
The TV rights in Germany for the 2026 IndyCar season are split, but the series cannot be found on free-to-air TV: As usual, the pay-TV channel Sky in Germany shows all IndyCar races – again on Sky Sport F1, the channel that primarily reports on Formula 1. (IndyCar 2026 on TV and Livestream: All Details)
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Motorvision is another pay-TV channel that has been broadcasting IndyCar races live since 2025. The coverage is broadcast via Motorvision+ and is available not only in Germany, but also in Austria and Switzerland.
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In addition, IndyCar offers a paid service with livestreams of all sessions on the official website Indycarlive.com. These can also be watched “on demand” at any time.
Saturday, June 6
6:30 PM – 7:30 PM: 1st Free Practice (Sky)
10:30 PM – 11:30 PM: Qualifying (Sky)
Monday, June 8
2:00 AM – 3:00 AM: Qualifying Replay (Sky)
3:00 AM – 5:30 AM: Race live (Sky)
3:00 AM – 5:30 AM: Race live (Motorvision+)
10:00 PM – 12:00 AM: Race Replay (Sky)
Tuesday, June 9
6:00 AM – 8:00 AM: Race Replay (Sky)
IndyCar St. Louis 2026 Entry List
In the 2026 IndyCar Series, 25 drivers from ten different teams are entered. All 25 cars have a so-called charter, which entitles them to start in all races, but also obliges them to do so. Guest entries in the form of additional registrations are still permitted for all races until the end of the 2026 season, but from 2027 onwards only for the Indy 500.
All rookie cars in the IndyCar Series are marked with a yellow stripe on the rear, so that following drivers know they are dealing with an inexperienced driver. (Overview: Mick Schumacher and his 24 opponents in detail)
#2 – Josef Newgarden – Team Penske – Chevrolet
#3 – Scott McLaughlin – Team Penske – Chevrolet
#4 – Caio Collet – A.J. Foyt Enterprises – Chevrolet (Rookie)
#5 – Patricio “Pato” O’Ward – Arrow McLaren – Chevrolet
#6 – Nolan Siegel – Arrow McLaren – Chevrolet
#7 – Christian Lundgaard – Arrow McLaren – Chevrolet
#8 – Kyffin Simpson – Chip Ganassi Racing – Honda
#9 – Scott Dixon – Chip Ganassi Racing – Honda
#10 – Alex Palou – Chip Ganassi Racing – Honda
#12 – David Malukas – Team Penske – Chevrolet
#14 – Santino Ferrucci – A.J. Foyt Enterprises – Chevrolet
#15 – Graham Rahal – Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing – Honda
#18 – Romain Grosjean – Dale Coyne Racing – Honda
#19 – Dennis Hauger – Dale Coyne Racing – Honda (Rookie)
#20 – Alexander Rossi – Ed Carpenter Racing – Chevrolet
#21 – Christian Rasmussen – Ed Carpenter Racing – Chevrolet
#26 – Will Power – Andretti Global – Honda
#27 – Kyle Kirkwood – Andretti Global – Honda
#28 – Marcus Ericsson – Andretti Global – Honda
#45 – Louis Foster – Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing – Honda
#47 – Mick Schumacher – Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing – Honda (Rookie)
#60 – Felix Rosenqvist – Meyer Shank Racing – Honda
#66 – Marcus Armstrong – Meyer Shank Racing – Honda
#76 – Rinus “VeeKay” van Kalmthout – Juncos Hollinger Racing – Chevrolet
#77 – Sting Ray Robb – Juncos Hollinger Racing – Chevrolet
World Wide Technology Raceway Data
Type: Short Oval
Length: 1.25 Miles (2.011 Kilometers)
Banking: 11 Degrees (Turns 1/2), 9 Degrees (Turns 3/4)
Race Title: Bommarito Automotive Group 500
On Calendar since: 1997 (with interruption)
Lap Record: 23.721 Seconds – 189.709 mph (305.242 km/h)
Lap Record Holder: Will Power (2017)
Pole Record (two consecutive laps): 47.457 Seconds – 189.642 mph (305.134 km/h)
Pole Record Holder: Will Power (2017)
Most Poles: Will Power (5)
Most Wins: Josef Newgarden (5)
All IndyCar Winners in St. Louis
2025 (IndyCar): Kyle Kirkwood
2024 (IndyCar): Josef Newgarden
2023 (IndyCar): Scott Dixon
2022 (IndyCar): Josef Newgarden
2021 (IndyCar): Josef Newgarden
2020 (IndyCar): Scott Dixon / Josef Newgarden
2019 (IndyCar): Takuma Sato
2018 (IndyCar): Will Power
2017 (IndyCar): Josef Newgarden
2004 to 2016 not on calendar
2003 (IRL): Helio Castroneves
2002 (IRL): Gil de Ferran
2001 (IRL): Al Unser Jr.
2000 (CART): Juan Pablo Montoya
1999 (CART): Michael Andretti
1998 (CART): Alex Zanardi
1997 (CART): Paul Tracy
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