Emerson Indy 250

Emerson Indy 250
IndyCar Series
Venue Gateway International Speedway
First race 1997
First ICS race 2001
Last race 2003
Distance 250 miles (400 km)
Laps 200
Previous names Motorola 300 (1997-2000)
Gateway Indy 250 (2001-2002)
Emerson Indy 250 (2003)
Most wins (driver) no repeat winners
Most wins (team) Penske Racing (3)

The Emerson Indy 250 is a former American Open Wheel Racing event held at Gateway International Speedway from 1997 to 2003. It was a part of the CART series from 1997 to 2000, and part of the IRL from 2001-2003.

The first running was a CART series race held on Saturday May 24, 1997, the day before the rival 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. In a couple instances, a handful of drivers actually competed in both events in the same weekend. After a couple years, track management grew increasingly dissatisfied with its apparent use, as seen by some, as a political pawn or statement by CART. This event had poor attendance as fans generally chose to travel to the Indy 500 for the weekend instead. 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. The event suffered from continually declining attendance. The event was dropped altogether after 2003. Rumors have surfaced about a possible return to the now-unified IndyCar schedule, but no official announcements have been made.

Race winners

Season Date Driver Team Chassis Engine Race Distance Race Time Average Speed
(mph)
Laps Miles (km)
CART World Series History
1997 May 24 Canada Paul Tracy Penske Racing Penske Mercedes-Benz-Ilmor 236 295 (474.756) 2:37:54 113.884
1998 May 23 Italy Alex Zanardi Chip Ganassi Racing Reynard Honda 236 295 (474.756) 2:23:02 125.725
1999 May 29 United States Michael Andretti Newman/Haas Racing Swift Ford-Cosworth 236 295 (474.756) 2:25:35 123.513
2000 September 17 Colombia Juan Pablo Montoya Chip Ganassi Racing Lola Toyota 236 295 (474.756) 1:55:38 155.519
IRL IndyCar Series History
2001 August 26 United States Al Unser Jr. Kelley Racing G-Force Oldsmobile 200 250 (402.336) 1:49:59 133.379
2002 August 25 Brazil Gil de Ferran Penske Racing Dallara Chevrolet 200 250 (402.336) 1:44:23 143.711
2003 August 10 Brazil Helio Castroneves Penske Racing Dallara Toyota 200 250 (402.336) 1:50:53 135.286

Atlantics & Lights Winners

IPS/Indy Lights Atlantic Championship
Season Date Winning Driver
1997 May 24 Canada Lee Bentham
1998 May 23 Japan Shigeaki Hattori
1999: Not held
2000 September 17 United States Townsend Bell
2001 August 26 United Kingdom Dan Wheldon
2002 August 25 United States Ryan Hampton
2003 August 9 United States Jeff Simmons
Season Date Winning Driver
1998 May 23 United States Memo Gidley
1999 May 28 United States Anthony Lazzaro
2000 September 17 United States Case Montgomery

External links