Gateway Motorsports Park-World Wide Technology Raceway Road Course 1 CCW
The Gateway Motorsports Park, currently known as the World Wide Technology Raceway, is a Motorsports complex located at Madison, Illinois, on the east side of the Mississippi River, only 13 minutes away from downtown St Louis, Missouri, and 6 minutes away from the Gateway Arch. The motor park started back in 1967 with a drag strip built by Wayne and Ruth Meinert. The construction of the new 1.25-mile (2.01-km) NASCAR oval track finished by 1996. There is also a 1.6-mile (2.57-km) road course inside the oval track, which has hosted AMA Superbike Championship and IndyCar events. The Saint Louis area tends to be temperate and humid, so check the weather forecast before racing on this track.
The counterclockwise inner road course at Gateway Motorsports Park looks like a spiral when seen from above. The Start/Finish Line sits immediately before turns number 1 and 2 on the high-banking southern corner of the oval track. There are 17 more turns inside the NASCAR oval, snaking left and right with several tight angle corners and a majority of fast-paced sweepers. The average speed in the road course of the Gateway Motorsports Park is 77 mph (123 km/h), with an average lap time of 1:14.3.
The Road Course 1 counterclockwise configuration at World Wide Technology Raceway (formerly Gateway Motorsports Park) creates a spiral-pattern 1.6-mile (2.57-kilometer) technical challenge featuring 17 turns snaking through the infield of the Madison, Illinois oval facility located across the Mississippi River from St. Louis, Missouri. Running counterclockwise from the start/finish line immediately before Turns 1 and 2 on the high-banked southern corner of the NASCAR oval, the layout combines tight-angle corners with fast-paced sweepers that create an average speed of 77 mph (123 km/h) and typical lap times around 1:14.3. This original infield road course configuration predates the 2019 addition of the 2.000-mile variant that utilizes oval banking, representing Gateway's traditional road racing layout that has hosted AMA Superbike Championship and IndyCar events.
Operating the Road Course 1 in counterclockwise direction emphasizes the technical complexity of the infield snake section, where drivers navigate rapid left-right combinations without the benefit of sustained straights for mental recovery or setup adjustments. The 17-turn layout demands absolute concentration across constant directional changes that expose any chassis imbalance or driver inconsistency, making it a favorite for club racing and track day participants seeking pure driving challenges over high-speed thrills. Midwest continental climate creates dramatic seasonal variations—summer track temperatures can exceed 55°C on exposed sections while spring and fall events operate in conditions with significant morning-to-afternoon grip evolution. The facility's St. Louis metropolitan location positions it as a regional hub serving Missouri, Illinois, and surrounding states' motorsport communities, with the CCW Road Course 1 configuration providing an accessible technical challenge that rewards skill development. The spiral layout when viewed from above creates a unique visual character distinct from traditional road courses, with the counterclockwise flow establishing the definitive direction for this infield configuration that predates Gateway's expanded road course variants.
