Meet INDYCAR, NHRA, ARCA/CRA champions at St. Louis Auto Show

January 25, 2018, St. Louis Region – Josef Newgarden, the reigning Verizon IndyCar Series champion and winner of the inaugural Bommarito Automotive Group 500, will greet fans and sign autographs in the Gateway Motorsports Park booth on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Josef also will give away a brand-new vehicle on Friday -- live on FOX2 KTVI-TV -- at the Spirit of St. Louis charity drawing courtesy of the Bommarito Automotive Group. Proceeds will benefit Backstoppers, Variety and the St. Louis Area Foodbank.   NHRA Funny Car champion Robert Hight will sign autographs at the AAA Insurance booth, adjacent to GMP's display, on Saturday from noon to 2 p.m. Robert's AAA Insurance Funny Car will be on display, as well as Joey Logano's Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series car.   ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards driver Travis Braden will greet fans and sign autographs in the GMP booth from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday. Braden's race car, the No. 27 RFMS Racing Ford Fusion, will be on display all weekend at the auto show. The 22-year-old graduate of West Virginia University is a two-time ARCA/CRA Super Series champion and won his first ARCA race in his very first start in 2015. Braden will race full-time in 2018 for RFMS Racing and will compete in the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards PapaNicholas 150 at GMP on Friday, June 22, one day before the annual NASCAR Camping World Truck Series 200 event.   Austin Blair of Fairview Heights, Illinois, will sign autographs with Braden on Saturday in the GMP booth from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Blair races USAC Midgets and recently competed in the prestigious Chili Bowl in Tulsa. He also made his ARCA Midwest Tour debut last June. Blair raced Quarter Midgets and Bandoleros extensively from 2006-2010 before graduating to Midgets on California dirt tracks for Corey Kruseman at age 11. At age 12, he began driving the K&N asphalt Midget in the USAC Ignite Series at tracks in Nevada and California.   GMP's 5,000-square-foot display, located inside the stadium area, will include a Verizon IndyCar Series show car, A.J. Foyt's 1971 Coyote Ford Indianapolis 500 race car courtesy of Vintage Indy Registry and a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series racer.   The Gateway Kartplex will bring its full-on racing karts to the Dome and show attendees will have the opportunity to race on the challenging, high-speed indoor road course.   Kartplex hours of operation and pricing at the St. Louis Auto Show: Thursday -- 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Friday -- 9 a.m.-10 p.m. Saturday -- 9am-10 p.m. Sunday -- 9 a.m.-5 p.m.   The Saint Louis Auto Show fueled by Phillips 66 opens today and runs through Sunday and features more than 500 new cars, trucks, SUVs and luxury vehicles from more than 25 manufacturers all under one roof.   For more information on Gateway Motorsports Park, please call (618) 215-8888 or visit www.gatewaymsp.com. Follow GMP on Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat and Instagram.   About Gateway Motorsports Park Gateway Motorsports Park is the home of INDYCAR, NASCAR and NHRA racing in the St. Louis region. Located just five minutes from downtown St. Louis and covering more than 340 acres, Gateway Motorsports Park is the largest outdoor entertainment facility in the area. Gateway Motorsports Park's facilities include a 1/4-mile drag strip, 1.25-mile superspeedway, 1.6-mile road course, a state-of-the-art karting facility and a 14-acre, multi-purpose dirt off-road venue. Gateway Motorsports Park was the recipient of the 2017 Outstanding Facility of the Year Award from the Race Track Business Conference and the 2017 Spirit of St. Louis Award from St. Louis Attractions Association. ###