Short Iowa oval provides unique test for IndyCar drivers
INDIANAPOLIS – To reign supreme in the Verizon IndyCar Series, a driver must master circuits of all different shapes and sizes. Perhaps no two race weekends better exemplify the versatility needed to conquer the series than the disparity between the most recent race, at Road America, and this weekend’s Iowa Corn 300 at Iowa Speedway.
In Wisconsin, drivers traversed more than four miles of scenic track with 14 unique turns and lap times that covered almost two minutes — the longest laps of the season. On Sunday, drivers will turn 300 of the quickest laps of the year, as they charge around Iowa’s 0.875mile, high-banked oval in 17- to 18-second intervals.
Here are four of the biggest story lines heading into Sunday’s Iowa Corn 300 (2 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network):
Repeat rampage? Following his coast-to-coast win at Road America, I wondered whether Josef Newgarden was about to go on a run like last year, when he charged up the field from seventh place to seize his first IndyCar championship on the strength of six podium finishes, including three wins, in the final nine races.
After his dominant victory in Wisconsin, the Team Penske superstar said he doesn’t think he’ll need a similar surge like last year’s to defend his crown, but I’m not so sure he’s right about that.
Despite a series-leading three victories, Newgarden remains in fifth place and 50 points back of Chip Ganassi Racing legend and four-time series champion Scott Dixon. At this same time last year, the situation was nearly identical: Newgarden was in fifth place and 61 points back of Dixon, and it took that phenomenal second-half surge for him just to carry a minuscule three-point lead over Dixon into the series finale at Sonoma.
Considering Dixon’s own long history of second-half success — not to mention the other star contenders (Ryan Hunter-Reay, Will Power and Alexander Rossi) still in the championship hunt — Newgarden might indeed need to finish the season with another flourish. A tall task to be sure, but as he proved last year, he’s up to the challenge.
Marco’s time? Last month, Marco Andretti halted a five-year drought with his first pole position since 2013. Earning the top spot for Dual 1 of the Detroit Grand Prix felt great, the 29-year-old Andretti Autosport driver admitted, but putting an end to that other streak, well, that would be the “million-pound gorilla off my back.”
Andretti hasn’t won an IndyCar race in seven years, and he carries the weight of that with him everywhere he goes. However, Iowa Speedway has been a place where Andretti has tasted the most success over his career. Not only has he visited victory lane at Iowa — that aforementioned last victory in 2011 — but he’s finished on the podium there three other times.
Following a strong test at the short track last week, Andretti told The Indianapolis Star he’s feeling more confident about a race weekend than he has in quite some time.
“We have the pace to (win races) now,” said Andretti, whose five-top 10 finishes in 10 races this season equal his total from all of last year.
“Last year we’d need to luck into it at some places. This year, we have the pace to do it almost anywhere I feel. Iowa hasn’t been very nice to me the last few years, during the aero kit era, but I’m looking to regain my strength there.”
Tough to predict: While that can be said of just about every race in this the first year of the new universal aero kit, Iowa could be especially tricky since it is unlike any other track in the series.
Rather than enjoying any semblance of a straightaway like other ovals the series visits, the short track keeps drivers feeling like they’re constantly turning. Add in a few bumps and aero kits with less downforce, and this year’s Iowa Corn 300 will truly be a unique animal.
“Iowa Speedway is such a tough track for racing Indy cars,” Dixon said. “You have very high G-force loading and there is always a lot of action on this little bullring-style track. You really have to be on your game with traffic and the quick lap times.”
Hunter-Reay remains brilliant: Over the past six years, no one has owned a track like Hunter-Reay has owned Iowa.
He has won three of six races (2012,
2014-15) and podiumed in another two
(2013, 2017), so betting against him there is a mistake.
Hunter-Reay has charged up the championship standings into a tie with Rossi for second, 45 points back of Dixon. He’s been on a tear ever since the Indianapolis 500, rattling off five consecutive top-five finishes, including two runner-ups (Detroit Dual 1 and Road America) and a victory (Detroit Dual 2). Factor in Andretti’s strong test at Iowa last week, and a bet on Hunter-Reay almost feels like a sure thing.
Of course, there are no sure things in IndyCar, and the usual suspects remain in the hunt for a victory. That includes all the top championship contenders: Dixon, Newgarden, Power and Rossi, as well as some of those on the outside of the championship picture looking in.