IndyCars - Iowa: Dustup in the corn...at night!

The Sports Roundtable and Bar
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It’s time for the IndyCar series to return to the little high-banked bullring just outside of Des Moines, Iowa, but unlike recent years past, this will be a night race and on Saturday night, as they do…

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The Iowa 300

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The venue is the Iowa Speedway, which was designed by NASCAR great Rusty Wallace. It is .875 miles in length, and the banking of the track is ten degrees on the frontstretch and four degrees on the backstretch. The turns are progressively banked starting from 12 degrees at the bottom and escalating to 14 in the top line. All that banking on the small track produces speed and lots of great racing.

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Former WINNERS who will be racing on Saturday include Tony Kanaan, (2010), Marco Andretti (2011), Josef Newgarden (2016) and James Hinchcliffe, (2013 and 2018). But the guy who owns Iowa is Ryan Hunter-Reay who has WON there in 2012, 2014 ad 2015.

Mr. Iowa Speedway, Ryan Hunter-Reay

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Fans who show up for the racing will have only two events to watch, as on Friday night the ARCA Menards series will race and on Saturday night it will be the IndyCars.

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The ARCA Menards series is a stock car series from the Automobile Racing Club of America, and is a feeder series for NASCAR in effect. NASCAR now owns the series, having purchased it in 2018. ARCA uses veteran steel-bodied Generation 4 cars from the NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series. The series is a way to go Stock Car racing on a budget. The series races on tracks of all size and type, including road courses No IndyCar drivers compete in the ARCA Menards series here, so we will wish the boys safe and happy racing and concentrate on the IndyCar race.

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ARCA cars at speed.
ARCA

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The IndyCars will hold their first practice on Friday morning and then qualify on Friday afternoon. They will then hold another practice on Friday evening, at about the same time as the start of the race on Saturday. Let’s GO!

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Friday morning at Newton - the IndyCars hold their first practice…

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…and right away we were in familiar territory, as the TOP TIME was put in by Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden, whose 2016 victory here saw him lead the most laps in any IndyCar race, ever.

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Here was the order of speed for the IndyCars P-1 session, with times for the TOP FIVE: [R] denotes rookie; time os for a single lap

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1 - Josef Newgarden, Team Penske - time of 00:17.8961s for a speed of 179.838mph
josefCar

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2 - Simon Pagenaud, Team Penske - time of 00:18.0269s for a speed of 178.533mph

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3 - Will Power, Team Penske - time of 00:18.0404s for a speed of 178.400mph

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4 - Alexander Rossi, Andretti Autosport - time of 00:18.1221s for a speed of 177.595mph

5 - Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing - time of 00:18.1374s for a speed of 177.445mph

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6 - Ryan Hunter-Reay, Andretti Autosport
7 - Tony Kanaan, A.J. Foyt Enterprises
8 - James Hinchcliffe, Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
9 - Felix Rosenqvist [R], Chip Ganassi Racing
10 - Zach Veach, Andretti Autosport

11 - Marcus Ericsson [R], Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
12 - Santino Ferrucci [R], Dale Coyne Racing
13 - Sebastien Bourdais, Dale Coyne Racing w/ Vasser Sullivan
14 - Takuma Sato, Rahal Letterman Lanigan
15 - Ed Carpenter, Ed Carpenter Racing
16 - Spencer Pigot, Ed Carpenter Racing
17 - Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan
18 - Sage Karam, Carlin
19 - Colton Herta [R], Harding Steinbrenner Racing
20 - Conor Daly, Carlin

21 - Marco Andretti, Andretti Autosport
22 - Matheus Leist, A.J. Foyt Enterprises

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Notable:

  • Team Penske and Chevrolet seem to have Iowa figured out. Look for one of the three drivers to take pole.

  • Ed Carpenter Racing also usually has Iowa figured out, so their showing in this practice is a bit of a surprise.

  • Most of the TOP TEN are either former WINNERS or former TOP FIVE drivers, with the exception of rookie Felix Rosenqvist, who has never been here before.

  • Former WINNER Marco Andretti is hopelessly lost, at the moment.

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left to right, Josef Newgarden, Felix Rosenqvist and Marco Andretti

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Single car qualifying will be later, this afternoon, in the heat of the day.

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Friday afternoon at Newton - The IndyCars qualify…

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IndyCar qualifying on ovals is dirt simple: Send each car out one at a time. Have them put in one warm-up lap followed by two hot laps. The speeds from those two laps are then averaged and the fastest guy is on the pole, and getting his 2nd NTT Pole Award in a row was Simon Pagenaud for Team Penske.

Here is the way the IndyCars will grid for the Iowa 300, with times for the TOP SIX: [R] denotes rookie; times are the total of two laps, while speed is the average of those two laps.

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Row 1

Pole - Simon Pagenaud, Team Penske - time of 00:35.7455s for a speed of 180.073mph
SimonPole

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P2 - Will Power, Team Penske - time of 00:35.8418s for a speed of 179.589mph

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Row 2

P3 - Josef Newgarden, Team Penske - time of 00:35.8699s for a speed of 179.449mph

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P4 - Takuma Sato, Rahal Letterman Lanigan - time of 00:36.2338s for a speed of 177.646mph

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Row 3

P5 - James Hinchcliffe, Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports - time of 00:36.2338s for a speed of 177.646mph

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P6 - Alexander Rossi, Andretti Autosport - time of 00:36.5609s for a speed of 176.057mph

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Row 4

P7 - Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan
P8 - Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing

Row 5

P9 - Ryan Hunter-Reay, Andretti Autosport
P10 - Marcus Ericsson [R], Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports

Row 6

P11 - Colton Herta [R], Harding Steinbrenner Racing
P12 - Santino Ferrucci [R], Dale Coyne Racing

Row 7

P13 - Tony Kanaan, A.J. Foyt Enterprises
P14 - Sage Karam, Carlin

Row 8

P15 - Felix Rosenqvist [R], Chip Ganassi Racing
P16 - Conor Daly, Carlin

Row 9

P17 - Ed Carpenter, Ed Carpenter Racing
P18 - Marco Andretti, Andretti Autosport

Row 10

P19 - Spencer Pigot, Ed Carpenter Racing
P20 - Zach Veach, Andretti Autosport

Row 11

P21 - Sebastien Bourdais, Dale Coyne Racing w/ Vasser Sullivan
P22 - Matheus Leist, A.J. Foyt Enterprises

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Notable:

  • This is Simon’s 3rd pole of the year and 13th of his career. It is Team Penske’s 5th pole in a row at Iowa.

  • Clearly learning lessons at the P-1 practice were the guys from Rahal Letterman Lanigan who improved a bunch and had both drivers move into the TOP TEN.

  • Also improving were Sage Karam and Conor Daly for Carlin, and this is important to both drivers, looking for a home in IndyCars.

  • Conversely, The two Ed Carpenter cars are struggling, while this team was a powerhouse here in recent years.

  • Marcus Ericsson was the fastest rookie and held pole for a short time, obviously benefitting from former WINNER and Schmidt Peterson teammate James Hinchcliffe.

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left to right, Marcus Ericsson, Sage Karam and Conor Daly

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The race is scheduled for broadcast on NBC-SN Saturday, starting at 7:00 pm EASTERN time.

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IndyCar has released qualifying highlights…

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Friday evening at Newton - The IndyCars hold a night practice…

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…and the results were interesting, to say the least. Temperatures were down from the heat of the day when qualifying was held, yet the speeds were not as fast as the morning practice session - possibly because so many teams were addressing their race set-up and not as concerned with achieving qualifying speeds.

Here was the order of speed for the P-2 evening practice session, with times for the TOP FIVE: [R denotes rookie

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1 - Simon Pagenaud, Team Penske - time of 00:18.4476s for a speed of 174.462mph
SimonEvening

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2 - Josef Newgarden, Team Penske - time of 00:18.5205s for a speed of 173.775mph

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3 - Ed Carpenter, Ed Carpenter Racing - time of 00:18.6427s for a speed of 172.636mph

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4 - Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing - time of 00:18.7596s for a speed of 171.560mph

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5 - Conor Daly, Carlin - time of 00:18.8966s for a speed of 170.316mph

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6 - Colton Herta [R], Harding Steinbrenner Racing
7 - Marcus Ericsson [R], Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
8 - Will Power, Team Penske
9 - Ryan Hunter-Reay, Andretti Autosport
10 - Alexander Rossi, Andretti Autosport

11 - Spencer Pigot, Ed Carpenter Racing
12 - James Hinchcliffe, Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
13 - Zach Veach, Andretti Autosport
14 - Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan
15 - Sebastien Bourdais, Dale Coyne Racing w/ Vasser Sullivan
16 - Matheus Leist, A.J. Foyt Enterprises
17 - Tony Kanaan, A.J. Foyt Enterprises
18 - Takuma Sato, Rahal Letterman Lanigan
19 - Felix Rosenqvist [R], Chip Ganassi Racing
20 - Marco Andretti, Andretti Autosport

21 - Sage Karam, Carlin
22 - Santino Ferrucci [R], Dale Coyne Racing

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Notable:

  • This is a bit more like it for Ed Carpenter Racing, which is typically a TOP FIVE team at Iowa. Not only did Ed improve but so did teammate Spencer Pigot. Spencer was P2 in this race in 2018.

  • A big leap in performance for Conor Daly in the # 59 Carlin Chevrolet that is usually driven by Max Chilton, but Max has declined to run on any more ovals for 2019.

  • Colton Herta leaps over Marcus Ericsson - barely - to be the fastest rookie in the field.

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Simon Pagenaud (left) and Colton Herta

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Spotter’s Guide: Changes in livery since Toronto…

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Not too many changes this week and a couple drivers we want to spot…

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Simon Pagenaud WON the race in Toronto in the black and white DXC Technology car. If he WINS on Saturday it will be in the screaming yellow Menard’s Car:

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Felix Rosenqvist was in the blue and black Cessna car but comes to Newton in a car sponsored by PNC Bank, just like teammate Scott Dixon, but it’s NOT a copy of Scott’s car. It’s the opposite. Where Scott’s car is orange Felix’ car is blue, and vice-versa:

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Graham Rahal drove a blue and white United Rentals car in Canada but has the black and white One Cure car for Iowa:

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Ed Carpenter will be in the same red and silver Autogeek car at Iowa that was driven by Ed Jones in Toronto:

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Conor Daly will be driving the two-tone blue Gallagher car at Iowa, usually driven by Max Chilton everywhere but on the ovals for 2019.

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Colton Herta’s Honda wears the same colors as at Toronto, with white and green, but his sponsor Gess is not sponsoring him at Iowa;

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Marco Andretti was driving a white and green car sponsored by UniFirst in Canada but returns to the familiar red and white US Concrete car for the lights of Iowa Speedway:

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The IndyCar race: Josef Newgarden does what Josef Newgarden does so well at Iowa…

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…and that is lead a LOT of laps - sometimes to the WIN - and that was the case last night, as Newgy took his # 2 Chevrolet for Team Penske to a dominating WIN after leading for 245 of the 300 laps of the race. P2 was Scott Dixon for Chip Ganassi and no one was more surprised and delighted than Dixon himself, who was a lap down, at one point in the race and poised to celebrate a TOP FIFTEEN finish, at best. P3 was James Hinchcliffe for Schmidt Peterson, who raced hard up front all race long, and well-earned the podium - his first this season.

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Josef lights up the donuts after the race
JosefDonuts

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The race was supposed to start at 7:15 Eastern time but a massive storm blew through Newton that delayed the start until past 11:00pm. Once it was underway Will Power for Team Penske very quickly took the lead from teammate and pole-sitter Simon Pagenaud, but by lap 49 Newgarden was past Power and into a lead he would never relinquish. There would be a second rain delay a few laps later that lasted about a half-hour but after that the race was full steam ahead, late into the night.

Lest anyone think that a race so dominated at the front was a bore, nothing could be further from the truth. There was GREAT racing all through the field for the entire race, and it didn’t matter whether one was watching the front TEN or the last TEN or anyone in between. There was hard racing all through.

A great short oval race that just happened to be WON by the guy who deserved to WIN.

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Notable:

  • Newgarden now has 4 WINS on the season and a good lead in the points, as 2nd-in-the-points Alexander Rossi for Andretti Autosport could only manage a P6 finish.

  • Rookie Santino Ferrucci for Dale Coyne was a passing demon, as he has been all season, and ran as high as a legitimate P4 from his P12 start, but ended the day back in P12, due to where he was when the last yellow came out - the one that allowed Scott Dixon to get his lap back, to pit and cruise past several competitors on his fresh tires to their old ones.

  • Spencer Pigot and boss Ed Carpenter were also BIG movers in the race and Spencer ended the day P5 from his P19 start - legitimate passes - but Ed was the cause of the last yellow, as he spun out on his own and hit the wall.

  • Zach Veach for Andretti Autosport was also a big mover, going from P20 to a great P7 finish - his best of the year. This race was about PASSING and we git a lot of it.

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Here is your happy podium - That’s Scott Dixon in P2 on the left, Josef Newgarden in P1 in the middle and james Hinchcliffe in P3 on the right:

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PodiumIowa

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With this result, here are the TOP FIVE in points leaving Iowa:

1 - Josef Newgarden 487
2 - Alexander Rossi 458
3 - Simon Pagenaud 429
4 - Scott Dixon 389
5 - Will Power 322

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The next step on the schedule is Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, next weekend, for the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-ohio, with full support from all three series of the Road to Indy.

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IndyCar has released race highlights…

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But really, there were too many to release. The race was a highlight reel of racing.

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NBC has released extended race highlights - a little bit more…

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