Josef Newgarden proved once more he’s the master of the Iowa Speedway, but his rivals certainly gave him a run for his money.
The day started out with Will Power on the pole, Penske teammate Scott McLaughlin in 2nd, and David Malukas in 3rd. Ed Carpenter, who celebrated his 200th IndyCar start, rolled to green from P4 Newgarden started in 7th, and IndyCar points leader Alex Palou was in 12th when singer Ed Sheeran dropped the green flag. The first four laps saw some of the most exciting racing of the day. Marcus Ericsson moved up seven positions and Pato O’Ward moved up five. The action heated up on lap 30 with Newgarden passing both teammates on the inside to take the lead while Power and McLaughlin raced each other.
A Truly Dominant Performance
When it comes to IndyCar racing at Iowa, Josef Newgarden could channel his inner Roman Reigns, and demand that we all acknowledge him. While certainly not one to make enemies, no one has been as dominate on the 7/8 mile oval as he has. Just like yesterday, the key to the race was tire life. Newgarden must have some magical touch to keep his machine in such a better condition than his nearest rivals. Combined with the stellar pit crew, it makes them a deadly combination
More Cautions Today Than Yesterday
The first caution of the day came out when Agustín Canapino hit the wall on lap 88. The Argentinian rookie got on the marbles and couldn’t save it in time. This Caution gave everyone the opportunity to pit and helped the top 20 get back on the lead lap. Newgarden led the field to the restart and resumed where he left off, building a gap and carving his way through lapped traffic. They certainly didn’t make his life easy, while desperately trying to hang on to the lead lap. Just like yesterday, the leader had the majority of the field lapped as the race wore on.
The most bizarre incident of the day happened on lap 157. Stingray Robb left pit lane without having the right rear tire attached. The tire bounced out onto the track, and barely missed hitting several cars. This caused the second caution of the race, and disqualified Robb from the race.
@sting_ray_robb and the No. 51 have been disqualified for the remainder of the race.#INDYCAR // @INDYCARatIowa pic.twitter.com/m8uPrWO72M
— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) July 23, 2023
Following this caution period an interesting strategic battle developed. Several drivers, including McLaughlin, Palou, and O’Ward made the decision to come in for fresh tires. IndyCar race direction did not opt to re-order the field and thus the field was launched to green with multiple lapped cars in the way. Just like on the race start brave moves were made around the outside in turn 1.
At the front, Newgarden held firm control over the race and appeared to be cruising to an easy win, but things got dicey after the final round of pit stops. Felix Rosenqvist made a very successful undercut and was right on the gearbox of the leading Penske driver. The pair fought for a number of laps until the lapped RLL of Graham Rahal got in the way. This gave Newgarden enough breathing space to start building up his gap once more.
Sprint to the finish
On lap 239, Ryan Hunter-Reay hit the wall coming off of turn four, bringing out the final caution. The field bunched back up with three laps left, setting the stage for an exciting finish. Newgarden pulled away quickly, and never looked back. The rest of the top five fought for the remaining positions, Rosenqvist was left hung out to dry by Power and dropped back several positions. Promoting Palou to third.
Flat out to the checkered flag. 🏁@josefnewgarden holds on to win the Hy-vee One Step 250 at Iowa Speedway. #INDYCAR // @INDYCARatIowa pic.twitter.com/7O43KgkL8Y
— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) July 23, 2023
Newgarden took the checkered flag to sweep both races at Iowa. Not only that, but Newgarden became the 3rd driver to win 5 consecutive IndyCar oval races alongside legends AJ Foyt and Al Unser. Here are the full results from Iowa.
Benjamin Pedersen was disqualified from the race for failure to participate at
competitive speed.
After the Iowa doubleheader Palou has 477 points. Newgarden is second with 397 points, and Dixon is third with 357 points. Five races are left in the season. Can Newgarden catch up to Palou, or will the Spaniard run away with the championship?
IndyCar now takes a two-week break. We see the cars back on track will be August 4th through August 6th in the streets of Nashville for the Music City Grand Prix.
