After the Fourth of July off, the Verizon IndyCar Series gets back to racing this weekend for the start of the second half of the season. The drivers and their teams will head to Iowa Speedway for the Iowa Corn 300. Simon Pagenaud, the IndyCar Series points leader, will be hoping to improve after a difficult race last time out. Helio Castoneves cut the Frenchman’s lead to 74 points because of his stellar finish at Road America.
The Iowa Corn 300 is the next oval event on the circuit after Texas. The Firestone 600 at Texas Motor Speedway was cut short by suspension because of rain 71 laps in. When the officials called off the contest, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports James Hinchcliffe was leading the race. Hinchcliffe will try to carry over his experience from his performance in Texas to Iowa this weekend.
Many IndyCar enthusiasts often wonder exactly what Michael Andretti is thinking. One thing is for sure though, he’s completely dialed in at Iowa Speedway. The Andretti Autosport’s team loves to see the Verizon IndyCar Series heading to Iowa for the Iowa Corn 300.
Iowa speedway has been friendly to Michael Andretti and Andretti Autosport’s drivers. The .894 mile banked oval has fielded nine IndyCar Series races since opening in 2006. Andretti’s team has won six of those contests, including the last five races in a row.
Current IndyCar drivers Ryan Hunter-Reay, Tony Kanaan and Marco Andretti have driven to victory lane. Dario Franchitti also won in 2007 and James Hinchcliffe took the checkered flag in 2013.
Only the late Dan Wheldon and the retired Dario Franchitti have figured a way to stop the Andretti dominance. They both drove to victory lane for Chip Gnassi in 2008 and again in 2009. Franchitti also won the first race held in Iowa for Andretti Autosport. Before the first IndyCar event held here in 2007, there were only rows of cornfields outside tiny Newton, Iowa. Now there are parking lots, beer tents and camping spots available for everyone.
Saturday’s Iowa Corn 300 is the last venue in a three race stretch of oval track racing. Target Chip Ganassi driver Scott Dixon is between Will Power and Josef Newgarden in the points chase. Furthermore, the short oval track, where he has qualified well, hasn’t always been good to him. The tight Iowa track also brings out a lot of cautions and could bring a change in the points between the top five drivers.
“Iowa is such a little bullring, it’s so fast. The G-loadings that you’re getting and how quick they get the cars to perform (under 18-second laps) around the track is spectacular. I’ve also been on the pole twice there and I’ve never been on the podium,” the three-time series champion said.”
After his accident at Texas Motor Speedway, which resulted in a broken collarbone and fractured wrist, Josef Newgarden heads to the Iowa Speedway. The youngster had an amazing bounce back performance at Road America. The injured driver started the race from 20th place and moved his way through the field to finish the contest in 8th.
The top ten finish helped keep Newgarden’s championship hopes alive. Newgarden also admitted that Iowa could prove to be a challenge this weekend because of his wrist. He is currently in fifth place in the standings, just two back of Scott Dixon. Newgarden has been consistent all season and has shown plenty of determination after as his season looked to be finished at Texas. The feisty driver has finished runner-up in the last two races here.
Josef Newgarden’s owner Ed Carpenter, has been far from mediocre. Consequently, he desperately needs a strong performance in the Iowa Corn 300. Carpenter has been on an ugly streak, tallying six did not finishes in the last eight races. His best finish at Iowa was fourth in 2013 so he needs to keep his car out of trouble to reel in some much needed points. In fact, if things don’t turn around in a hurry, this may be the last time we see Carpenter behind the wheel of the #20 car at Iowa Speedway.
Results for the 2104 Iowa Corn 300 at Iowa Speedway:
1 Ryan Hunter-Reay DHL (Andretti Autosport) D/H/F 300 90,417 running 37 51
2 Josef Newgarden Wichita State University (CFH Racing) D/C/F 300 80,417 running 111 43
3 Sage Karam Comfort Revolution / Big Machine Records (Chip Ganassi) D/C/F 300 75,417 runnin
4 Graham Rahal Mi-Jack (Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing) D/H/F 300 71,417 running 7 33
5 Carlos Munoz AndrettiTV.com (Andretti Autosport) D/H/F 300 70,417 running 0 30
6 Ed Carpenter Fuzzy’s Vodka (CFH Racing) D/C/F 300 69,417 running 0 28
7 Marco Andretti Snapple (Andretti Autosport) D/H/F 300 68,417 running 0 26
8 Ryan Briscoe Arrow / Lucas Oil (Schmidt Peterson Motorsports) D/H/F 300 66,147 running 0 24
9 Sebastien Bourdais Mistic E-Cigs (KVSH Racing) D/C/F 300 65,417 running 6 23
10 Will Power Verizon (Roger Penske) D/C/F 300 74,417 running 2 21
11 Helio Castroneves Hitachi (Roger Penske) D/C/F 300 73,417 running 50 21
12 Tristan Vautier Boy Scouts of America (Dale Coyne) D/H/F 299 62,417 running 0 18
13 Jack Hawksworth ABC Supply Co. (A.J. Foyt) D/H/F 299 20,000 running 7 18
14 Simon Pagenaud Penske Truck Rental (Roger Penske) D/C/F 299 15,000 running 0 16
15 James Jakes MediaTech (Schmidt Peterson Motorsports) D/H/F 299 60,417 running 3 16
16 Gabby Chaves Bowers & Wilkins / Curb (BHA with Curb-Agajanian) D/H/F 299 60,417 running 0 14
17 Justin Wilson Andretti Autosport D/H/F 297 10,000 running 0 13
18 Scott Dixon Target (Chip Ganassi) D/C/F 263 60,417 running 0 12
19 Takuma Sato ABC Supply Co. (A.J. Foyt) D/H/F 260 60,417 crash 0 11
20 Stefano Coletti knm (KV Racing Technology) D/C/F 191 60,417 crash 0 10
21 Tony Kanaan Fusion (Chip Ganassi) D/C/F 189 60,417 drivetrain 70 10
22 Charlie Kimball NovoLog FlexPen (Chip Ganassi) D/C/F 170 60,417 crash 7 9
23 Pippa Mann Dale Coyne D/H/F 136 60,417 handling 0 7
24 Juan Pablo Montoya Verizon (Roger Penske) D/C/F 9 60,417 crash
