First Impressions: Iowa 2020 Race Two

1. Last night came down to strategy and timing, tonight was all about speed and like so many times in recent memory Josef Newgarden was the class of the field at Iowa. If any driver was going to become the first pole-sitter to win at Iowa, it was Newgarden. The Tennessean puts together masterpiece after masterpiece in the Hawkeye State.

Nobody came close to touching Newgarden tonight. Patricio O'Ward rode Newgarden's coattails, but never showed the strength to yank this race from Newgarden's grasp.

Iowa is to Newgarden what Mid-Ohio is to Scott Dixon. Every time IndyCar goes to this 7/8th-mile oval, we pencil Newgarden down for the victory and 200 laps led. It is reflexive.

There was never a doubt tonight. Something obscene was the only thing that would stop Newgarden tonight. It looked easy. This was not a night for strategy. After a few races where tire compounds and fuel stints factored heavily into the results, this race was about who had the legs for a 250-lap sprint. Newgarden had everyone covered tonight and he keeps himself in the title fight.

2. Will Power needed a strong night and it ended with a runner-up result. Power was a distant second tonight. I will be honest, Newgarden was so dominant you didn't even notice who was in second for most of it because it didn't matter.

Credit to Power because after last night, he drove smart and brought the car home. Power has two runner-up finishes this year, but the rest of his results are trash. The only thing in his favor is other than Scott Dixon and his teammates, no one is having a strong season. A lot of drivers are streaky. If your highs are higher than most you will end up looking better in the end.

3. Graham Rahal rounded out the podium and this was a big turnaround from the start of the weekend. Rahal struggled and it looked like it would be a long weekend for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. But with every session and every lap, Rahal improved. It got him 12th last night and it got him third tonight. Rahal did benefit from not stopping before the Ed Carpenter caution. That probably gave him a few more positions. Either way, tonight was going to be a top ten result.

4. It wasn't last to first but last to fourth is a great night for Simon Pagenaud. Pagenaud kind of employed the same strategy as the night before. He stopped before lap 50, he leapfrogged a lot of cars and put him solidly in the top ten and he went from there. You knew the strategy the team would play. A lot of teams copied it tonight and still could't beat the guy who started last. This is why Pagenaud is at Team Penske and the rest of the field isn't there.

5. Similar to Pagenaud, Scott Dixon went from the back of the field and ended up in the top five. This is what Dixon does. He starts 18th and finishes fifth and fifth might be an underachievement. His championship lead is still a solid 49 points. He can lose that, but he likely will not. After qualifying yesterday, a lot of drivers probably thought this was a important opportunity to shave the championship deficit. Dixon made sure that wasn't the case and the next race is Mid-Ohio. Good luck beating him there.

6. Oliver Askew had a great weekend. Tonight was a little tougher than race one. Askew was stuck in the pack a little more and not stopping before that final caution set him up for a top ten finish when he may have finished just outside. In the closing laps, Askew picked up a few more spots. This was good. He threw away a good at the Grand Prix of Indianapolis and Road America was dismal. These races rebuild Askew's confidence.

7. Two Iowa races and two seventh-place finishes for Jack Harvey. Bravo to him. When you consider how this team fought to survive Texas, to go to Iowa and spend about 90% of the weekend in the top ten is fantastic. Harvey has not been to Iowa in five years. He didn't put a wheel wrong this year and Meyer Shank Racing has to be pleased.

8. If Alexander Rossi was not stranded back in 21st on the starting grid, he may have competed for a podium finish tonight. Rossi looked good in practice, but he had to start at the back and battle traffic. For the first half of the race he was fighting just to stay on the lead lap. Rossi went longer on the penultimate stint and caught a caution. That sealed a top ten finish for him, but this isn't the Rossi we know. Rossi shouldn't be needing a caution to pull out a top ten finish. We haven't seen Rossi or any Andretti Autosport driver this season roll into a weekend and immediately show to be the one to beat. That has to change as there are only eight races remaining.

9. Another solid night for Marcus Ericsson. I cannot say more than that. Ericsson was around ninth all night. He didn't climb too high but never dropped too low as well. Last year, Ericsson had a few strong races that didn't end with a corresponding result. He is making up for that this year.

10. Marco Andretti stole a top ten from Tony Kanaan late. Like Askew and Rossi, Andretti held off from making his final stop before the final caution came out and it allowed Andretti to finish better than he was running. This was probably a result about six or seven spots better than he was. Andretti was due a good night. This was the first race where nothing went wrong for Andretti, but he still didn't show great pace. There is room for improvement.

11. It is a shame Tony Kanaan lost a top ten result because he was up there all night. Kanaan wasn't doing anything flashy, but it was a good night for him and A.J. Foyt Racing. It is weird to think we are nearing the end for Kanaan. This was likely his final trip to Iowa. He is easing into retirement. He has already missed three races, something he hasn't done in 19 years. It is not a complete shock to the system. It is going to be odd not having him fight for top ten results.

12. One bad pit stop cost Patricio O'Ward a chance at victory. O'Ward was close to Newgarden for most of the first 70% of this race. He never really put together a challenge for the top spot, but he stayed in Newgarden's shadow. I don't think O'Ward would have won, but he would have been on the podium.

13. Speaking of losing a podium finish, Conor Daly had to stop with 35 laps to go because the team was not going to make it on fuel. Daly was third at the time and he ended up 13th. That is a tough end to an encouraging weekend for Carlin. This result should not get this team down. The speed is there and Carlin can compete for race victories.

14. Quickly through the rest of the field: Álex Palou completed 249 more laps, really didn't do anything wrong but got caught out and ended up 14th. Felix Rosenqvist was not a factor tonight and ended up 15th. I notice Rosenqvist struggle at tracks with high tire wear, which is odd to say considering he just won at Road America, but he struggled last year at Iowa and that continued into 2020. Charlie Kimball was 16th and not mentioned once. Rinus VeeKay botched a pit stop when a rear tire was not secure. It cost VeeKay valuable time. Santino Ferrucci had a bipolar night. Ferrucci was quick at the start of stint but significant time over the long run and kept dropping back. A blocking penalty was a fork in his night.

15. We need to talk about Andretti Autosport because Colton Herta was 19th, Zach Veach was 20th and Ryan Hunter-Reay lost the car on cold tires exiting pit lane and threw away a top ten result. I know Andretti Autosport had three cars in the top ten at Texas, but the team has not had a weekend where it has multiple contenders for a victory. The team hasn't had one contender for a victory. Herta was good yesterday and couldn't get the balance tonight. Veach was garbage this weekend and he is in a contract year. I am not sure how he earns a fourth year with the team. Hunter-Reay made a mistake, and the joke is he cannot avoid the cartoon anvil, but this is too frequent.

Andretti Autosport needs a massive turnaround in the second half of 2020. Right now, I would not be surprised if Andretti Autosport fails to win a race in 2020. The team has not shown it has it this year.

16. I am going to round out with Takuma Sato, who does not get a top ten and could not replicate the strategy in race two. Ed Carpenter got in the wall early. It happens.

17. Let's talk tires. I think the tire wear has gone too far in one direction. People complain when a race has fuel conservation immediately from the start. Tonight, we had tire conservation from the drop of the green flag. I don't want the track repaved, but I think Firestone needs to bring a slightly harder tire. We needed something where the drivers could run fuel song at the start of the stint and the fall off would be great but not this significant.

Firestone has done a great job bringing a competitive tire to the track at multiple venues. I feel like Iowa is heading too far in the wear direction. It is a balance. You don't want a tire that doesn't wear at all and you don't want a tire that has two good laps on an oval and then everyone is nursing the car because they don't want to be forced to stop every 40 laps.

18. I liked the doubleheader format for Iowa. An inversion could be something to try. The qualifying format worked but you had Simon Pagenaud starting last in both races because of a mechanical issue out of his control. I understand not wanting to run a second qualifying session, but I am not sure one qualifying session should set the field for two races, and that is what we got this weekend.

The only other thing I would suggest is having two different distances. NASCAR did this at Pocono where the second race was ten laps longer. Races do not last long at Iowa. I understand why both these races weren't 300 laps, but I think tonight's race could have been a 275-lap event. It would change things up and add another wrinkle.

In all likelihood, Iowa will not be a doubleheader in 2021. I am sure a lot of people would love to see a return to normal. I think we would all take normal right now. However, after seeing Road America and this weekend, I think there is room in IndyCar for one or two more doubleheader weekends. I wouldn't want doubleheaders at Road America and Iowa to mean IndyCar will leave Barber and Portland, but if IndyCar can retain the 16 race weekends it was supposed to have in 2020 and decide two can take on another race I think the series would be making a good decision.

19. After five races in 15 days, we get three weeks off. This is a crucial time for the team with the halfway point right in front of us. This is the final chance to work out any kinks teams have experienced over the first six races. There are a lot out there and some teams have more work to do than others before Mid-Ohio.