Running third and about seven seconds behind teammate Will Power, it looked like another Team Penske driver was going to rule the day, but in the middle third of the race, Newgarden came alive while Power and Scott McLaughlin struggled in traffic. Just prior to halfway, Newgarden was in the lead and that was that.
Newgarden looked smooth. It was tight out there and Newgarden could work the bottom better than most. He was great on the outside and that is how he picked up time. The Tennessean was precise with every pass, whether it be for position or to put a car a lap down.
It didn't look like anyone was going to beat him in that final stint. It would come down to if Newgarden made a mistake, or something breaking again! Traffic was tricky today. Cars were on different strategies and it was not uncommon for lapped cars to be on 30-lap newer tires. In that case at Iowa, the leaders were in the way, running over a second slower. No other race has this dynamic. Newgarden had to remain calm as other cars were flying from behind but knowing it wasn't a pass for position.
Newgarden battled Kyle Kirkwood more than he likely wished in those closing laps, but Kirkwood was in sixth and in a tough fight with Scott Dixon and Álex Palou for position. Everybody had to mind their p's and q's out there.
For Newgarden, it is a fourth consecutive oval victory dating back to Gateway last year. The last driver to win four consecutive oval races was Nigel Mansell in 1993. Is that good company to be in?
At the present moment, this victory helps Newgarden's championship hopes, but there is still much work to do. The gap to Álex Palou is now 98 points. This was step one.
2. Newgarden led 129 laps. Power led 119 laps. Scott McLaughlin led zero laps, but I bet McLaughlin spent about 245 laps in second position, perhaps a few laps less than that because Newgarden did spend about ten laps running behind Power, but McLaughlin was clearly the second best car. He just didn't have anything for Newgarden. Team Penske was clearly untouchable today. McLaughlin has nothing to be ashamed of.
3. I am not sure Patricio O'Ward has had a quieter third-place finish in his career. O'Ward wasn't close to the Penske drivers at any point. If it wasn't for Will Power brushing the wall, I doubt O'Ward would have finished this well. It was still going to be a good day, but this is a case where there were 28 drivers in the field and 24 didn't have a memorable moment.
4. Marcus Ericsson was fourth, the best Chip Ganassi Racing finisher. Ericsson drove a smart race. A few cars in the opening stint went backward immediately. Ericsson didn't and that opening 40-50 laps likely set him up to finish fourth.
5. This is one that got away from Power. I am not sure he had anything for Newgarden once Newgarden took the lead, but Power had a slight error, brushed the wall and that knocked Power off the podium. Power was fortunate that hit didn't end his race. I thought he was looking at bent suspension and at best the team could repair it and send him back out 20 laps down. That wasn't the case. Fifth is a silver-lining. This could have been a victory, but this could have been a deflating disappointment.
6. Scott Dixon was one of those drivers that dropped at the start and that ended his chances of competing for a podium let alone a victory. It looked like Dixon was going to finish 12th in this race after the opening stint, but the team made adjustments and Dixon corrected course. He gained ground, but sixth was his best hope today.
7. Kyle Kirkwood had a good balance on his car. The one caution in the race helped Kirkwood circle back to the lead lap, but at that point he was already fighting for a top ten finish. That car was dialed in late, and Kirkwood was giving Newgarden fits. It is tough because Newgarden was trying to lap Kirkwood but Kirkwood had Palou just behind Newgarden and Dixon was just ahead of Kirkwood. This is one of those cases where the tail end of the lead lap is just as competitive as the leader. Kirkwood wasn't 27th, he was seventh. It gets tougher to lap car that far up the field. This isn't close to a Benjamin Pedersen situation.
8. We still have one more race from Iowa, but I don't think anyone expected Álex Palou to leave this weekend with his championship lead being greater than when he entered the Hawkeye State. Palou was eighth. Most of the time when second in the championship wins and the championship leader finishes eighth, we are all raising an eyebrow wondering if momentum is shifting. Palou is still up 98 points after today. It was 28 points lost. If he lost 28 more tomorrow, he would still be 70 points clear. Palou likely doesn't want to lose 56 points over two days, but with his performances this season, he isn't going to be losing points in many of the five races that follow Iowa.
9. All the Ganassi cars were in the same area, and Takuma Sato ended up ninth. A Ganassi car in capable hands is going to get a top ten finish. That is not asking too much. Good for Sato because after Texas, when Ganassi said he was not committed to running Sato in all the oval races, Sato needed respectable performances. These aren't victories but they are better than majority of the field.
10. Arrow McLaren hasn't been as competitive as some expected prior to this weekend, as Alexander Rossi and Felix Rosenqvist were at the bottom of the speed chart in practice and qualifying. Rossi ran a race similar to Kirkwood. They started three spots apart with Rossi in 20th at the green flag. Rossi clawed positions back and finished tenth. At one point it looked like Rossi could finish seventh or eighth, but that last cycle of pit stops shuffled him back. It is a good day though not a thrilling result.
11. One sentence on a bunch of drivers...
It was not a great day for Andretti Autosport, but Romain Grosjean looked respectable today finishing 11th.
David Malukas could be one of these drivers that only has qualifying pace and 12th is the best he could hope for.
Nothing impressive from Felix Rosenqvist, as Rosenqvist gained spots but only finished 13th.
For Hélio Castroneves and Meyer Shank Racing, starting 14th and finishing 14th is a great day.
Juncos Hollinger Racing is getting a little more attention. Callum Ilott ended up 15th with Agustín Canapino in 16th. Canapino was ahead of Ilott for most of this race, and Canapino was getting called out for being in the top fifteen, and yet Ilott ended up ahead of him. I think that says a lot about the middle of the field at the moment. It is really tight and if you don't make mistakes and do not over drive the car and you will get better results than others. Both drivers deserve recognition. JHR is still a small team. Ilott does a great job completing laps, and Canapino hasn't blinked despite being far from his comfort zone.
12. Which brings us to Ed Carpenter Racing. Rinus VeeKay was 17th, Ryan Hunter-Reay was 23rd and Ed Carpenter was 24th. Remember when ECR was oval contenders? It is Indianapolis only at this point in time for the organization and it is disappointing it cannot even come close to the top ten at Iowa. Hunter-Reay's start where he went four-wide was for nothing. Also, if that wasn't a jumped start, I don't know what is. IndyCar race control cannot be toothless.
13. I think Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing was hopeful for today, and it was looking good with Graham Rahal fighting for a top ten spot in the middle of the race. Then Rahal got into the marbles and slapped the wall exiting turn four, the only caution fo the race and the only car out of the race. Jack Harvey had a good moment late when he was up to 13th, but he dropped to 18th. I think Rahal's caution caught out Christian Lundgaard, and the best the Dane could hope for was 20th. Better hopes for tomorrow.
14. Colton Herta's race was done on the first pit stop. The team stopped early because Herta was sliding down the order. Then the left front air gun could not get the wheel nut on and a 43-second stop put Herta four laps down. At that point 19th was the best he could hope for. It was another cruel day for Andretti Autosport.
15. Devlin DeFrancesco was hit when Benjamin Pedersen was released unsafely into the Canadian on the pit lane. Pedersen was already eight laps down, so he isn't doing himself any favors. This also falls on A.J. Foyt Racing. That is an entire organization of bad decisions and lack of awareness. Not to forget mentioning Pedersen's bad release and contact trapped Santino Ferrucci in his pit stall, costing Ferrucci time, and Ferrucci ended up 26th, nine laps down. If Ferrucci wasn't held up, he wasn't going to do much better, but he might have at least finished 25th.
DeFrancesco was only going to be in the top twenty without that contact. But 22nd is harsh.
16. Who haven't we covered yet?
Conor Daly was 21st and wasn't really seen. Sting Ray Robb didn't get in anybody's way and was eight laps down in 25th.
17. There is a lot to talk about this weekend in general, and we will cover some of that tomorrow, but this was a fun race, and having 28 cars at Iowa is hilariously exciting. I wish IndyCar could find another oval or two that could put on a race like this. After seeing how NASCAR has raced at Richmond the last few years with tire strategy deciding races, I really wish IndyCar could figure out how to get a race there because I think Richmond could replicate what we saw today and what we have seen the last few years at Iowa, and that wouldn't be a bad thing for Iowa.
18. Let's do it all again tomorrow. Less than 24 hours until the next IndyCar race. We don't get to say that often.
