Monday, July 14, 2025

Musings From the Weekend: Why is IndyCar Wasting its Money in Iowa?

Here is a rundown of what got me thinking...

Christian Horner was fired, and we have been talking about that all week. It was a good weekend for a set of brothers. It rained a lot in Germany. The Formula E championship was clinched with a round remaining, and the finale will now be an extended celebration for a home driver. There was a rebound in Berlin. Something is becoming inevitable. There was a historic winner in a junior series. Álex Palou continues to be dominant, but we need to talk about the venue and IndyCar’s future. 

Why is IndyCar Wasting its Money in Iowa?
It is amazing how quickly things can change. 

In 2022, after a one-year hiatus away from Iowa Speedway, IndyCar's return was celebrated. The injection of funding from Hy-Vee turned Iowa into a destination weekend. Doubleheader races. Big concert acts. Tickets were pricey, some felt slighted, but it was an IndyCar weekend that stood out from the others. The racing continued to be competitive and whether some people were only there for the music or there for racing, it drew a crowd.  

After three years, Hy-Vee moved on. Iowa Speedway made an unexpected decision to re-pave the bottom lane of the racetrack a little over a month before last year's race, leaving IndyCar and Firestone scrambling for a solution. The disparity of the two lanes of the track turned a race weekend that saw well over 2,000 combined total passes over two races into two races that combined for less than a quarter of that total. Quickly, the mood turned. 

IndyCar tried this year to improve the racing after last year's display, but there is only so much the series can do when a racetrack decides to have half its asphalt be brand new and then other half be 18 years older. Everyone went into last year's race nervous, and everyone went into this year's dismayed. At the test last month, everyone knew this would not be a good race weekend. It was slightly better than last year, but it neglects what we know Iowa could be and the Iowa we lost. It is difficult thing to accept because until 2024, Iowa had been a great track for IndyCar. 

Now IndyCar must ask itself this difficult question, why waste its money for two unsatisfactory races?

Iowa is a rental. IndyCar rents the facility and promotes this race on its own, which the series didn’t do a good job at, but that is another story. 

Sukup Manufacture, Co., the world's largest family-owned and operated manufacturer of grain storage, drying and handling equipment, took over as the title sponsor from Hy-Vee. Iowa Speedway doesn't really care if IndyCar is there. In the build up to the IndyCar race, Iowa Speedway's website never featured it on the main page. It listed IndyCar as one of its events under the calendar, but it didn't do anymore to encourage people to support an event running at its facility. If IndyCar is willing to write a check, Iowa Speedway and its owner (NASCAR) will happily accept it. 

But why should IndyCar choose to return to a track where it is unnecessarily difficult to put on a satisfactory race? 

IndyCar could invest millions and test religiously in the build up to next year's race to get the most out of it, but IndyCar isn't going to do that. It barely organized a test ahead of this year's race, and even after that test, the series and Firestone still decided to make changes ahead of the race weekend, meaning everyone was heading into this doubleheader running something untested. They wasted a day gathering data just to start from scratch. 

Iowa had been one of IndyCar's best races, and it had tremendous support over the years, but even before the pandemic attendance had dipped. It bounced from night race to day race to late-evening race. Some were turned off when it became more than just a race weekend and ticket prices increased with big musical acts performing. Now the racing is frustrating. It isn’t really good. That great audience has mostly been turned off. If the race is bad, and no one is showing up, and the main sponsor who supported this race backed out, and the funding is less than what you were first getting, why go back?

The racing is not returning to its pre-2024 level anytime soon. Maybe in three or four years, but that is long wait, one IndyCar cannot afford. It would be one thing if there crowd was going to be there no matter what. If 30,000 people showed up every year at Iowa no matter the quality of racing, then IndyCar has a case to stick it out until the track wears even if it takes a few years. That isn't the case. The crowd didn’t have that type of devotion. 

If IndyCar is going to spend millions of dollars to run a race weekend, why do it at a place where the support is gone and the racing is bad? 

Next year will not be different, and if the definition of insanity is doing the same thing repeatedly hoping for a different result, it would be insane for IndyCar to return to Iowa Speedway in 2026. 

It is awful to accept, but IndyCar should take that money and look for another facility to rent. As much as it hurts to lose Iowa, it is a chance for IndyCar to go elsewhere. If only 10,000 people are going to show up over two days, why not go to a venue and an area of the country you currently are not running? What is the difference between 10,000 people over two days in Iowa and say 20,000 or 25,000 people showing up for Pocono or Richmond? 

This is an oval weekend IndyCar supports. If the series is going to prop up one oval weekend a year, it better be a weekend where the racing is at least good. This is a chance for IndyCar to go somewhere else and branch out. 

For six years we have been talking about how the Northeast (really the entire East Coast) is barren of IndyCar. IndyCar has three good options, Pocono, Richmond or Loudon. Pocono is a known. Its IndyCar crowds were better than what Iowa pulled in this weekend. With Pocono’s NASCAR race in late-June, I am not sure mid-July is when IndyCar would like to go, but IndyCar could shuffle the schedule around to get Pocono back to late-August. Richmond was on the doorstep of a return in 2020 before the pandemic. Mid-July isn't ideal for Richmond, but dates could be shuffled around for it to run in spring time.

Loudon is actually perfect for this weekend. It hosted NASCAR races in mid-July for the longest time. The NASCAR weekend is now in September. IndyCar could run this weekend and it would still be two months before the NASCAR weekend. Also, the weather was rather hospitable at this weekend in New Hampshire. The high yesterday was 82° F. 

If the Northeast isn't an option, then do something notable. Rent out Michigan and run a 500-mile race. IndyCar's biggest race is a superspeedway and that is the only time we get to see these cars at their maximum potential. It is borderline criminal IndyCar doesn't run at least two or three a season. It is definitely short-sighted, but if IndyCar needs an oval race, give the people an oval weekend. Give us big speeds and slingshot passes! NASCAR's Michigan weekend was at the start of June. IndyCar could move a few dates around and place Michigan at the end of July, and also give it some breathing room from the Detroit weekend. The state of Michigan already has a date and it isn't expanding the spread of the series, but there aren't that many other options, especially for ovals.

Where else is IndyCar going to run? Kansas? Chicagoland considering NASCAR is rumored to be returning? Those are Midwest tracks and Gateway is basically in the middle of those two. Let's rob Peter to pay Paul!

Charlotte Motor Speedway would be good, but some are still haunted by ghosts. I would be for going to North Wilkesboro. It would be the smallest track IndyCar has ever run and it is an unvisited area of the country for the series, but it is a facility that has received significant upgrades and I think the locals will support any race that comes through. Rockingham's future is too unstable to give it a race. 

Atlanta is unlikely with its reconfiguration. I would love to see Darlington for the sake of seeing it, but I don't think it is realistic nor am I sure the racing would be good. Dover is too dangerous. Martinsville is too small. I don't think Bristol would be good, but hey, it couldn't be worse than Iowa. 

Then there are the options that do not work if you need a summer race. You could go to Homestead, Phoenix or Texas, but those would have to be spring races. With IndyCar going to Arlington and NASCAR racing at Texas in May, I don't think Texas is returning. Las Vegas is there, but it also has a ghost problem. 

Those are basically all of your oval options, and more aren't coming anytime soon. IndyCar's oval future depends on making it work with what exists. Otherwise, there will no oval weekends outside of Memorial Day weekend very soon. 

I don't see a reason to return to Iowa. That doesn't have to be a disaster. IndyCar can use this to find root somewhere else. It can use this to create a new race and find a new audience. If in four or five years things have changed, and Iowa is serviceable again, a return can be considered, but not in 2026. IndyCar must go somewhere and have at least good racing. Give Gateway or Milwaukee the doubleheader weekend, and find another track where people can tune in and see a good race. 

We know that will not be the case for Iowa. It is no longer worth IndyCar wasting its money on a weekend that leaves nobody happy.

Winners From the Weekend
You know about Álex Palou, but did you know...

Marc Márquez won MotoGP's German Grand Prix. Márquez also won the sprint race. Deniz Öncü won in Moto2, his second victory of the season. David Muñoz won in Moto3, his second victory of the season.

Mitch Evans and Nick Cassidy split the Berlin ePrix.

Shane van Gisbergen won the NASCAR Cup race from Sonoma, his second consecutive victory and third of the season. Connor Zilisch won the Grand National Series, his third victory of the season 

The #12 Hertz Team Jota Cadillac of Alex Lynn, Norman NATO and Will Stevens won the 6 Hours of São Paulo. The #87 Akkodis ASP Team of José María López, Clemens Schmid and Rǎzvan Umbrǎrescu won in LMGT3.

The #99 AO Racing Oreca of Dane Cameron and P.J. Hyatt won the IMSA race from Mosport. The #81 DragonSpeed Ferrari of Albert Costa and Giacomo Altoè won in GTD Pro. The #45 Wayne Taylor Racing Lamborghini of Danny Formal and Trent Hindman won in GTD.

Toprak Razgatlioglu swept the World Superbike races from Donington Park. Stefano Manzi and Can Öncü split the World Supersport.

Brodie Kostecki (race one) and Broc Feeney (race two and three) split the Supercars races from Townsville.

Myles Rowe won the Indy Lights race from Iowa, his first career victory. 

Coming Up This Weekend
IndyCar makes its one trip to Canada for the Toronto weekend.
MotoGP has its final race before the summer break, and it is a return to Brno, Czech Republic.
NASCAR returns to an oval for the semifinal round of its in-season tournament at Dover. 
Super Formula has a doubleheader at Fuji. 
GT World Challenge America heads down to Virginia International Raceway.
The World Rally Championship will be in Estonia.



Sunday, July 13, 2025

First Impressions: Iowa 2025 Race Two

1. It is never a surprise when Álex Palou wins in the NTT IndyCar Series. Palou was starting on pole position after all for the second race from Iowa Speedway. He set himself up to be the man to beat from the very start, and it looked like he had at least one suitable challenger. Josef Newgarden made himself known early, and it felt like Newgarden was set to get on top after one slipped through his fingers yesterday. Instead, Newgarden was on the wrong side of two cautions while Palou had the cautions fall his way and ultimately take off the pressure.

Twice Newgarden had just made his pit stop from the lead and a caution came out, catching him a lap down. He drove from tenth to first after the first time. Newgarden had a slow final stop, but it felt like this would be his race. Instead, Palou was there for the opportune moments.

Palou was going to finish second if Newgarden had cautions fall in his favor. This wasn’t going to be a lucky win where Palou wasn’t in the picture until running long on one stint. Palou ran up front the entire race. He might not have been the best car, but his team ran the best strategy, and in a way not leading allowed him to run longer. The second time, Newgarden had to run hard to catch up to the leaders. That stop was always going to come earlier than the rest. The one thing he could not afford was a caution. Each time, it came. 

After Patricio O’Ward won yesterday, some thought Palou was losing ground. Well, Palou’s victory gives him a 129-point lead and this weekend was a net-gain of four points over O’Ward. Crisis averted. With five races remaining, Palou is looking fine. 

As for the record book, this is seven victories from 12 races. There are two ovals (Milwaukee and Nashville), two west coast races (Laguna Seca and Portland) and a foreign trip (Toronto) remaining. He needs to win four of the final five to get the single-season victory record. Three gets him a share. That victory at Mid-Ohio would have gone a long way. His season isn’t over. Palou will win again. The question is how many?

2. Because of that final caution for Colton Herta getting into the wall, it allowed a number of drivers to check a break. Scott Dixon was one of those guys. Dixon might have finished in the top ten without that caution. At one point, Dixon slipped out of the top ten. It was not his strongest day, but the caution elevated Dixon into a podium position. 

Dixon didn’t really threaten Palou. He kept him honest, just like Mid-Ohio, but it would have required another error from the Catalan driver for Dixon to get his second victory of the season. It lifted Dixon into third in the championship. 

3. Marcus Armstrong was on for a top ten result today before the final caution. The final caution turned what should have been seventh or eighth into third. It is a generous result, but Armstrong has had one of the most unheralded seasons. This is his eighth top ten finish of the season. He is seventh in the championship and ahead of all three Penske drivers. Armstrong should have his future locked down.  

4. David Malukas ran well and held his own agains Palou and Newgarden in this race. Malukas would have been on the podium without that late caution. After yesterday where he wasn’t a factor, Malukas kept his name in the game for the entire race. He didn’t lead but he was in the picture. The right run could have led to a big result. 

5. Patricio O’Ward couldn’t quite get back into the battle for the win after yesterday. He got stuck around fifth or sixth the entire race. It was hard to pass. You could make a few moves but at some point everyone stalled out. At that point, it came down to others making mistakes. A few times, O’Ward was able to use slower traffic as a pick. 

6. That final caution turned nothing into something for Christian Lundgaard. I don’t think he spent a lap in the top ten until the final pit cycle. Then the caution locked Lundgaard into a top ten spot. He had track position and held on to finish sixth. This wasn’t a great weekend for Lundgaard. He struggled. This is a flattering result. 

7. Felix Rosenqvist likely would not have finished in the top ten without that late caution. Rosenqvist ran better today than yesterday but he still faded over the course of this race. It is his biggest flaw. Qualifies well, falls from promising positions. It does not matter if it is an oval, road course or street courses. It has still been a good year for Meyer Shank Racing, another step forward after moving forward in 2024. 

8. Christian Rasmussen was always in line for a top ten. His race topped out around eighth. Rasmussen looked competitive all weekend. He was aggressive and willing to make some brave moves. This has been a strong sophomore season for the Dane. He is earning himself a third season. 

9. Robert Shwartzman likely should not have finished in the top ten, but he raced like he should have been in the top ten, and the final caution put him a spot to finish ninth. Shwartzman lost ground early after he sped on pit lane during his first stop. He drove forward after that though. He didn’t drive into the top ten. This was going to be a 15th-place day before that final caution. Take them however you can get them. 

10. We touched upon Josef Newgarden’s two poorly timed pit stops. He looked like the best car, and prior to his second stop of the day, the one where he was caught out the first time, Newgarden was cutting through back-markers. It looked like he had learned from yesterday and was putting traffic between him and Palou. That might have cost him though. 

Newgarden made some bold moves, and he was better in traffic. Traffic is what allowed him to close on Palou and Malukas before the final round of pit stops. Newgarden saw that everyone had to stop again and ran hard to push the competition. He was just on the wrong side of the caution again.

For how well he ran, Newgarden made a few errors. He made a few aggressive looks that forced him to back out. His final pit stop was another slow stop and he cycled out of the pit lane behind Malukas after passing him on the track. Newgarden was going to have work to do. 

On the final restart, he was in eighth and lost spots. I don’t know how much he was deflated after all the work he did to find himself behind the eight-ball again. Add that on top of yesterday and how this season has gone, it is likely Newgarden is fried mentally. Additional setbacks are grueling. 

Considering how this season has gone, this was a good weekend for Newgarden, but it is hard to shake that he should have won one of these races. 

11. How the hell did Jacob Abel finish 11th?

I swear I saw him get lapped four times in this race. He obviously got the wave around multiple times and didn’t stop before that final caution. That was a lucky result.

Abel was right ahead of Rinus VeeKay. VeeKay had run well most of today. I don’t think he was behind Abel until the very end. 

12. Kyffin Simpson, too! Simpson never looked competitive and then ended up 13th! It shows how important it is to run as long as you can on that final stint. The caution will only help you if you make your final stop as late as possible.

13. I guess the same goes for Louis Foster, the final car on the lead lap in 14th. It was a good result even if he did nothing memorable. The key thing is Foster is making laps and making it to the finish of races. 

14. Everyone from 15th on down was off the lead lap.

Santino Ferrucci did not have a strong race. He got into the top ten late, but most of this race he was 14th to 17th. He got caught out by the final caution. 

Conor Daly was looking good for a top five, definitely a top ten, but Daly stopped before the final caution and was trapped a lap down. He was much better than 16th today. 

Alexander Rossi stopped before the Herta caution and it cost him a top ten. Rossi and Rasmussen were running around each other the entire race. 

Kyle Kirkwood went off-strategy and did not stop under the fourth caution for Callum Ilott’s accident. Kirkwood was always going to make one final stop while some thought the leaders could stretch it. Kirkwood had spent the entire race outside the top ten. He had to do something different. I don’t think it would have worked out into a victory if the Herta caution never came out, but I think Kirkwood could have snuck out a top ten result. 

Graham Rahal was three laps down in 19th. I don’t know what he did today. 

15. This was a rough weekend for Andretti Global. None of the three cars had speed, which is odd considering how they ran last year. Herta hit the wall. Marcus Ericsson hit the wall. Both were apparently tire failures. Coincidentally, these two cautions were the ones that caught out Newgarden. This group will be glad the next race is Toronto. 

16. Callum Ilott looked competitive before he spun in turn four. Ilott is being beat by Shwartzman this year. The prior IndyCar experience only gets you so far with a new team, and Ilott has carried this group at times, but it has been surprising that it is Shwartzman pulling out top ten results on ovals while Ilott is retiring from races and making mistakes.

17. Sting Ray Robb had an accident. That is not a surprise. Robb has run better this year. He is still out of his depth. 

18. Team Penske could only shake the crappy days for half of the doubleheader weekend. Scott McLaughlin had nowhere to go when Devlin DeFrancesco spun in front of him. Will Power looked racy after starting sixth only to lose an engine after 21 laps. It is hard to fathom this is the kind of season Team Penske is experiencing. 

19. We had one fewer driver in this race. Nolan Siegel was not cleared to race after his accident yesterday. Let’s hope Siegel will be cleared for Toronto. But it is Arrow McLaren. We know how they operate. 

20. This race was better, and it was good. This is where we need to have an honest conversation about a good race. After the 2013 Indianapolis 500, I got nervous because suddenly we had a “500” with 68 lead changes when two years prior only a handful had seen more than 30 lead changes. I think we focus too much on the numbers, especially since IndyCar shares them and promotes the total number of passes in a race, but a good race isn’t as simple as meeting a quota. 

This race had 382 total passes, the most in the last two years at Iowa. It is still miles off the totals from 2023, but we saw Newgarden race down the leaders. We saw side-by-side racing. It was still difficult to pass, and it is frustrating to watch drivers make runs only to get chopped off. In the middle of the stint, it felt like most of the passes came before one car tried to pass another only to lose ground and for the car behind them to have greater momentum to end up ahead.

This was better, but it can take another step. It should feel this difficult to pass at Iowa. The tail end of the field dictated the race more than it ever did from 2007 to 2023. 

21. Was this weekend enough to save Iowa? I have already written something for tomorrow, and there are other observations from this weekend on site I will ruminate over the next few days. I don’t think it was enough and even if it was, it was too little too late. 

IndyCar did all it could on the racetrack. They were dealt a bad hand last year and knew it wouldn’t get better this year, but the future of this event is more than just what was on-track, though that is the biggest piece of the pie.

22. It was nice going to a different track. It will be nice next week watching Toronto from home. We are halfway through the July marathon. 


Morning Warm-Up: Iowa 2025 Race Two

Álex Palou will lead the field to the green flag for the second race of IndyCar’s doubleheader weekend from Iowa Speedway. Palou took the top spot with a lap at 17.4900 seconds in qualifying. This is Palou’s fourth pole position of the season and second in three races. In nine career pole positions, Palou has won six times. He has never finished worse than fourth when starting on pole. 

Felix Rosenqvist is a surprise second on the grid as the Meyer Shank Racing driver was 0.0037 seconds off Palou. This is Rosenqvist’s best starting position of the season, and his first front row start since he was on pole position for last year’s Long Beach race. After starting third yesterday, his best two Iowa starts have come this weekend. 

David Malukas will start third as the Illinoian was 0.0615 seconds slower than Palou. This is Malukas’ sixth time starting in the top ten in the last seven races. He has finished in the top ten in only two of those previous five top ten starts. Malukas started third in the second Iowa race in 2023 before finishing eighth. 

Josef Newgarden’s quest for a seventh Iowa victory will resume from fourth on the grid for the second race of the weekend. Newgarden was 0.0666 seconds off Palou. With 232 laps led yesterday, Newgarden has now led 2,079 laps in his career at Iowa. Prior to yesterday, Newgarden had only led 25 laps this season. 

Nolan Siegel takes fifth on the grid, his second top five starting position in three races. Siegel fell 0.0783 seconds off pole position. This will be the first time Siegel is starting in the top ten on an oval. After his accident yesterday, Siegel has failed to finish on the lead lap in four of the last six races. 

Will Power was 0.0900 seconds behind Palou, and Power takes sixth on the grid. Power has finished in the top five in seven of his last eight Iowa starts, including his third-place finish yesterday. It was Power’s second podium finish of the season. 

Conor Daly finished seventh yesterday and Daly will start seventh for race two from Iowa. This is the first time Daly has started in the top ten in consecutive races since he started third in both Iowa races in 2022. Daly has finished in the top ten in three consecutive oval races. 

Scott Dixon will be beside Daly on row four. After finishing tenth yesterday, Dixon has four consecutive top ten finishes, his best run of form since he had a 16-race streak that started at Barber Motorsports Park in April 2023 and ended with his Long Beach victory in April 2024. 

Patricio O'Ward will have a little extra work to do if he hopes to win in his 101st start. O’Ward will start ninth. Only once has he won from ninth or worse. He won from 16th at Belle Isle in 2021. After his victory yesterday, five of O’Ward eight career victories have come on doubleheader weekends. 

Graham Rahal rounds out the top ten on the grid, and this is Rahal’s first top ten start on an oval since he started eighth for the second Iowa race last year. He went on to finish eighth in that race, his most recent top ten result on an oval. 

Robert Shwartzman has his second-best starting position of the season in 11th. It is only the second time Shwartzman has started in the top fifteen. The other time was pole position at the Indianapolis 500. He has finished 20th or worst in his last three starts. 

Marcus Armstrong will have a reunion of sorts with his old Prema teammate Shwartzman on row six. Armstrong has five consecutive top ten finishes, the best streak in his IndyCar career. He has seven top ten finishes this season, and he had nine top ten finishes all of last season. 

Callum Ilott will start directly behind his Prema teammate Shwartzman in 13th. This is Ilott’s second-best start of the season. He started ninth at Road America. This will be Ilott's 50th career start. Only one driver has had a first career victory come in a 50th career start. That was Danica Patrick at Motegi in 2008. 

Marcus Ericsson is the top Andretti Global starter in 14th. Ericsson has finished 12th in the last two races and he finished 13th in two of the three races prior to that. After finishing 23rd in the second Iowa race last year, this is the first time the Swede has failed to score a top ten result in consecutive Iowa races. 

Alexander Rossi starts 15th. This is the seventh consecutive race Rossi is starting outside the top ten. He has finished outside the top ten in five of those races. Yesterday was only the second time Rossi has retired from a race this season. The other was the Indianapolis 500. Both retirements have been due to mechanical issues. 

Louis Foster takes the outside of row eight. Foster dropped from 12th to 14th in yesterday’s race. It was the fifth consecutive race Foster has finished worse than his starting position. It was also the second consecutive race he has finished 14th. 

Christian Rasmussen will look to continue his strong oval form from 17th on the grid. Rasmussen has three consecutive top ten finishes on ovals. The last time an Ed Carpenter Racing driver had four consecutive top ten finishes on ovals was Josef Newgarden in 2016. That streak included a victory at Iowa. 

Kyffin Simpson begins race two where race one left off, in 18th position. Yesterday was Simpson’s worst result since he was collected in an accident when Kyle Larson spun at the Indianapolis 500. Simpson has finished outside the top fifteen in eight of ten career oval starts. 

Colton Herta will take 19th on the grid, his second-worst starting position ever at Iowa. Herta’s worst came yesterday when he started 23rd. Yesterday’s race when Herta went from 23rd to 13th was the first time he has ever finished better than his starting position in an Iowa race. 

Santino Ferrucci rounds out the top twenty on the grid. This is Ferrucci’s worst starting position on an oval since he started 26th at Gateway in 2023. Yesterday’s seventh- place finish for Ferrucci was only his second top ten finish at Iowa. 

Kyle Kirkwood’s rough weekend will begin its final leg from 21st on the grid. Kirkwood had an accident in practice yesterday and in the race. His 26th-place result yesterday was his worst result since he was 28th in the 2023 Indianapolis 500. Kirkwood has fallen to third in the championship, 140 points behind Álex Palou.

Christian Lundgaard will start 22nd. After Lundgaard finished a lap down yesterday in 22nd, combined with Kirkwood’s accident, that leaves only one driver who has completed every lap this season. That is Patricio O’Ward. Lundgaard has finished outside the top ten in three of the last four races. 

Devlin DeFrancesco will start 23rd for the second time in three races. DeFrancesco has three consecutive top twenty finishes, a first for him since the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, Gatewat and Portland rounds toward the end of the 2023 season. 

Sting Ray Robb is starting 24th. Robb went from 24th to 22nd in race one from Iowa. He has finished off the lead lap in seven of 11 races in 2025. Only twice has Robb finished on the lead lap on an oval. That would be in last year’s Indianapolis 500 and the first race of last year’s Iowa doubleheader. 

Jacob Abel is the top Dale Coyne Racing starter for the second time in three races. However, this is the fifth consecutive race Abel is not starting better than 25th. His retirement yesterday was only the second time Abel has failed to finish a race this season. A mechanical issue took him out of the Grand Prix of Indianapolis. 

Rinus VeeKay will be to Abel’s outside on row 13. VeeKay has finished at least nine spots better than his grid position in four consecutive races. He has finished better than his starting spot in nine of 11 races in 2025. He was 16th yesterday. It was the sixth time in nine Iowa starts he has finished outside the top fifteen. 

Scott McLaughlin went from 27th to fourth yesterday, and McLaughlin starts 27th again for race two after he had an accident on his qualifying run. Only four races in IndyCar history have been won from 27th starting position or worse. Fred Frame won the 1932 Indianapolis 500 from 27th. Three races have been won from 28th. Ray Harroun was the first to do it in the first Indianapolis 500. Louis Meyer won from 28th at Indianapolis 25 years later. Hélio Castroneves won the 2008 season finale from Chicagoland Speedway from 28th. 

Fox's coverage of the Farm to Finish 275 Powered by Sukup begins at 1:00 p.m. ET with green flag scheduled for 1:22 p.m. ET. The race is scheduled for 275 laps. 


Saturday, July 12, 2025

First Impressions: Iowa 2025 Race One

1. We are going to keep this short because it was a full day at the track, it is late, and there will be a full day tomorrow. I think Patricio O’Ward was the second-best driver on the day from Iowa Speedway, but he remained on Josef Newgarden’s heels, and when it came time to pounce in the final pit cycle, O’Ward’s pit crew executed a flawless stop while Newgarden’s bobbled. O’Ward cycled to the lead and had to hold off a few late attempts from Newgarden. He did and in his 100th start, O’Ward scored victory.

We know this is O’Ward’s level. When it comes going toe-to-toe, he can beat the best of them. He did it last year at Mid-Ohio when Álex Palou dominated the first 2/3rds before the final pit stop and O’Ward cycled to the lead but had to defend mightily. Arrow McLaren won this race today, and deservedly so.

2. It wasn’t a victory, but Team Penske needed this day. Josef Newgarden needed this day. It is one that got away, but Penske and Newgarden needed a race where it showed it still had it. It wasn’t a victory but 232 laps led from pole position shows not all is lost. 

It was one slow pit stop that cost them. Newgarden nearly had O’Ward on the Mexican’s out-lap. This race really came down to fractions. A pit stop that was 0.2 seconds faster might have kept Newgarden ahead. He didn’t need a second. 

3. Will Power had a strong day to finish third. Power made passes on track to get to third. He overtook Álex Palou and Conor Daly. There was a fair amount of distance between the top two and the rest of the field, but Power led the way. Even if you go back to his championship season in 2022, Power has this ability to just be fifth every race, and sometimes it nets him a few more spots and he is on the podium without being flashy. 

4. There was not an abundance of passing today, but Scott McLaughlin did his fair share. In the opening stint, I watched McLaughlin almost exclusively. In a backup car, he could have struggled, but I think a Penske backup car is a top five car in the paddock. Maybe Ganassi could have achieved something like this. McLaughlin was a force from the start. Cautions aided in his ascendancy. Fourth is an honorable result. Now he has to do it all over again tomorrow. 

5. Álex Palou lost 20 points to Patricio O’Ward today, but Palou was still fifth and he has nothing to worry about. Palou hung in the top five all race. The pressure is on O’Ward to do that again. Palou is starting on pole position tomorrow. If O’Ward wants to pick up some more points, he will have to go through Palou. Easier said than done. 

6. I don’t know if the broadcast caught it, but in the first stint of the race, Christian Rasmussen had a big moment in the middle of turns three and four and nearly had his race end before he could complete 50 laps. He caught the car, lost some spots, but Rasmussen gained those and then some. The Dane was spectacular today. He made some daring passes, and the sophomore has been the darling on the ovals this season. 

7. Conor Daly didn’t do bad, but he didn’t quite hang with the leaders. Daly lost ground on pit stops and he was shuffled back. He held onto a top ten spot the entire race and earned a moral victory beating Santino Ferrucci in a race to finish seventh. It is a small token for the day but a missed opportunity. 

8. As noted, Santino Ferrucci was eighth. Ferrucci was in the top ten all race, but never got higher than sixth. Colton Herta’s spin at the start might have taken away Ferrucci’s chance to make a big move at the start and gain four or five spots, but he still had multiple restarts and never made that big move we expected. Good day but not a great day for Ferrucci.

9. Marcus Armstrong quietly finished ninth today. He didn’t make many waves, but he hung in position and he ran long on his last stint, led some laps, and ended up ninth. We have about four or five drivers up for unsung driver of the year. Armstrong is one of them. 

10. At one moment, it looked like Scott Dixon was set to finish in the top five. Then Dixon faded and in the final pit cycle he was outside the top ten. In the final run to the line, Dixon got tenth. Not his greatest day. It could have been worse. 

11. Graham Rahal had a quiet run to finish 11th. 

David Malukas should be a little disappointed finishing 12th. 

Colton Herta somewhat recovered from spinning at the start to finish 13th. Andretti Global didn’t really show any speed today from the start of practice. 

Louis Foster was 14th and for a moment was in a top ten spot. 

Marcus Ericsson cannot get out of that hole between 12th and 15th. 

Rinus VeeKay didn’t have a good qualifying run but climbed to 16th. 

Bad day for Felix Rosenqvist. Rosenqvist kept dropping through the field and he started third. He starts second tomorrow. Hopefully the team learned something. 

I don’t know if Kyffin Simpson, Devlin DeFranceso or Robert Shwartzman did anything noteworthy. 

Bad day for Christian Lundgaard. One pit lane penalty for speeding on his first spot knocked him out of the top twenty and he never got back there. 

Sting Ray Robb was 22nd. Yep. Sounds about right. 

12. He had five retirements. 

Callum Ilott hit the wall late. Ilott made the most passes in this race. It was because he was a lap down and took tires when the field had older rubber. Ilott was fun to watch though the passes were for nothing. 

Nolan Siegel threw away a top ten result he could not afford to throw away. O’Ward really saved Arrow McLaren’s day. 

Alexander Rossi had a mechanical failure knock him out of the race. He had a good race early as well.

Kyle Kirkwood knocked down the turn two wall and it effectively killed whatever slim championship hopes Kirkwood had. It was a rough day with a practice accident as well. Hopefully, things look up on Sunday. 

Jacob Abel had an early accident as he was struggling at the end of the first stint. It is a tough way to learn. 

13. It was a better race than I expected. It wasn’t outstanding. There was some passing, but we know what Iowa once was and it is far from that. It helped that there was drama in a late shakeup during the final pit cycle, and O’Ward and Newgarden had a battle to the end. Sometimes it doesn’t matter about the total number of passes, but the right time for a pass. In the final laps, it felt possible Newgarden could make a move and claim victory. That is what it was like at Texas in 2022. Passing was difficult and felt unlikely, but Newgarden made a move coming to the checkered flag and we had a photo-finish. 

It is still tough to watch the leader ride around the tail of the field for 45 laps. There were passes when one car ran a little too wide but no one was making runs on their own. 

I will also admit, watching a bad race at the race track is still watching a race at the race track. It is a good day. There wasn’t much going on, but you scan the field and watch a few battles. Watch a few cars get close. Sometimes you see the move happen. That is why I focused on McLaughlin at the start. That was worth it even if nothing happened between positions fifth through 14th. The cars buzzing by at 185 mph. How can it be a bad day?

That doesn’t excuse how things have been, but IndyCar has done all it could after last year’s re-pave. As I watched the race and walked back to the car, I toyed with things IndyCar could have tried. It isn’t going to change before tomorrow. At least tomorrow’s race will be on a track that is rubbered up and it should be better. Better still might not be that thrilling. It helps that the grid is mixed up. All hope is on tomorrow.

14. We can go over bigger picture things later, but we have another race in last than 24 hours and we really do not know what could happen. 


Morning Warm-Up: Iowa 2025 Race One

All IndyCar on-track action from Iowa Speedway was rained out on Friday, leading to an amended schedule on Saturday ahead of the first race of the weekend. 

Action will begin with a high-line practice session at 10:00 a.m. ET before a 45-minute practice following. Qualifying will now run at 1:30 p.m. before the race is run at 5:00 p.m. Like previous doubleheaders, each car will make a two-lap run in qualifying. The first qualifying lap will set the grid for today's race. The second lap will set the grid for tomorrow's race.

Álex Palou hopes Iowa sees him extend his championship lead and keep up his strong start to the season. Palou won the Indianapolis 500, and he is now looking for his second career oval victory. He could become the fourth driver to win the Indianapolis 500 and at Iowa in the same season. Dario Franchitti did it in the inaugural Iowa season in 2007. Ryan Hunter-Reay was next to do it in 2014. Josef Newgarden did it two years ago. Palou's second-place finish at Mid-Ohio was the 39th podium finish of his IndyCar career. He has eight podium finishes from the first ten races this season. 

Kyle Kirkwood is 113 points behind Palou, and Kirkwood hopes to make a dent into the Catalan’s championship lead. Kirkwood is the most recent oval winner in IndyCar after he was first at Gateway. Andretti Global has not won consecutive oval races 2013 when Ryan Hunter-Reay won at Milwaukee and James Hinchcliffe won at Iowa. The last individual Andretti driver to win consecutive oval races was Hunter-Reay, who won at Milwaukee and Iowa in 2012.

Patricio O'Ward is 125 points behind Palou. This race marks the 100th start of O'Ward's IndyCar career. He becomes the third Mexican driver to make at least 100 IndyCar starts, joining Adrián Fernández (194 starts) and Michel Jourdain, Jr. (156 starts). Five drivers have won in their 100th start. Three drivers did it at the Illinois State Fairgrounds. A.J. Foyt was the first in 1965, Roger McCluskey did it in 1968, and Mario Andretti did it in 1969. Mike Mosley was the next to do it at Milwaukee in 1975. The most recent winner in a 100th career start was Patrick Carpentier at Mid-Ohio in 2002.

Fresh off his 59th career victory, Scott Dixon looks to become the second driver to reach 60 victories in an IndyCar career. This will be Dixon's record-extending 413th IndyCar start. A.J. Foyt's 60th career victory came in his 268th start at Texas World Speedway in 1978. Dixon has won consecutive races six times in his career, most recently in 2023 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Gateway. The New Zealander has never won at Iowa despite having won at a record 28 different circuits. 

Christian Lundgaard got back on the podium when he was third at Mid-Ohio, his fourth podium finish of the season. After finishing tenth in his first Iowa start in 2022, Lundgaard has an average finish of 19.6 over his last five Iowa starts. The Dane has finished outside the top fifteen in at least on Iowa race over his three doubleheader appearances. 

Despite a top ten finish at Mid-Ohio, Felix Rosenqvist lost two spots in the championship and dropped to sixth. With a sixth-place finish at Mid-Ohio, Rosenqvist has seven top ten finishes through ten races. He had seven top ten finishes over the entire 2024 season. This Iowa race falls on the five-year anniversary of his only career victory, which came at Road America and was a part of a doubleheader weekend. 

Colton Herta hopes to go on a run of good results. He was fourth at Mid-Ohio, but prior to that he was outside the top ten in four of the previous five races. Herta was fifth in the second race last year at Iowa, his best finish at the circuit. In nine Iowa starts, Herta's average finish is 14.888. Herta has never finished in the top ten in the first race of an Iowa doubleheader weekend. He was 11th in the first race last year after starting on pole position.

Marcus Armstrong’s four consecutive top ten finishes has placed him eighth in the championship through ten races. Armstrong heads to Iowa with four consecutive top ten finishes, the best streak of his IndyCar career. Last year, Armstrong was tenth in the first race of the Iowa doubleheader. Meyer Shank Racing has had double top ten finishes in two consecutive races and four times this season. MSR had only two double top ten days entering this season. 

Will Power has finished outside the top ten in three consecutive races, his worst form since 2021. Power won the second race last year at Iowa, and he could become the third driver with consecutive Iowa victories. Ryan Hunter-Reay did it in 2014-15, and Josef Newgarden has done it twice, winning the second race in 2020 and the first race in 2022 before sweeping the 2023 doubleheader. 

Santino Ferrucci rounds out the top ten in the championship though he is coming off finishing 16th at Mid-Ohio. Ferrucci has four consecutive top five finishes on ovals dating back to last season. A.J. Foyt Racing's only top five finish at Iowa was in the inaugural Iowa race in 2007 where Darren Manning finished fifth.

Scott McLaughlin won the first race last year at Iowa, and a victory would be a big boost since McLaughlin has five consecutive results outside the top ten, three of those being finishes worse than 20th. Prior to this season, McLaughlin had ten consecutive top ten finishes on ovals. Through the first two oval races this season, McLaughlin's average finish is 27th.

Though he has only two top ten finishes this season, David Malukas is 12th in the championship. Malukas has not finished better than his starting position in the last four races. He had finished better than his starting position in four of the first six races. Malukas has finished outside the top fifteen in half the races this season. 

Rinus VeeKay has six top ten finishes and three consecutive heading into Iowa. The Dutchman was fifth and ninth in the doubleheader last year. The last time Dale Coyne Racing had a driver with at least seven top ten finish was 2019 when Santino Ferrucci had seven top ten finishes, and Sébastien Bourdais had nine top ten finishes. Despite his six top ten finishes, VeeKay has finished outside the top fifteen in the other four races. 

Alexander Rossi looks to achieve a first in his IndyCar career. Rossi has made 18 starts since his last top five finish, third at Laguna Seca last year. This is the longest top five finish drought of Rossi's career. He has never had a top five finish at Iowa in 12 starts. Rossi looks to avoid four consecutive results outside the top ten for the first time since 2022. 

Kyffin Simpson enters Iowa on a high. Simpson has finished in the top ten in three of the last four races. He had one top ten finish in his first 23 starts. His best career oval finish was 13th in the second Milwaukee race last year. Simpson did finish 14th and 18th at Iowa last season. He has led a lap in the last two races. 

Christian Rasmussen is one of four drivers to finish in the top ten of both oval races this season. Rasmussen did not run in last year's Iowa race, but he won in his most recent visit to the circuit in Indy Lights in 2023. Rasmussen has been the best finishing Ed Carpenter Racing driver in both oval races this season. 

Nolan Siegel is on a run of respectable run of form. Siegel has finished in the top fifteen of the last two races. The only time Siegel has had three consecutive top fifteen finishes was this May when he was ninth at Barber Motorsports Park and 13th in both races from Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Only once has Siegel led laps in his IndyCar career. He led eight laps at Gateway last year. 

Conor Daly has high hopes this weekend after he was fastest at a test held at Iowa last month in which 21 cars participated. Daly has finished outside the top ten in six consecutive Iowa starts. His only top ten finish at Iowa was eighth in the first race of the 2020 doubleheader, which Daly started on pole position with Carlin.

Josef Newgarden is in the middle of his worst slump since 2012 with three consecutive results outside the top twenty, and all three have been retirements. Last week at Mid-Ohio, Newgarden completed only one lap. The only times he has failed to complete a lap in a race was 2012 at Long Beach, his third career start, and the 2021 season opener at Barber Motorsports Park.

Marcus Ericsson’s top ten finish drought is up to nine consecutive races, but there should be a reason for optimism. Ericsson has seven top ten finishes in nine Iowa starts, but he has only on top five finish at the circuit. He was fourth in the first race of the 2023 doubleheader. He has finished in the top ten in the 11th race of the season in four of the last five seasons. 

Graham Rahal has finished outside the top fifteen in five consecutive races, and he does not have a great run recently at Iowa. He has finished outside the top fifteen in three of the last four Iowa races. Rahal was eighth in the second race of the Iowa doubleheader. It was his best finish at the track since he was third in the second race of the 2020 doubleheader. 

Louis Foster has started in the top six of the last two races, and he will be looking for his best oval start. Foster has started 20th and 21st in his first two oval races. Foster won last year's Indy Lights race at Iowa. He led only the final six laps, taking the lead from James Roe, Jr. Two drivers have won at Iowa in IndyCar and Indy Lights: Josef Newgarden and Patricio O’Ward. 

Robert Shwartzman scored his first top ten finish in the most recent oval race at Gateway, but he has finished outside the top twenty in the last two races. Shwartzman has finished outside the top twenty in five races this season. He has yet to finish on the lead lap in three consecutive races, and he was on the lead lap at Mid-Ohio. 

Sting Ray Robb was 18th at Mid-Ohio, his third-best finish of the season after his ninth at Long Beach and 15th at Detroit. In four Iowa starts, Robb's average finish is 22.25. He has finished better than his starting position in three of the last four races. Only twice has Robb finished worse than his starting position this season, both Indianapolis races. 

Devlin DeFrancesco has finished outside the top fifteen in nine of ten races this season. This has the Canadian 25th in the championship through ten races. He was 23rd and 22nd in the championship in his first two IndyCar seasons. While DeFrancesco was 11th at the Indianapolis 500 in May, he has finished outside the top fifteen in eight of 12 career oval starts.

Callum Ilott is sitting on 95 points, one of three drivers yet to crack 100 points this season. Ilott's finishing position has improved over the last four races. After being disqualified at the Indianapolis 500 and classified in 33rd, Ilott has finished 26th, 18th, 15th and 13th in the last four races. In four Iowa starts, Ilott has never finished worse than 15th. 

Jacob Abel has taken a step forward since failing to qualify for the Indianapolis 500. In the first five races, Abel’s average finish was 25th. In his last four starts, his average finish is 21st. Abel was second in the 2023 Indy Lights race at Iowa. He was 15th in last year's race and he was sixth in his first start in 2022. 

FS2 will show practice while FS1 will broadcast qualifying.

Fox's coverage of the Synk 275 Powered by Sukup begins at 5:00 p.m. ET with green flag scheduled for 5:20 p.m. ET. The race is scheduled for 275 laps. 






Thursday, July 10, 2025

Track Walk: Iowa 2025

The 11th and 12th rounds of the 2025 NTT IndyCar Series season takes place at Iowa Speedway for  the only doubleheader weekend on the calendar. This year, both Iowa races will be 275 laps after last year's race were both 250 laps. It will be the first time Iowa Speedway has ever run to the 275-lap distance. Fourteen of 21 Iowa races have been 250-lap races with the other seven being run to a 300-lap distance. Team Penske has won four consecutive Iowa races and eight of the last nine at the 0.875-mile oval. Honda has not won at the track since 2018, but the Japanese manufacturer enters this weekend with ten consecutive victories and 11 consecutive dating back to last season. 

Coverage
Time: Coverage for race one begins at 5:00 p.m. ET on Saturday July 13 with green flag scheduled for 5:20 p.m. ET. Coverage for race two begins at 1:00 p.m. ET with green flag scheduled for 1:20 p.m. ET.
Channel: Fox
Announcers: Will Buxton, Townsend Bell and James Hinchcliffe will be in the booth. Kevin Lee, Georgia Henneberry and Jack Harvey will work pit lane.

IndyCar Weekend Schedule
Friday:
First Practice: 4:30 p.m. ET (90 minutes)
Saturday:
Qualifying: 12:00 p.m. ET 
Race: 5:20 p.m. ET (275 laps)
Sunday:
Race: 1:20 p.m. ET (275 laps)

The Elephant in the Room
IndyCar returns to Iowa coming off a pair of its worst races ever held, let alone at Iowa Speedway.

Last year's Iowa races had 192 total passes and 204 total passes respectively. Those races had 100 passes for position and 94 passes for position. Most passing was only possible on restarts and in the immediate laps afterward. 

While Will Power won the second race from 22nd starting position, it was mostly down to a timely caution before Power made a pit stop while the rest of the field had stopped and were caught a lap down. The other four top five finishers in the second race last year started inside the top five. In the first race, only one lead change occurred. Colton Herta led the first 86 laps and then Scott McLaughlin led the final 164 laps. Herta was shuffled back to 11th when he was on pit lane when Álex Palou spun exiting the final corner. 

It did not help that prior to last year's Iowa weekend, the average number of passes in an Iowa race since 2017 was 807.667. In 2023, the total number of passes in the two races were 1,502 and 1,168. The average number of passes for position since 2017 was 276.888 with the 2023 races having 319 and 379 passes for positions respectively. Prior to last year, since 2017, the fewest total passes in an Iowa race was 378 in 2017, and the fewest number of passes for position were 203 in the first race of the 2020 doubleheader. 

The main reason for the passing issues was the partial re-pave of the Iowa track surface ahead of its inaugural NASCAR Cup Series race in June 2024. The bottom lane of the racetrack was re-paved, but the upper lane remained untouched, creating a near 18-year difference between the surfaces. With that discrepancy, drivers stayed on the bottom and no one ventured up the track during the middle of the run. With nowhere to go to pass, drivers saved fuel and both Iowa races became a two-stop race. 

IndyCar did test last month ahead of the return to Iowa Speedway with 21 cars participating. Firestone brought a different tire while IndyCar increased the downforce while turning down the horsepower.

Conor Daly reportedly ran the fastest lap of the time at 181.315 mph while Álex Palou was second at 181.118 mph. Felix Rosenqvist was in third at 180.969 mph with his fellow Swede Marcus Ericsson right behind him at 180.872 mph. Rounding out the top five was Colton Herta at 180.611 mph with Patricio O'Ward in sixth at 180.186 mph.

Kyle Kirkwood was ninth in the test while none of the Team Penske drivers cracked the top ten. Josef Newgarden was 11th while Will Power was 14th and Scott McLaughlin was 15th. 

After the test, Daly told Marshall Pruett of Racer the tires were a "better match for the bottom lane," but Daly added the second lane was not an option. In a post-test recap video for IndyCar's website, Daly emphasized the need for a high line practice, and he even jokingly suggested running the high line for the entirety of practice.

On his podcast after the test, Alexander Rossi stated drivers remained stuck to the bottom of the racetrack for the duration of the test, and Christian Rasmussen suffered a right front tire failure. This is leading Firestone to bring a different right side tire compound to this weekend, which is untested. Along with the different tire compound, IndyCar has settled on Iowa will have the same boost levels as the Indianapolis 500, and IndyCar has moved the dependence on downforce to the rear wing in hopes of increasing drag. 

Through Two Oval Races
One-third of the oval races on the 2025 IndyCar calendar are complete. Another third will be in the books once we are through this weekend at Iowa. It will be a little over a month until IndyCar returns to another oval, but when IndyCar heads to Milwaukee it will be the first of two consecutive ovals to close out the season. 

This has been an odd year for oval races, and that is reflected in the oval points scored. 

Patricio O'Ward did not win either of the first two oval races, but with finishes of third and second, O'Ward has scored the most oval points. The Mexican has 87 oval points, and he has scored the most oval points in two of the last four seasons. O'Ward is five points ahead of Indianapolis 500 winner Álex Palou, who finished eighth at Gateway.

There is a 14-point break between the top two and David Malukas in third on 68 points. Christian Rasmussen sits in fourth on 65 points while Santino Ferrucci rounds out the top five with 61 points. O'Ward, Palou, Rasmussen and Ferrucci are the four drivers to have finished in the top ten of both oval races this season.

Kyle Kirkwood has 56 points with 51 of those points coming from his Gateway victory last month. Kirkwood is a point ahead of Felix Rosenqvist. Conor Daly sits on 54 points with Scott Dixon in ninth on 51 points. Rounding out the top ten is Christian Lundgaard, who has scored 47 points in the first two oval races.

Robert Shwartzman sits in 11th on 38 points. Twelve of those points are from Shwartzman's pole position at the Indianapolis 500, but he did score his first career top ten finish at Gateway. The next driver is Takuma Sato, who scored 36 points at Indianapolis after finishing ninth but Sato picked up 11 points for qualifying second and leading the most laps in the race. Marcus Armstrong has 34 points, two more than Rinus VeeKay and Colton Herta rounds out the top fifteen on 29 points. 

Nolan Siegel has 28 points from two oval races while Devlin DeFrancesco and Marcus Ericsson are tied on 27 points. Alexander Rossi has 26 points while Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing teammates Louis Foster and Graham Rahal have 23 and 21 respectively. 

Hélio Castroneves has 20 points after finishing tenth at Indianapolis. That is the same points total that Will Power has from two oval starts. Callum Ilott has 18 oval points and Sting Ray Robb has 17 oval points. 

Last year, Scott McLaughlin and Josef Newgarden ranked first and second in oval points. Through the first two oval races in 2025, they are the bottom two in points among drivers who have started both races. McLaughlin has scored 15 points from the first two oval events and Newgarden has scored 14 points. They have fewer oval points than Ed Carpenter, who scored 16 points for his 15th-place finish. 

While it is good to score points on ovals, it usually does not win a driver the championship. Since 2010, only three times did the driver with the most oval points win the overall championship. Dario Franchitti did it in 2010, Ryan Hunter-Reay followed in 2012, and Scott Dixon was the most recent to do it in 2020. In that same timeframe, the driver with the most road/street course points has won the overall championship nine times, including in four consecutive seasons. 

First-Time Winners
We are approaching two years since IndyCar's most recent first-time winner. This is the longest space between new winners since a near-three year gap from Alexander Rossi's first career victory at the 2016 Indianapolis 500 and Colton Herta's first career victory at Austin in March 2020.

Ovals are not where you would typically expect a first time winner. Of the 17 drivers to score their first career victory since 2012, only two won on an oval. Rossi was the first in 2016, Patricio O'Ward is the other when he won at Texas in 2021. However, looking at recent results, an oval is the more likely location for a breakthrough victory.

At the Indianapolis 500, four of the top eight finishers had zero career victories. At Gateway, three of the top six finishers and five of the top ten finishers had zero career victories. 

Conor Daly was the fastest at the Iowa test last month. Daly has made 125 career starts and he is still looking for that first career victory. Only two drivers have made more starts before their first career victories. Michel Jourdain, Jr. won in his 129 starts. If Daly wins this weekend, he would match George Snider for second-most starts before a first career victory. Daly has finished in the top ten of both oval races this season, and he had finished in the top ten in four of his last five oval starts, including a third at Milwaukee last year. 

Santino Ferrucci has five consecutive top ten finishes on ovals, four of which have been top five finishes. In his career, nine of his 11 career top five finishes have been on ovals. At Iowa, he was sixth and 11th last year, but prior to that, he had finished outside the top ten in his first five starts at the track. 

David Malukas was second in the Indianapolis 500, and all three of his podium finishes have been on ovals. All his top five finishes have been on ovals as well. Malukas' best finish at Iowa was eighth, and he has finished outside the top ten in four of his six starts at the circuit. 

Marcus Armstrong is quietly having a good season. Through ten races, Armstrong has finished in the top ten in five races, including a fifth at Road America. He picked up a top ten finish at Gateway as he was ninth. In nine career oval starts, Armstrong has four top ten finishes with his best result being seventh at Nashville last year.

Christian Rasmussen has been the surprise of the season on ovals. Not only does Rasmussen have the fourth-most oval points but he was third at Gateway, his first career podium finish, and it was Ed Carpenter Racing's first podium result since Barber Motorsports Park in 2022. It was ECR's best oval finish since Ed Carpenter was second at Gateway in 2019. 

Of the remaining eight drivers entered for Iowa without a victory, none of them have a top five finish on an oval. Only Callum Ilott, Nolan Siegel, Sting Ray Robb and Robert Shwartzman have at least one top ten finish on an oval. Kyffin Simpson's best oval result was 13th in the second Milwaukee race last year. Devlin DeFrancesco and Louis Foster were 11th and 12th respectively at this year's Indianapolis 500, their best oval results. Jacob Abel made his first oval start at Gateway and finished 21st. 

The next new winner is a milestone winner. It will be the 300th winner in IndyCar history. There is a reason everyone should be concerned though. There has never been a first-time winner at Iowa. 

Intra-Team Battles
We have completed ten races in the 2025 season, and with three street races, five road courses and two oval races contested, we have a fair sample size of every bit of the calendar, and we know where every team stands with four ovals, two road courses and one street course remaining. 

It is no surprise that Álex Palou is leading the way for Chip Ganassi Racing. Palou has won six times. He has been the top Ganassi finisher on seven occasions. Scott Dixon's victory at Mid-Ohio was his second time as the best Ganassi finisher this season. Kyffin Simpson has been the best Ganassi finisher once, that was Detroit, where Palou was taken out and Simpson was fifth. The other was Gateway, where Dixon caught a timely yellow, which allowed him to have a lap on the field before he made his penultimate pit stop, and it allowed Dixon to finish fourth while Palou was the next-best Ganassi runner in eighth. 

When it comes to qualifying, Palou has been the top Ganassi starter eighth times. Dixon was the best Ganassi driver on the grid at St. Petersburg and the Indianapolis 500. Simpson has yet to be the best Ganassi starter, but his best grid position this season came last week at Mid-Ohio when he started third. 

Patricio O'Ward has taken over the team battle at Arrow McLaren. O'Ward has been the top McLraen finisher in four of the last five races and he has been the best McLaren five times this year. Christian Lundgaard has been the top McLaren finisher four times this season, including his third last week at Mid-Ohio. Nolan Siegel got on the board at Road America when he led McLaren with an eighth-place finisher.

In qualifying, it is identical to race form. O'Ward has led McLaren five times to Lundgaard's four and Siegel has been on top once.

Kyle Kirkwood has been the top Andretti Global finisher in six races, including three of the last four. Colton Herta has been the best Andretti car four times, but one of those includes the Indianapolis 500 where Marcus Ericsson and Kirkwood were disqualified. Prior to his penalty, Indianapolis was the only time Ericsson has been the best Andretti finisher on the road. Ericsson has been the worst Andretti finisher in seven races.

Herta has been the better qualifying, as he has started ahead of both his teammates in seven races. Kirkwood has been the top qualifier only twice, and Ericsson started the best of the three at the Indianapolis 500. 

Will Power has been the best Team Penske finisher five times while Scott McLaughlin has led the way four times, including in the last three races. Josef Newgarden has not been the best Penske driver since he was third in the St. Petersburg season opener. 

McLaughlin is by far the best Penske driver in qualifying. He has been the top qualifier in seven races. The only times Newgarden has been the best starter was when no Penske car started in the top fifteen. At Thermal Club, Newgarden started 17th and his two teammates started outside the top twenty. The second time was at Mid-Ohio. Newgarden started 18th, and neither of his teammates started in the top twenty. Power's pole position at Gateway is the only time he has been the top Penske starter. 

Felix Rosenqvist is sixth in the championship, two spots ahead of his Meyer Shank Racing teammate Marcus Armstrong. Rosenqvist has a 7-3 advantage on Armstrong in race finish, but the drivers are level 5-5 in terms of qualifying. 

After splitting the first six races three apiece, Santino Ferrucci has taken a 7-3 edge in the A.J. Foyt Racing battle, but David Malukas has been the better qualifier in eight races this season, and Malukas has been the best Foyt starter in the last five events. On four of those occasions, Malukas has started in the top ten while Ferrucci has started 15th or worse. In three races of those races, Ferrucci has started no better than 18th.

Alexander Rossi is up 8-2 on Christian Rasmussen in races and 8-2 in qualifying at Ed Carpenter Racing. Rasmussen has been the best ECR finisher at both ovals, and Rasmussen has been the better qualifier in two of the last three races.

Conor Daly is up 7-3 on Sting Ray Robb in races and 8-2 in qualifying at Juncos Hollinger Racing. Robb got the better of Daly at Long Beach, Detroit and Mid-Ohio. Daly has been the best JHR starter in the last four races. The only times Robb has been the better starter was Long Beach, when he started 19th and Daly was 21st, and at the Grand Prix of Indianapolis with Robb starting 17th and Daly in 22nd.

Rinus VeeKay is thoroughly dominating the fight at Dale Coyne Racing over Jacob Abel. VeeKay is up 9-1 in finishing positions. The only time Abel has been the top DCR finisher was Detroit when VeeKay retired due to a mechanical issue after six laps. VeeKay is up 9-1 in qualifying as well. Abel got on the board last week at Mid-Ohio. 

It has not been a good year at Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. Its best driver in the championship is Graham Rahal in 21st, and Rahal has been the top RLLR finisher in six races. Louis Foster is 22nd, and he was the best RLLR driver at Long Beach in 16th, Road America when he finished 11th after starting on pole position, and Mid-Ohio in 14th. Devlin DeFrancesco's only race as the best RLLR finisher was when he was 11th in the Indianapolis 500. The three drivers are near-level as the top RLLR qualifier. Foster has been the best RLLR in four races while Rahal and DeFrancesco has each been the team's top starter three times.

At Prema, Robert Shwartzman holds a 6-4 advantage in finishing position, but Callum Ilott is ahead 8-2 when it comes to qualifying. Ilott has been the better starter in four consecutive races, and Ilott scored his best finish of the season at Mid-Ohio, finishing 13th.

Indy Lights
Only one series will join IndyCar at Iowa, and Indy Lights will run a 75-lap race on Saturday afternoon prior to the first IndyCar race of the weekend. 

Dennis Hauger extended his championship lead with a victory at Mid-Ohio where Hauger led every lap. The Norwegian has 371 points and a 47-point lead over Andretti Global teammate Lochie Hughes, who was third at Mid-Ohio, his third consecutive podium finish and seventh of the season. Caio Collet was second at Mid-Ohio, and Collet is 83 points behind Hauger in the championship.

Myles Rowe is down 135 points to Hauger with Josh Pierson 147 points behind the Norwegian. Salvador de Alba is a point behind Pierson in the championship. 

There has only been one oval race this season in Indy Lights. At Gateway, Hauger started on pole position and led, but he faded as the race went on and ended up falling to fifth at the checkered flag. Collet led most of the race, but the Brazilian did not have the pace to match Hughes down the stretch. Hughes won at Gateway and Rowe wound up taking second ahead of Collet. De Alba was fourth. 

Last year, Andretti Global won at Iowa with Louis Foster. Three of the last four Iowa race winners have gone on to win the Indy Lights championship. It was an Andretti 1-2 finish with James Roe, Jr. finishing second. Roe is currently 15th in the championship and he has finished outside the top ten in six consecutive races. De Alba was third last year ahead of Callum Hedge. Hedge has finished sixth in the last two races and he is seventh in the championship on 189 points, 34 points behind Pierson. 

The Indy Lights race will take place at 1:30 p.m. ET on Saturday July 12.

Fast Facts
Saturday's race will be the eighth run on July 12th and the first since Felix Rosenqvist scored his first career victory at Road America. Sunday's race will be the eighth run on July 13th and the first since Scott McLaughlin won at Iowa last year.

The only Iowa race to previously take place on July 12 was in 2014. Ryan Hunter-Reay won it, and only led the final two laps after pitting under the final caution when most of the leaders did not make a stop.

Chip Ganassi Racing has won four of the seven races held on June 12 (1998: Alex Zanardi at Cleveland, 2008: Scott Dixon at Nashville, 2009: Dario Franchitti at Toronto, 2020: Rosenqvist at Road America).

Honda has won three consecutive oval races. Honda has never won four consecutive oval races in the DW12 era.

This will be the 75th oval race in the DW12 era. Chevrolet has won 49 of them. 

There have been seven different winners in the last seven oval races.

The last time there were eight different winners in eight oval races was from Pocono 2015 through the 2017 Indianapolis 500. Those winners were Ryan Hunter-Reay (Pocono 2015), Scott Dixon (Phoenix 2016), Alexander Rossi (Indianapolis 2016), Josef Newgarden (Iowa 2016), Will Power (Pocono 2016), Graham Rahal (Texas 2016), Simon Pagenaud (Phoenix 2017) and Takuma Sato (Indianapolis 2017).

The average starting position of an Iowa winner is 7.619 with a median of fourth.

Only five Iowa races have been won from the front row (2013, 2016, 2020 race II, 2022 race I, 2024 race I). James Hinchcliffe won the first. Josef Newgarden won the next three races and Scott McLaughlin won from second last year.

Six of 21 Iowa races have been won from third starting position.

Seven Iowa races have been won from outside the top ten, including the second race last year when Will Power won from 22nd. The worst starting position for an Iowa winner came in the first race in 2020 when Simon Pagenaud won from 23rd.

Ten of 21 Iowa races have been won from outside a top five starting position. 

The average number of lead changes in an Iowa race is 8.523 with a median of eight. 

Eight Iowa races have had at least a double-digit number of lead changes, but only two in the last ten Iowa races have had more than seven lead changes. 

The average number of cautions in an Iowa race is 3.952 with a median of four. The average number of caution laps is 43.476 with a median of 44.

The most cautions in an Iowa race is seven, which occurred in 2014.

The second Iowa race last year had 12 caution laps, the fewest in an Iowa race.

Predictions
Chevrolet gets on the board this weekend and Josef Newgarden gets the weight off his back. Chevrolet sweeps the weekend with Patricio O’Ward. Álex Palou will be on the podium in both races. Each race will have a top five finishers with zero career victories. Passing will be up, but by no more than 12% from last year’s average. No cars will get airborne. No cars will run out of fuel. None of the rookies get a top ten finish this weekend. At least one race sees Alexander Rossi as the top finishing Ed Carpenter Racing driver. Marcus Ericsson snaps his top ten finish drought. Neither race is a double top ten day for Meyer Shank Racing. No caution catches out Colton Herta. Sleeper: Marcus Ericsson.



Monday, July 7, 2025

Musings From the Weekend: Midseason Thoughts

Here is a rundown of what got me thinking...

There was a home winner at Silverstone, and a little bit of controversy that wasn't that controversial if you have a pulse. An American won though it appeared there was an infringement. Some junior series drivers did not get a long at Mid-Ohio. Imola had a red flag. The Norisring had a red flag. For the first time since November 2018, a NASCAR Cup race other than the Daytona 500 had a driver that did not qualify. It was also a historic weekend in Chicago, and not just because it didn't rain. Scott Dixon caught a break and somewhat stole a victory. Mid-Ohio had a good outing, but I want to look a the first ten races in their entirety, especially as the IndyCar season quickly disappears.

Midseason Thoughts
At the start of the season, I wrote about how IndyCar needed a season where neither Chip Ganassi Racing nor Team Penske were a factor. We are getting half of that. The problem is the other half still means it is more of the same. However, we are witnessing a season the likes we have not seen in decades. 

Two drivers combined to win the first nine races!  It took until the tenth race to get a third winner.

That hadn't happened since 1980. It didn't mean the championship has turned into a stunning one-on-one battle. One driver has run away from the field and no one else can keep up, but there is no reason to panic. We hadn't seen a season start like this in 45 years. It isn't a regular thing. Things are bound to happen again. In the same way, we had a driver win six of the first nine races. We hadn't seen that in 50 years! 

It just happens to be the same driver winning. 

That should not stop us from at least appreciating and celebrating Álex Palou. For as much as we celebrate the past, there is a reluctance to celebrate the present. There is a borderline disgust whenever something historic happens in the current time period. The problem is anything that does not lead to growth is seen as  a negative, but nothing is leading to growth.

Dominant season where a driver puts his name high up in the record books? No growth. Six-way championship fight into the season finale with a combinations of all-time greats and inspiring Americans? No growth. You can choose to be angry either way, or you can embrace what is happening and not worry about what it means for the bottomline of IndyCar.

It was nearly two years ago I was wondering when was the last great IndyCar championship season. We are seeing it right now. Palou did something not done since A.J. Foyt. 

Hello?! Are you paying attention?

When someone is in that company, you should be in awe. If it was easy to win six of the first nine races, everyone would be doing it. A vast majority didn't. Palou did. The bar has been reset and the next time it happens, whether it is next year or in 50 years, we will be praising Palou's name. 

If we aren't going to see something spellbinding in the championship, we mind as well see an astonishing individual performance. 

There is a chance Palou could set the record for most victories in an IndyCar season. Did anyone think that would be possible in their lifetime? Especially with a championship that is only 17 races long? 

The record is ten. Eleven is in play, but we cannot get too excited about it until Palou has nine victories with at least two races remaining. Even then it is a monumental ask. Even if he were to fall short by a few races, we don't see many eight-win or nine-win seasons. Sébastien Bourdais won eight in 2007, but those seasons during The Split are flawed. It isn't Bourdais' fault, but it doesn't feel complete. Palou is doing this against everyone in IndyCar and on a variety of circuits. Palou only helped himself with an Indianapolis 500 victory. This isn't going to be a case where Palou could win 11 times and the most noteworthy victory is Road America, which even that is 30,000 feet below the Indianapolis 500 in terms of prestige. 

We are watching one of the most complete IndyCar seasons in a long time. 

------------------

Team Penske feels lost, and after the dismissals of Tim Cindric, Ron Ruzewski and Kyle Moyer, the team is in for its worst season in over 25 years. 

There are still plenty of races remaining. Penske could win the remaining four oval races and no one would be surprise. The team could win six of the remaining races and it will look like business as usual, but the changes at the team surely have not made this season easy. 

It is one thing needing to replace one person. It is another thing to replace the entire head of the table. Cindric, Ruzewski and Moyer weren't only men behind the scenes, they were key figures on the timing stand and moving the chess pieces during the race. As much as success came from the drivers, a fair portion belongs to those men calling strategy. Without those minds in the game, Penske has suffered. 

If there has been a key takeaway from this season, it is how much the timing stands and pit crews determine races. Conor Daly had a good run going at Gateway, but he lost the lead because his Juncos Hollinger Racing pit crew is nowhere close to those of Penske, Ganassi, Andretti and even McLaren. The same goes for David Malukas, Christian Rasmussen, and we saw Prema's pit woes play out in full sight when Robert Shwartzman won pole position for the Indianapolis 500. 

All the technical might and ingenuity cannot make up for what is simply taking four tires on and four tires off the car. That is an area IndyCar is not going to regulate. There is almost no way IndyCar can spread the talent around on pit lane. Do we want to get into refueling limits like we see in sports car? We could, but the resistance to it will be stark. It is a simple thing that could level the playing field, and it would not change how most people see the race, but it goes back to IndyCar's worst mantra, is it growing the series? If we used that as the deciding factor for everything, IndyCar would end up doing nothing. The series would cease to exist.

------------------

For all the faults we can find with IndyCar and its inevitable championship conclusion, we must acknowledge it is still a series where anyone can be competitive in any given race. 

Prior to Mid-Ohio, there had been five different pole-sitters from five different organization in the previous five races. That includes Prema's debut pole position with rookie Robert Shwartzman. Another rookie, Louis Foster, running with one of the teams that has struggled the most over the last two seasons, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, won pole position at Road America. RLLR also had arguably the best car at the Grand Prix of Indianapolis with Graham Rahal, only for tire strategy to cost it a possible victory and podium finish. RLLR is also responsible for the car that led the most laps in the Indianapolis 500. 

A.J. Foyt Racing had its best run of finishes in over 20 years. In the month of June, Foyt, Meyer Shank Racing and Ed Carpenter Racing had more podium finishes than Team Penske. Dreyer & Reinbold Racing nearly won the Indianapolis 500. Prema also had a near-victory at Gateway, almost entirely down to fuel mileage, but Prema put itself in position to pull it off. 

IndyCar might not be perfect, but we can still go to a race weekend and a team, on its best day, has a legitimate shot at victory. 

Winners From the Weekend
You know about Scott Dixon, but did you know...

Lando Norris won the British Grand Prix, his fourth victory of the season.

Shane van Gisbergen won the NASCAR Cup race from Chicago, his second victory of the season. Van Gisbergen also won the Grand National Series race.

Jordan Pepper and Thomas Preining split the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters races from the Norisring. 

The #48 VDS Panis Racing Oreca of Oliver Gray, Charles Milesi and Esteban Masson won the 4 Hours of Imola. The #17 CLX Motorsport Ligier of Adrien Closemenil, Theodor Jensen and Paul Lanchè won in LMP3. The #82 TF Sport Corvette of Hiroshi Koizumi, Charlie Eastwood and Rui Andrade won in LMGT3.

Dennis Hauger won the Indy Lights race from Mid-Ohio, his fifth victory of the season. Max Garcia swept the USF Pro 2000 races. Caleb Gafrarar (race one)a and Jack Jeffers (race two and three) split the U.S. F2000 races.

Leonardo Fornaroli (sprint) and Jak Crawford (feature) split the Formula Two races from Silverstone. Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak (sprint) and Mari Boya (feature) split the Formula Three races.

Coming Up This Weekend
IndyCar has its only doubleheader weekend at Iowa. 
Formula E has its penultimate doubleheader in Berlin. 
MotoGP will be down the road at the Sachsenring.
World Superbike is at Donington Park. 
Supercars has a round at Townsville.
The FIA World Endurance Championship s back in action in São Paulo.
IMSA takes LMP2 and the two GT classes to Mosport. 
NASCAR is making a later trip to Sonoma.
The Goodwood Festival of Speed will also take place.