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Rossi, NAPA, Honda Stay with Andretti

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Photo: Rossi in his dominant Road America win in June

Andretti Autosport put an end to Silly Season this afternoon, announcing that Alexander Rossi will be driving for the team in 2020 “and beyond.”  NAPA will continue to sponsor Rossi in nine races next year. Auto Nation will sponsor the number 27 car in seven 2020 races. Honda will continue to power Andretti cars. The announcement ends the rumors that Rossi might sign with Team Penske and the Andretti was switching to Chevrolet engines for 2020.

“It feels good to continue with Andretti Autosport,” said Rossi. “Over the past four years, we’ve built a very strong team with great chemistry and I believe that we have the tools necessary to win races and championships. I’m looking forward to not just calling this my team, but my home in the IndyCar Series. Michael [Andretti], J-F [Thormann], Doug [Bresnahan] and the entire team have been working very hard to put all the pieces of this deal together and it’s definitely a relief to have the future settled and be able to focus on the championship fight ahead of us.  

“It’s fantastic to have NAPA AUTO PARTS, AutoNation and Honda supporting the 27 program. I’ve had the pleasure of developing a great relationship with both NAPA and Honda and couldn’t imagine not having them in my corner. AutoNation has always had a strong partnership with the team through Ryan [Hunter-Reay] and I’m looking forward to the opportunity to represent the Drive Pink campaign and getting to know the AutoNation team better.”

Had Rossi signed with Penske, four of the arguably five best drivers in the series would be on one team. An Andretti switch to Chevy would give the engine seven of the best cars on the grid. With Rossi and Honda staying put, the balance of power in the series is preserved.  I’m not sure how Honda would have replaced Andretti in the series. The options are somewhat limited.

 

Iowa 300- Quick Thoughts

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Photo: Kyle McInnes

Thoughts written too early in the morning/ late at night.

Newgarden not only increased his lead over Rossi by 25 points, he also put Pagenaud farther behind.

The year of dominating drives continues. Rossi won going away at Long Beach and Road America, Pagenaud was the class of the field at Indianapolis, and Newgarden tonight/this morning all won by huge margins.

It was a much needed second for Dixon and a very welcome podium for Hinchcliffe. Hinchcliffe always does well at Iowa.

Ed Carpenter’s crash ruined what would have been a great team finish for ECR. Pigot finished 5th from his 19th starting spot.

Bourdais’s car really came to life the second half of the race. He went on quite a tear to get a top 10 finish.

Kanaan’s 10th place has to feel like a victory for him and A. J. Four Racing.

Dixon has finished first or second in 28% of his career races.

Veach had his best race of the season moving up 13 spots to 7th.

The late start and changed weather conditions may have affected Pagenaud’s car.

Will Power jumped to the lead but after Newgarden passed him he could not fhight back.  Another pit mistake and penalty pushed him further down the final standings.

The pole sitter still has never won at Iowa.

Lots of credit to Iowa Speedway and the NTT IndyCar Series for their hard work to get the complete race in.

Much appreciation to all the fans who stayed for the entire race.

Rossi will need to repeat last year’s performance at Mid Ohio next weekend to keep Newgarden in sight.

Look for a full race report tomorrow on Wildfire Sports.

Thanks for following this weekend. 

 

 

Iowa Update

thepitwindow

At 7pm CDT the rain is slowing and the western sky is getting lighter. There is still lightning in th east. More rain is west of the track. We are still waiting word from the NTT Indycar Series about the rest of the evening.

Good news is Iowa w ill return next year. I have no details yet, but I’m glad this race will stay on the schedule.

I will pass along more information when it is available.