Iowa Race 2- Quick Thoughts

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Josef Newgarden is the Indycar Ovalmeister with his fifth straight oval win. Newgarden has won seven of the last nine Indycar oval races, and he was one suspension failure away from winninf eightn of nine. The finalovalof 2023 comes at gateway in about a month. He is defintiely the favorite going into that race as well.

A;ex Palou managed to put some salve on the bleeding ofm his point lead. His thrid place finish today cuts his lead to 80 points as the series heads to tracks more to his liking at Nashville and the IMS road course. Palou tied his worst finish of the year yesterday finishing eighth.

Today’s race was a much better show than we saw yesterday. There were battles all through the field, with teamates going after each other, and several different challengers for the lead. The teams had he opportubnity overnight to put their cars in race trim, which helped the racing a lot. Iowa should move qualifying to Friday to make Saturday’s race better. And to make both races better, run them at night.

Race Control

I am most confused by calls from race control today. Sting Ray Robb exited the pits with an unsecured tire, which rolled onto the track at pit exit. It seemed that there was no immediate yellow. Several cars, including Newgarden, dodged the errant tire.

The stewards also looked inconsistent on wall contact. Agustin canapinombrushed the wall and brought out the first yellow of the day. later, takuma sato had wall contact, and no caution was thrown. With 12 laps to go, Ryan hunter-reay’s wall contact brough out a yellow, which led to more confusion,.

Race control decided not to open the pits except to let the lapped cars drive through. I admire their effort to finish under green, but this is not how they handled a similar late caution period at Indianapolis. The decision cost some cars the opportunity to get fresh tires for the final few laps. We have seen that move pay dividends at Iowa in the past.

In 2018 at Iowa, a crash late in the race left a green flag finish in doubt. rave vontrol told the teams that they would go back to green. several cars pitted for new rubber. The race finished under yellow, costing those that pitted several positions.

I felt a red was called for given race control’s previous actions at other places.

I have little argument with whatever calls they make as long they are consistent. I may not always agree with the call, but if the stewards are consistent, I’m fine with what they do.

Great Drives

Felix Rosenqvist finished fourth after starting 16th, but he was the last serious challenger to Josef Newgarden just before the last caution. His finish, paired with Pato O’Ward’s third place on Saturday, gave Arrow McLaren two top five finishes for the weekend.

Alex Palou had his best Iowa finish in third. Palou started 12th, and languished n the bottom half of the top 10 or just outside of it most of the day. Palou went a lap down a couple of times, but still managed to end up on the podium. Tesults like today are the kind that win titles.

The Points Battle

A weekend that could have seen Palou’s mhuge lead in the championship demolished turned out to be not so bad. He entered the weekend 117 points ahead of second place. Palou heads to the next race with an 80 point lead. He lost just one third of his lead.

The remaining schedule favors Palou. With just one oval left in 2023, Palou has the edge in tracks where he is stronger than Newgarden. I think Palou will still win the title.

Thanks for following along this weekend. I will be ay IMS this coming Friday and saturday for the IMSA test. I am excited for the sports var series tocome to the Speedway.

Iowa Race 2

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Today’s schedule -Times are Eastern Iowa is in the Central Time Zone

10 am: Gates Open

11:25 am: Cars come around 1 time for systems check

12 pm: @zacbrownband Concert

1:43 pm: Driver Intros

2:13 pm: Invocation

2:14 pm: Anthem

2:25 pm: Command

2:30 pm: Green Flag

5:15 pm: @edsheeran Concert

From last night:

Quick Thoughts- Qualifying and Race 1

https://thepitwindow.blog/2023/07/22/quick-thoughts-qualifying-and-race-1/

Starting lineup for part 2 of the Josef Newgarden Invitational”

This lineup looks as if it will produce a more interesting race than we saw on Saturday.

Quick Thoughts- Qualifying and Race 1

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First- Will Power. Not much more to say about his prowess as a qualifier. He swept the poles today for the second year in a row. 70 career poles is a record that may never be touched. Each year it seems to take Power longer to win his first pole of the season. In 2022 he won just three poles- two at iowa and at Laguna Seca.

The Race

Today was the first time I have watched a race from Iowa on television in eight years. It is definitely a better race to watch at the track. I found today’s race a bit of a snoozer. The Penske domination was fascinating but Newgarden even made a sham of the competiton between the three drivers.

At home I missed a lot of the crazy action that happens all around the track every lap. NBC having comnmercial breaks every four laps or so did not help. They also lost a lot of laps coming back from breaks as they felt a need to show the countryside around the track. Yes, it is beautiful. Keep those shots in prerace.

I will give Josef Newgarden his due. he owns this track. Heck, he owns oval racing. Only three other drivers have won four ovals in a row, and they are legndary ones- A. J. Foyt, Al Unser, and Nigel Mansell. That is aver nice club to a part of.

Alex Palou did not get hurt too badly today. His eighth place finish cot him 19 points of his lead. I’m not sure that he will get any of the points back tomorrow, but if he keeps the lead in the 90s, he will be fine.

If Pato O’Ward’s crew can figure out how to get his car to pass someone, he might have a chance tomorrow. Tomorrow and at gateway are his last two best hots at winning this year.

Chip Ganassi Racing again placed all four drivers in the top 10. Marcus Ericsson was fourth, Scott Dixon sixth Alex Palou eighth, and Takuma Sato ninth. Ericsson had one of the best drives of the race.

Tomorrow’s starting lineup should make for a more interesting race with Newgarden starting seventh and O’Ward lining up 11th. The cars will be in race trim tomorrow as well.

Thanks for following along today. See you tomorrow.

Iowa Saturday

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It;’s the busiest day of the weekend with Indycar qualifying, Race 1, and Indy NXT race on the schedule.

Today’s schedule. Eastern Times. Iowa is in the Central Time Zone

8 am: Gates Open

8:30 am: IndyCar Quals

10:10 am: Indy NXT Green Flag

11:50 am:@carrieunderwood Concert

1:20 pm: Driver Intros

1:49 pm: Invocation

1:50 pm: Anthem

2:01 pm: Command

2:06 pm: Green Flag

4:30 pm:@kennychesney Concert

Nothing New at Iowa-Newgarden Leads Practice

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If Indycar is at Iowa.Josef Newgarden will be at the head of the field. Newgarden jumped into the lead with the quick lap on his fourth trip around the 7.8 mile oval and was never beaten. His teammate, Scott Mclaughlin, had tyhe second fastest lap late in the session, but for the most part, times didn’t improve much for most of the field.

There were two cautions during the practice session. Agustin canapino spun exiting the pits with 44 minutes left. Later, Santino Ferrucci slowed on track after going high.

Ryan Hunter-Reay, who has won this event three times, was eighth for Ed Carpenter Racing. Conor Daly, filling in for Simon Pagenaud, was ninth fastest.

Points leader Alex Palou finished 15th, while the other Ganassi entries all were in the top 10. Marcus Ericsson was third, Takuma Sato was sixth, and Scott Dixon was 10th.

The 28 car field turned a total of 2,766 laps. Next up is qualifying tomorrow morning at 9:30 Eatern time.

Results

Preview- Hy-Vee Doubleheader

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First- wishing my friend and colleague Steve Wittich a speedy recovery from his medical issue. We media types are having a bad run right now.

Today;s schedule in Eastern Times. iowa is in the Central Time Zone:

3 pm: Gates Open

3:15-4 pm: IndyNXT Practice

4:30-6 pm: IndyCar Practice

6:30 pm: Indy NXT Qualifying

8:30 pm: Pit Stop Comp

Iowa Speedway is my favorite non Indy oval. I love the way the cars zip around the 7/8 mile track. The action is fast and furious, and cars are always in trtaffic. Well, maybe not Josef Newgarden, but the others for sure. The double heare conept, which began during the pandemic, has stuck at Iowa.

In 2022, the races were between concerts. Hy-Vee and Indycar put a lot of money into sprucing up the track facilities and garnering some headline acts. It was a hit.

For 2023, the promoters got even bigger name acts, and they raised the ticket prices. Will they draw the same crowd as last year? We shall see.

One change this year, which I don’t care for, is that both races are the same distnce, 250 laps. I think Saturday’s race should be 300 laps. The different race lengths woul;d make the weekend more interesting.

Qualifying is key at Iowa. since the return to day races, the winners have come from the first two rows.

Newgarden dominated the event last year, winning race 1 and was on his way to an easy victory in race 2 when a part failure spun him into the turn 4 wall. What will this year bring? Here are some things to look for.

Arrow McLaren- The Clock is Ticking

It is hard to believe that no driver from arrow McLaren has won a race this season. Pato O’Ward was in a positon to win threer races- St. Pete, Texas, and the Indianapolis 500. Mechanical hiccups and yellow flags thwarted his chances.

O’Ward had the second best car at iowa last year, and he won Race 2 after Newgarden’s misfortune.

The team is also good at Gateway. I think McLaren has the three remaining oval races to get into the win column. If not, their offseason may be even more interesting than it already is going to be.

I have a feeling O’Ward wins one of the two races this weekend.

Who Stops Newgarden?

Newgarden has won at Iowa four times. last year was pure domination by him for two days. As we enter the weekend, there is nothing to indicate we won’t see the same type of performance as last year. Newgarden has won four of the last five oval races starting with Iowa in 2022. We are likely to see the same two winners as we had in 2022.

Did Honda Testing Help?

Honda teams tested at Iowa recently, and Chip Ganassi drivers were very happy with the results. This track has favored Chevy in recent years, but Honda, thanks to Alex Palou, has won more races in 2023. What hasn’t Honda won? An oval race.

As Palou continues his relentless march to the title, this is the weekend where he could hit a bump in the road. The good news is, he doesn’t need to win. Palou just needs to stay in shouting distance of Newgarden and Scott Dixon. A two race lead in the points affords him that luxury. A top five finish is sufficient for Palou.

RLL Momentum

Ganassi aside, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing is arguably the team with the most momentum in the paddock right. Fresh from Christian Lundgaard’s pole and victory in Toronto, the team seems to at last have their act together. This weekend could be redemption for their Indianapolis nightmare.

Notes

Matthew Brabham returns to IndyNXT with Juncos Hollinger Racing, replacing Matteo Nannini.

Simon Pagenaud will miss his third and fourth cionsecutive races while he recovers from the concussion he suffered at Mid Ohio. Conor daly will agiain drive for MSR.

If Palou maintains his current lead he will clinch the championship after Gateway.