All posts by Aaron Bearden

By Aaron Bearden, Open Wheel Editor MDM Motorsports driver Chase Purdy brought home his fourth-consecutive top five in Saturday’s Fans With Benefits 150. But unlike his other results, Purdy was far from content to be so close to his first ARCA Racing Series victory at Iowa Speedway. Purdy surged in the final run to the checkered flag to claim a third-place finish in ARCA’s lone 2018 trip to Iowa – a strong run, but one that fell short of what the Mississippian believed he was capable of that night. “It’s aRead More

By Aaron Bearden, Open Wheel Editor Chandler Smith came to Iowa Speedway without experience on larger ovals and unsure of what to expect. He nearly left the track with the checkered flag. Smith rose through the field over the course of the 150-lap event and shadowed ARCA Racing Series points leader Sheldon Creed to the finish en-route to a second-place result in Saturday’s Fans With Benefits 150. The run was Smith’s fourth top five and fifth top 10 in five-career ARCA starts. “This is my first time ever being on aRead More

By Aaron Bearden, Open Wheel Editor NEWTON, Iowa —  With Josef Newgarden out front and dominating, the Verizon IndyCar Series’ annual trip to Iowa Speedway looked like 2016 all over again through 250 laps. Newgarden looked poised to win his second-straight race, in similarly dominant fashion to June’s Road America romp. Instead he ended the race outside of the podium. Newgarden led a race-high 229 laps in Sunday’s Iowa Corn 300, lapping as high as fifth on the field through a caution-free opening 139 laps. The Tennessean trapped points rivals Scott Dixon and Alexander RossiRead More

By Aaron Bearden, Open Wheel Editor NEWTON, Iowa — Patricio O’Ward entered Iowa Speedway in need of a strong run to close back up to Colton Herta in the Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires championship. He emerged with one of the most dominant drives of his Mazda Road to Indy career. O’Ward led all 100 laps from pole to soar to a dominant win in Sunday’s Mazda Iowa 100, beating out Herta by 2.826 seconds as he took the checkered flag. The triumph was O’Ward’s fourth victory of the 2018Read More

By Aaron Bearden, Open Wheel Editor NEWTON, Iowa — Sheldon Creed kept his summer streak of ARCA Racing Series dominance alive at Iowa Speedway. Creed led a race-high 85 laps and fended off a fierce challenge from Venturini Motorsports ace Chandler Smith in the closing laps to win Saturday’s Fans With Benefits 150. The victory was the Californian’s third in the past five races, and marked his seventh-consecutive finish in the top three. “We have some momentum right now,” Creed said afterward. “It’s so hard to get these race cars hookedRead More

By Aaron Bearden, Open Wheel Editor NEWTON, Iowa — Will Power’s string of impressive qualifying efforts continued at Iowa Speedway. Power laid down a 17.611-second lap to take the Verizon P1 Award and the right to lead the field to green in Sunday’s Iowa Corn 300. The result was the Australian’s third-career Iowa pole, his second in a row at the track and second overall in 2018. The run continued a streak of qualifying excellence for the 2014 Verizon IndyCar Series champion. In 11 races, Power has qualified inside of the topRead More

By Aaron Bearden, Open Wheel Editor NEWTON, Iowa — Josef Newgarden entered this weekend’s trip to Iowa finish with a win and an average finish of 2.75 in his last four Iowa Speedway starts. If Saturday’s opening practice is any indication, the defending Verizon IndyCar Series champion is in a good position to keep that streak of success going. Newgarden laid down a 17.519-second circuit that averaged 183.711 mph to lead Saturday’s opening practice for the Iowa Corn 300. The Tennessean is searching for his second-straight victory after ending a streak of mediocrityRead More

By Aaron Bearden, Open Wheel Editor ELKHART LAKE, Wisconsin — Road America served as a true start to the second half of the 2018 Verizon IndyCar Series season, giving teams and drivers a chance to start fresh and make a statement for the ensuing seven races. Robert Wickens found himself facing the same dilemma he saw at the start of the year – an on-track incident with Alexander Rossi. The pair came together on the opening lap of Sunday’s Kohler Grand Prix, with Wickens getting the worst of it and dropping back afterRead More

By Aaron Bearden, Open Wheel Editor ELKHART LAKE, Wisconsin — Josef Newgarden was forced to keep challengers at bay throughout a caution-free 55 laps at Road America. He did so with ease. Newgarden surged to the early lead from pole and held the top spot through varying pit strategies to win Sunday’s Kohler Grand Prix. The victory was Newgarden’s 10th-career Verizon IndyCar Series win, and his third triumph of 2018. It also served as a healthy dose of redemption for the Tennessean after falling just short of victory at Road America in 2017.Read More

By Aaron Bearden, Open Wheel Editor David Malukas entered the Road America weekend in search of his first Pro Mazda victory. He emerged with two of them. Malukas and BN Racing teammate Toby Sowery capped off a dominant weekend with their second-straight one-two result in Saturday’s Pro Mazda Race 2. Harrison Scott followed in third, giving the weekend’s two races the same podium on both days. “Obviously the team is going wild right now,” Malukas told Motorsports Tribune. “Yesterday the win was more for me. I felt like I hadRead More