IndyCar Category

By INDYCAR NEWTON, Iowa – James Hinchcliffe has been seeking a reboot to his Verizon IndyCar Series season after not qualifying for the Indianapolis 500 in May. He found redemption with a victory Sunday at the Iowa Corn 300. The Schmidt Peterson Motorsports driver led the final 45 laps on Iowa Speedway’s high-banked oval to collect his sixth career victory and first since Long Beach in April 2017, 26 races ago. “This is such a good feeling after what happened in May,” Hinchcliffe admitted. “We knew we had it inRead 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 Brian Eberly, Contributing Writer NEWTON, Iowa — Zach Veach is in midst of his rookie Verizon IndyCar Series season with Andretti Autosport and the Graduate of Mazda Road to Indy is the first driver to race on all levels with the same team. That bond with the Andretti organization has been critical in his first full season of IndyCar competition. “From Day 1, they’ve been family. To have them a part of my journey has always been extremely special,” Veach told Motorsports Tribune. “I’ve been able to get that relationshipRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer NEWTON, Iowa — Two practice sessions, qualifying and some Indy Lights track time detailed Saturday’s action ahead of Sunday’s Iowa Corn 300 for the Verizon IndyCar Series. In the opening practice session, Josef Newgarden was fastest over Will Power, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Alexander Rossi and Zach Veach. Team Penske and Andretti Autosport would be the dominant teams of the day. However, Matheus Leist was rather unlucky as he got loose coming through Turn 2 after completing 15 laps and spun, hitting the wall with the rear ofRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer NEWTON, Iowa — Ryan Hunter-Reay’s 2018 Verizon IndyCar Series season has been mostly under the radar but the three time Iowa Corn 300 winner put the rest of the field on notice as he qualified third quickest for Sunday afternoon’s race at Iowa Speedway. The 2012 series champion qualified with a two-lap average of 180.681 mph around the .875 mile short oval to place Hunter-Reay behind the Team Penske duo of Will Power and Josef Newgarden. “I was hoping we had a shot for pole todayRead 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 Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer ELKHART LAKE, Wisconsin —Zach Veach was not in an ideal situation early on in Sunday’s Kohler Grand Prix at Road America. The Verizon IndyCar Series rookie was holding station in the midfield but ultimately mechanical difficulty brought the No. 26 Relay Group One Thousand One Honda to pit road. “We had something come loose on the steering rack,” said Veach. “Basically one of the lock nuts that keep the toe links kind of in their position in the steering rack came loose. The steering wheel justRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer ELKHART LAKE, Wisconsin — Spencer Pigot had a hard fought battle during Sunday’s Kohler Grand Prix at Road America but in his first full season in Verizon IndyCar Series competition, the Floridian would have to settle for eighth at the track where he made his Skip Barber national debut. Starting tenth, Pigot was shuffled back a few positions following front row starter Will Power’s mechanical trouble on the first lap. Pigot was stuck behind the 2018 Indianapolis 500 winner’s car on the main straight and severalRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer ELKHART LAKE, Wisconsin — Despite his best efforts, Ryan Hunter-Reay could not overcome Josef Newgarden’s pace and the Andretti Autosport racer had to settle for second place in Sunday’s Kohler Grand Prix at Road America. The 2012 Verizon IndyCar Series Champion started third which became second after front row starter Will Power had a mechanical issue that dropped him through the field. Never letting the defending series champion out of sight, Hunter-Reay only ran below second place for two laps when Scott Dixon took the lead.Read More