Broom Time: Newgarden, Penske Complete Iowa Sweep

The brooms are out.

Josef Newgarden completed a sweep of the Hy-Vee INDYCAR Race Weekend doubleheader at Iowa Speedway by winning the Hy-Vee One Step 250 presented by Gatorade on Sunday, bookending his victory Saturday in the Hy-Vee Homefront 250 presented by Instacart.

SEE: Race Results

Two-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Newgarden drove his No. 2 Hitachi Team Penske Chevrolet to his sixth career victory at Iowa by .7050 of a second over teammate and reigning series champion Will Power in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet. The close finish came after a three-lap dash to the checkered flag due to a late caution period.

Newgarden has won all four oval races this season – including the 107th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge on May 28 – and can complete a season sweep of circle-track events at the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 presented by Axalta and Valvoline on Sunday, Aug. 27 at World Wide Technology Raceway. He has won six of the last seven oval races in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES over the last 12 months.

“We knew we had a great car, and the pressure was there because I think we wanted to execute on it and make sure it was a great weekend,” Newgarden said. “I’m happy now. When you finish the first race, it’s great to have a doubleheader, but you just feel incomplete until you get through today. To be able to come back and do it again, I’m so proud of the team.

“It’s very gratifying because I know how good our car is here. When you show up with a car like this, you’ve got the pressure to just execute and get the job done. When you don’t get the job done, you feel like you did something wrong.”

There’s even more history. Newgarden joined legendary four-time Indy 500 winners A.J. Foyt and Al Unser as the only drivers to win five consecutive oval races in the INDYCAR SERIES, as Newgarden’s streak started last August at WWTR. Foyt won seven in a row in 1964, and Unser won five straight in 1968 and 1970.

This was Newgarden’s 29th career victory, tying him with four-time Indy 500 winner and fellow Team Penske legend Rick Mears for 13th on the all-time INDYCAR SERIES win list. Newgarden also became the first driver to sweep an INDYCAR SERIES doubleheader since Graham Rahal in 2017 in Detroit.

Newgarden’s victory also polished off a sweep of the weekend for Team Penske, as the team led every on-track session. Newgarden won both races and led practice Friday, while Power won the NTT P1 Award for both races and led the warmup this morning.

Championship leader Alex Palou finished third in his No. 10 The American Legion Honda. Palou’s lead over second place Newgarden slimmed to 80 points with five races remaining in the season. The Spaniard, who finished eighth Saturday, led by 117 points entering this doubleheader weekend. Still, he extended his streak of finishing in the top eight to all 12 races this season.

“I didn’t expect to be on the podium, honestly,” Palou said. “This is a place where we struggle, we don’t really have the package that we would like and that I struggle also personally. We got a lot of confidence today, but there’s still a lot to improve.”

Felix Rosenqvist finished fourth in the No. 6 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, with Scott McLaughlin rounding out three Team Penske cars in the top five in the No. 3 XPEL Team Penske Chevrolet.

Newgarden cantered to a 3.375-second victory over McLaughlin on Saturday. But a second trip to the winner’s circle this weekend wasn’t as easy Sunday even though Newgarden led far more laps – 212 of 250 – after starting seventh than the 129 trips he paced Saturday from the third spot on the starting grid.

It appeared Newgarden would cruise to another dominant victory late in the race, as he was well ahead of Rosenqvist and had lapped the field all the way to sixth place. But Ryan Hunter-Reay side-swiped the SAFER Barrier in Turn 4 in the No. 20 Bitnile.com Chevrolet on Lap 240, triggering the third and final caution of the race.

The five cars on the lead lap were moved to the front of field under caution, creating a three-lap dash to the checkered on the restart at the end of Lap 247. Newgarden got a smooth jump into Turn 1 and never trailed. Pole sitter Power passed Rosenqvist for second, and 2021 season champion Palou completed his Sunday salvage job by passing Rosenqvist and McLaughlin to earn his seventh podium finish of the season.

Newgarden took less time to pass teammate and NTT P1 Award winner Power for the early lead today than Saturday. He first got to the front and took control of the race on Lap 31, never trailing thereafter except for during pit cycles.

Newgarden will split $10,000 with Team Penske and his chosen charities, SeriousFun Children’s Network and Wags and Walks Nashville, for his victory as part of the PeopleReady Force For Good Challenge.

The next NTT INDYCAR SERIES race is the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix on Sunday, Aug. 6 on the streets of Nashville, Tennessee – Newgarden’s hometown. Live coverage starts at noon ET on NBC, Peacock and the INDYCAR Radio Network.

Newgarden Continues To Rule Ovals with Dominant Iowa Win

In one of the most unpredictable, competitive motorsports series on Earth, perhaps the closest to a sure thing emerged again Saturday – Josef Newgarden winning on an oval.

Newgarden dominated the Hy-Vee Homefront 250 presented by Instacart at Iowa Speedway, staying perfect in oval races in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES this season in the No. 2 Hitachi Team Penske Chevrolet. Newgarden also won the PPG 375 in April at Texas Motor Speedway and the 107th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge in May at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

SEE: Race Results

Two-time series champion Newgarden also has won five of the six oval races in the last 12 months, including this race last year. The only race he didn’t win during that streak was the second race of the Hy-Vee INDYCAR Race Weekend last year, as he crashed out while leading due to a mechanical failure.

“It’s a great day,” Newgarden said. “My team, they are unbelievable. They always give me a great car. I show up every weekend, and I feel like I’ve got the best of the best behind me. I love Iowa.”

This was Newgarden’s third victory of the season – all on ovals – and the 28th of his INDYCAR SERIES career. He will try to pull off the weekend doubleheader sweep and stay perfect this season on circle tracks in the Hy-Vee One Step 250 presented by Gatorade on Sunday, with live coverage starting at 2 p.m. ET on NBC, Peacock and the INDYCAR Radio Network.

Team Penske finished 1-2 today, as Scott McLaughlin tied his career-best oval finish of second in the No. 2 XPEL Team Penske Chevrolet, 3.3755 seconds behind Newgarden. Pato O’Ward placed third in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet.

Marcus Ericsson finished fourth in the No. 8 Huski Ice Spritz Honda fielded by Chip Ganassi Racing, and double NTT P1 Award winner Will Power rounded out the top five in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet.

Just five cars finished on the lead lap, an indication of Newgarden’s command of this race. More proof of Newgarden’s dominance: He led a race-high 129 laps on the .894-mile oval, with Power leading 119 to put Team Penske out front for 248 of the 250 laps.

Power led 119 of the first 120 laps, losing the top spot to championship leader Alex Palou only during an early pit stop cycle. Newgarden, who started third, roared under Power exiting Turn 2 on Lap 121 to take the lead and paced the field the rest of the way except for one lap during a pit stop on Lap 126.

Newgarden stretched his lead to nearly four seconds when the field was bunched for the only caution period of the fast, frantic race when Graham Rahal’s No. 15 Blue Compass RV Honda hit the SAFER Barrier exiting Turn 4 on Lap 152. Rahal was unhurt.

That hope for the other drivers was fleeting as Newgarden rocketed away on the restart on Lap 166. He built a 5.3-second lead over McLaughlin by Lap 200 and appeared to be on cruise control to the checkered before he was snagged in a thicket of end-of-lead lap and lapped traffic on the “Fastest Short Track on the Planet.”

“It’s always tough in INDYCAR; these guys that are about to go a lap down, they always run the leader really hard,” Newgarden said. “That’s the name of the game. It’s legal, but man, it’s a little frustrating at times. I’m going to study the tape. I’m going to be better tomorrow.”

McLaughlin pulled to within 1.6 seconds with five laps remaining due to the traffic jam, but he could get no closer as Newgarden threaded through slower cars and powered to the finish.

“I badly want to beat that guy, and I’m going to be trying everything I can to beat him,” McLaughlin said of close friend and “Bus Bros” video series co-host Newgarden. “But he’s the epitome of a great teammate, and I appreciate the help he’s given me.”

Newgarden will split $10,000 with Team Penske and his chosen charities, SeriousFun Children’s Network and Wags and Walks Nashville, for his victory as part of the PeopleReady Force For Good Challenge.

Palou finished eighth – tied for his season low – in the No. 10 The American Legion Honda. His lead in the championship shrank from 117 to 98 points over Newgarden, who took second in the standings from Scott Dixon with his win.

Despite Team Penske’s dominance up front, the race was a competitive affair throughout the 28-car field. There were 1,502 on-track passes, an INDYCAR SERIES record at Iowa Speedway.

Speed, Strategy Deliver First Win for Lundgaard at Toronto

Lundgaard Tiptoes to Top in Tricky Toronto Qualifying

In a qualifying session full of surprises and mixed conditions, Christian Lundgaard sprung the final twist by capturing the NTT P1 Award for the Honda Indy Toronto on Saturday.

Lundgaard, 21, from Denmark, earned his second pole of this season and of his young NTT INDYCAR SERIES career with a time of 1 minute, 4.1567 seconds in the No. 45 Vivid Clear Rx Honda fielded by Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. Lundgaard’s other pole came at the GMR Grand Prix in May at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.

SEE: Qualifying Results

The pole proved how RLL’s focus on improving its pace on temporary street circuits like the 11-turn, 1.786-mile course around Toronto’s Exhibition Place is paying off. The three-car team’s previous best qualifying performance this season on a street course was 11th by Lundgaard at the season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding in early March.

“I have a history, at least in go-karts, of being fast in the rain,” Lundgaard said. “I’ve only driven in the rain only once in this car, which was Indy GP last year, and we weren’t competitive.

“The Hy-Vee Vivid Clear Rx car today was there. I can’t thank this team enough. I know this is wet, and it’s tricky, but looking at where we were on street circuits earlier this year and last year, we’ve made huge progress.”

Live coverage of the 85-lap race starts at 1:30 p.m. ET Sunday on Peacock and the INDYCAR Radio Network in the United States and TSN in Canada. The 30-minute morning warmup starts at 10:15 a.m., with live coverage on Peacock and the INDYCAR Radio Network in the U.S. and TSN+ in Canada.

Every driver in the Firestone Fast Six session switched to Firestone slick tires on a drying track after using rain tires during the slippery second session. That created some fish-tailing, heart-in-throat moments, as all six drivers scrambled for grip in the few areas where the track remained wet. A handful of drivers brushed the wall during the thrilling, unpredictable final session as the rear of their cars side-stepped and sashayed exiting corners.

Scott McLaughlin will start second, tying his season best, after a lap of 1:04.4790 in the No. 3 Gallagher Insurance Team Penske Chevrolet. McLaughlin spun early in the Firestone Fast Six and lost his best time to that point as a penalty for triggering a local yellow, but he turned his quickest lap in the final moments of the session – like nearly every driver – as the circuit began to dry following an intense shower earlier in qualifying.

Pato O’Ward qualified third at 1:04.5500 in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. Marcus Ericsson will join him in the second row after qualifying fourth at 1:04.9091 in the No. 8 Huski Ice Spritz Honda.

Felix Rosenqvist will start fifth after a lap of 1:04.9423 in the No. 6 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, as Arrow McLaren and Team Penske each put two drivers in the Firestone Fast Six. Reigning series champion and all-time INDYCAR SERIES pole record holder Will Power was the second Penske driver in the first three rows, qualifying a season-best sixth at 1:05.0703 in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet.

The three-round qualifying session was almost as noteworthy for who missed the Firestone Fast Six as for those who made the final group.

Championship leader Alex Palou, who leads by 110 points over teammate Scott Dixon, encountered the first hiccup of his dominant season in the first round. He failed to advance as light rain started in the final 90 seconds of his group while he and other drivers were on slick tires and will start a season-low 15th in the No. 10 Journie Rewards Honda. Palou’s worst previous starting spot this season was seventh at St. Petersburg and Texas.

“We really didn’t put together everything we had,” Palou said. “We had a lot more pace than that, and we couldn’t improve on alternates (tires). It’s a shame we’re going to have to start from the back, but we know we have a fast car and can make it from there.”

Reigning Toronto race winner Dixon also didn’t make the Firestone Fast Six, just missing advancing from the second group by .1128 of a second. He will start seventh in the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda.

Kyle Kirkwood, fastest in Friday practice and second in practice Saturday morning, will start eighth in the No. 27 AutoNation Honda. Two-time series champion Josef Newgarden, third in the standings, will start 11th in the No. 2 Snap-on Tools Team Penske Chevrolet.

Palou Goes Three in Row With Mid-Ohio Race Win

Things could not be going better for Alex Palou, who on Sunday at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course won his third consecutive NTT INDYCAR SERIES race to extend his championship lead to a staggering 110 points.

Palou’s victory in The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Presented by the 2023 Accord Hybrid helped him become only the second driver since the 2016 season to score a three-peat. That other driver was Scott Dixon, the six-time series champion who opened 2020 with such a streak.

And if Palou needed more confidence as the season moves to its second half, he should know that the last three times an INDYCAR SERIES driver won three races in succession – Dixon in in 2013 and ’20, Simon Pagenaud in 2016 – the Astor Challenge Cup followed at year’s end.

SEE: Race Results

Yes, Palou is on a major roll, having won four of the past five races. He even could be riding a five-race winning streak if not for contact on pit road midway through the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge. The incident with Rinus VeeKay dropped the pole sitter to 27th place, and he stormed back to finish fourth.

Palou is humble, but he conceded this stretch of success is “the best moment of my career so far.”

Palou won this race by 5.0242 seconds over Dixon, but it was another Chip Ganassi Racing teammate that helped the series lead swell so large. Marcus Ericsson, who had been second in the standings, ran over the Arrow McLaren car of fellow Swedish driver Felix Rosenqvist on the opening lap, effectively ending his race.

Ericsson’s crew was able to make repairs to the front suspension of the No. 8 Huski Ice Spritz, but it was too much too late. Ericsson finished last in the 27-car field, losing 48 points to the series lead, and he fell to fourth in the standings.

The incident also ended Ericsson’s streak of eight consecutive top-10 finishes to start the season. Guess who is the only driver with a streak that long: Yes, it’s Palou. Considering he won last year’s season-ending race at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, the 26-year-old Spaniard has compiled 10 straight top-eight finishes with nine of them record in the top five.

And it could continue. Palou finished third in last year’s Honda Indy Toronto, the next race on the schedule (July 16).

“I know we can have some good couple of races coming up now, and we’ll still try and maximize (points), do the best we can and win when we can,” the driver of the No. 10 The American Legion Honda said. “So, yeah, try and get (the car) on top.”

Palou trailed NTT P1 Award winner and Andretti Autosport driver Colton Herta (No. 26 Gainbridge Honda) and fellow front-row starter Graham Rahal (No. 15 Fifth Third Bank Honda of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing) through the first segment of the race, but he swiped the top position during the first pit exchange. Herta went to pit road first, on Lap 28, and while Rahal waited a lap to make his stop, Palou conserved fuel behind him.

Herta and Rahal came out of the pits with new primary tires, but Palou switched to the faster alternative compound, allowing him to rocket past them to the lead.

Palou had the field covered the rest of the way. His only difficulty came during a sequence when he took several laps to overhaul the No. 14 AJ Foyt Racing/Sexton Properties Chevrolet of series rookie Benjamin Pedersen. In that stretch, Palou’s 8-second lead was cut in half, but he quickly regained all of that advantage once clearing Pedersen on Lap 55.

After Palou made his second and final pit stop on Lap 54, Herta and Rahal came to pit road on consecutive laps, and both had trouble. Herta’s car nearly got away from him at pit entrance, and the errant momentum caused him to exceed the speed limit, drawing a drive-through penalty. Rahal arrived at his pit box without concern, but trouble mounting the left rear tire led to a slow stop. As a result of those bobbles, the fastest two cars in qualifying dropped to the eighth (Rahal) and 12th (Herta) positions.

Rahal finished seventh, Herta 11th as Palou continued on without incident.

“I had a good car and good strategy, honestly,” Palou said. “We’ve got a really fast car, (but) we knew we needed to try something different to the guys starting up front – that’s why we started on primary (tires). Everything went well. The strategy, the pit stops and our pace was pretty good.”

Honda won its sixth race of the year in nine tries.

Dixon did everything he could to remain in contention for a championship that would tie A.J. Foyt’s al-time record. With Pato O’Ward (No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet) finishing eighth after a difficult three-stop charge from the 25th starting position, Dixon jumped to second in the standings. Josef Newgarden (No. 2 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet) and Ericsson are 116 and 122 points out of the lead with eight races remain. O’Ward is fifth, 127 points in arrears.

Palou’s competitors will need a lot to happen to catch him.

“Anything’s possible,” Dixon said of overcoming the deficit. “Like we’ve always seen, you’re never out of it until you’re out of it. So, we’ll keep trying as hard as possible.

“I know we tied (in points) with (Juan Pablo) Montoya in 2015, and we thought we were possibly out of it (entering the final race). That’s what’s funny about the INDYCAR SERIES and all of the competition, but you’ve got to give them credit, they’re doing a hell of a job.”

Dixon has won six of these Mid-Ohio races, but this was his first second-place finish. The result also was his best of the season as he seeks to extend his series records for seasons with at least one win (currently 20) and consecutive seasons with a win (18).

Will Power (No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet) has similar streaks in play – 18 and 16 years, respectively -- and he earned his third podium finish of the season in third place.

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s Christian Lundgaard (No. 45 Vivid Clear Rx Honda) and last year’s Mid-Ohio winner, Scott McLaughlin (No. 3 Good Ranchers Team Penske Chevrolet), finished fourth and fifth, respectively, with David Malukas (No. 18 HMD Truck Honda of Dale Coyne Racing with HMD) sixth.

The 40th INDYCAR SERIES race at Mid-Ohio ran mostly as a clean race with the exception of Ericsson’s contact with Rosenqvist, which drew a penalty for avoidable contact. Andretti Autosport’s Kyle Kirkwood (No. 27 DHL Honda) tried to challenge Palou in Turn 4 on Lap 19 and lost six positions. He finished 17th.

Conor Daly finished 20th while driving the No. 60 AutoNation/SiriusXM Honda as Meyer Shank Racing asked him to stand in for Simon Pagenaud, who endured a wild ride without injury in an accident in Saturday morning’s practice. Pagenaud will be re-evaluated in advance of the Honda Indy Toronto.

Herta, Rahal Lead Honda's First Fast Six Sweep