Written by Dan Jones
It's finally time for some short-track oval action in the 2024 IndyCar Series, the first oval event outside the Indianapolis 500, all made the better by a double-header weekend at the much loved Iowa Speedway, which will host rounds 10 and 11 of the NTT IndyCar Series. My question from last year remains still valid - can ANYONE topple the 'King of Corn Country' - Josef Newgarden?
But before we look forward to the double action at Iowa, in a period where the series races four times in three weeks, let's look back at the last round at Mid-Ohio, where Pato O'Ward claimed his first on-track victory since, ironically, Iowa 2022 in the Salute to the Farmers 300.
O'Ward would miss out on pole to championship leader, Álex Palou by 0.0024 seconds, the closest gap in Fast 6 history, but the two would breakaway from the field in early doors. Championship contender, Scott Dixon, saw his race over before it begun with a hybrid issue, which saw it's debut at Mid-Ohio. Palou would extend his gap over O'Ward by about six seconds on the primary black stint, before O'Ward would claw that time back by the time the stint on the alternate tyre had finished.
After Palou was held in the pits on his final stop, O'Ward swooped around the Spaniard at Turn 1, and would defend his lead valiantly for the remaining laps to claim a much-needed victory, his second on paper of 2024, after Josef Newgarden's disqualification from the Streets of St. Petersburg. O'Ward's win elevated him to third in the standings, after Dixon's difficult day, with Palou further extending his lead. We're now into the second half of the season, and the standings are as follows:
Palou - 329
Power - 281
O'Ward - 259
Dixon - 258
Herta - 249
Kirkwood - 234
Rossi - 226
McLaughlin - 224
Rosenqvist - 192
Newgarden - 186
The championship picture does not look good for Newgarden, but, if there was any weekend to turn around his fortunes, it would be this one.
Iowa Speedway, a 7/8 of a mile D-Shaped short oval, where drivers will be turning left for 94% of their lap. Banking reaching 14 degrees in the corners, 10 on the frontstretch, and four on the backstretch. Iowa Speedway has been hosting IndyCar since 2007, apart from an off-year in 2021, and those races have all been about one man, Josef Newgarden.
The aptly nicknamed 'King of Corn Country' has six wins at the Speedway, and has only finished outside the top six on one occasion since 2014. That was in 2022 when a mechanical failure put him out of victory lane, when he was well on his way to the chequered flag first. The stats speak from themselves. Newgarden and Iowa is the most dominant driver-track pairing in IndyCar history by laps led. In the last 11 races, Newgarden has led 1847 laps at Iowa, Will Power lays second - with 351. Of all-time laps led at the Speedway, Newgarden has over five times that of second place.
The only other driver to win at Iowa in the current field is last week's victor, Pato O'Ward, who won the second race in 2022, after Newgarden crashed out from the lead with a mechanical failure. O'Ward is one of very few individuals who can lay a glove on Newgarden on oval ability, but the Mexican has a good record here, finishing in the top four in four of his six Iowa starts. In O'Ward's career, he has finished in the top four in 15 of 21 oval races. Since 2021, that stands at 12 of 15.
Such is Newgarden's dominance, even the likes of Scott Dixon and WIll Power have not found Iowa success. In fact, this could be seen as Dixon's weakest event on the schedule. He has not claimed a podium since 2020, albeit, all other finishes have been in the top six. Power does have seven poles here though, including the last four. Power has taken podiums in three of the last four Iowa races, the same record as O'Ward and Newgarden.
As it is a double-header weekend, the qualifying format will be slightly different. Drivers will do two laps each, the first lap speed will determine their starting position for Race One, their second lap their starting position for Race Two.
However, the main talking point heading into Iowa is the new repave done to the bottom groove on the circuit. The NASCAR Cup Series made their first visit to Iowa earlier on in the year, with the repave designed to allow cars to run three or four wide, which it successfully did, but has raised questions over IndyCar's visit.
In the recent hybrid tests, speeds were up to 8mph quicker than last years pole speed, the 'Fastest Short Track on the Planet.' getting even faster. Iowa has also traditionally been a tyre-saving event, however, many drivers have stated that will no longer be the case with the re-pave. IndyCar have since added more downforce to the cars in order to slow these speeds which could alter the deg.
The major concern is that racing may narrow to one lane. Iowa has been great for multi-lane racing, but with the repave only being done on the lower lane, this will change. IndyCar are facilitating a 'high-line practice' session on Friday to help aid the second groove - a session which worked wonders in Texas a few years ago.
Newgarden believes that the repave may see Penske's advantage gone at Iowa, but considering their strengths at other ovals, such as World Wide Technology Raceway, as well as the recent Milwaukee test, this could well prove untrue. Graham Rahal stated that the grip level was good, and there would be a more even playing field. A welcome sight after RLL's turbulent oval form last year.
This weekend will see the first use of the hybrid engine on an oval in a competitive setting. Only a third of the Mid-Ohio hybrid deployment per lap will be used in Iowa. Drivers may find regen difficult, due to the track becoming much faster due to the repave, and therefore drivers not lifting off to the same extent as previously. O'Ward stated the hybrid 'doesn't do anything on ovals,' but will still be a major talking point of the weekend.
IndyCar will also be under the lights for the first time in several years, with the Saturday race taking place at 8pm local, which will be a welcome addition with the circuit not hosting a night race since 2020. It will also help the hybrid cool at a quicker rate, but the race is expected to be particularly physical for the drivers due to the faster speeds.
Many eyes will turn to the championship throughout the weekend, with double the points up for grabs. There's no hiding that Álex Palou's biggest weakness comes at short ovals. He did claim his first short oval podium at Iowa last year. In fairness to Palou, he has only finished outside the top ten on an oval once since 2022, but it remains his biggest weakness.
That is only exemplified by his championship contenders. O'Ward's oval record speaks for itself, whilst Dixon and Power's wealth of experience, and years of oval pedigree throw a major threat to Palou's championship lead. After a difficult Mid-Ohio for Power, Palou has a strong gap at the lead of the standings, but, he can't rest on his laurels, particularly with further rounds at World Wide Technology Raceway, the Milwaukee Mile and Nashville Superspeedway.
Interestingly, only eight drivers have won on an oval in the current field. That figure reduces to four since the turn of the decade, with only three winning outside the Indianapolis 500 being Pato O'Ward, Scott Dixon and Josef Newgarden, arguably the three best oval racers in the field. The likes of Colton Herta and Palou have never claimed an oval win in their career.
Looking into the weekend, there will be a couple of driver changes. As announced pre-season, Ed Carpenter will race in the No.20 Ed Carpenter Racing car on all the ovals, with Christian Rasmussen stepping aside for the first time this season, as the team ran a third entry in the Indianapolis 500.
Katherine Legge will return to the No. 51 Dale Coyne Racing with Rick Ware Racing car, the car she occupied in the 108th Running of the Indianapolis 500. That car now lies on the fringes of the Leaders Circle, after a particularly impressive 13th place finish from debutant, Toby Sowery at Mid-Ohio. Although unannounced, Legge is expected to remain in the car for the rest of the season. Colin Braun, Luca Ghiotto and Sowery, who have all been in the car at some point this year, have never tested on an oval and are not eligible.
As has been the case in previous years, Iowa will bring in a full host of fans, due to concerts from country singer, Luke Combs and rapper, Post Malone, two household names in the United States. Ed Sheeran performed at the venue last season, which was seen as extremely popular. Iowa will also mark the last IndyCar commentary from Leigh Diffey, as he moves to the NASCAR booth for the remainder of 2024, with FOX coming in for 2025.
It's a double-header weekend, and could be one of the most unpredictable of the season. With the much faster, more physical repave, the usage of the hybrid, and an increasingly intriguing championship battle, it is all to play for in Iowa. But the most important question, will ANYONE be able to finally defeat the King of Corn Country?
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