Tag: Iowa Corn Indy 250

Josef Newgarden had high hopes for his second shot at the Milwaukee Mile, but an 11th-place finish left the competitive 22-year-old driver feeling frustrated and unsatisfied.

“It wasn’t a good day,” Newgarden said. “It was a rough one and it stinks sometimes because you don’t have the package, but we’ll keep working hard. There’s definitely no quit in this team and we’ll keep trucking away for the next one.”

The second year driver for Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing (SFHR) started the race 8th on the grid, and spent most of the 250 laps in the top-10, even racing as high as fourth place.

During the second stint of the race, Newgarden fell a lap behind and was never able to make it up. Only eight drivers finished the race completing all 250 laps.

“We just really struggled with car grip in general,” Newgarden said. “It was especially difficult in traffic. It was really tough to run behind everyone and race, which is pretty critical around this place.”

After SFHR made its fourth and final pit stop on lap 213, the No. 67 SFHR Direct Supply/Dallara/Honda/ Firestone car fell from 9th to 12th position.

“You have to have a pretty decent car in dirty air and we didn’t really have that today,” Newgarden said. “It was great to have Direct Supply on the car, it’s their home race, and everyone was pumped up. It just didn’t turn out how we wanted to so we’ll keep working and go to the next one. There are a lot of good races coming up for us."

Andretti Autosport’s Ryan Hunter-Reay won the Milwaukee IndyFest for the second consecutive year. Helio Castroneves and Will Power finished in second and third respectively.

The IZOD IndyCar Series will head west for the Iowa Corn Indy 250 on Sunday, June 23. Iowa Speedway is the third oval track in a row on the series schedule. The race will air live on ABC at 2:30 p.m. ET. For all of the latest team updates, follow @SFHRindy on Twitter and Instagram.

Rookie Josef Newgarden finished 19th in the Iowa Corn Indy 250, but he picked up a valuable lesson in turning an ill-handling race car into a competitive one with the help of his team along the way.

At the start of the race Newgarden’s No. 67 Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing (SFHR) Dallara/Honda/Firestone car suffered from understeer and adverse affects from tire wear.

Newgarden held on to the car however and made it to his first pit stop window, which allowed the SFHR crew to make helpful adjustments.

Once he was back out on the track for his second stint, Newgarden found that his car was vastly improved. Running in the top ten, he began picking off cars one by one with competitive lap times.

“We were letting the race come to us,” Newgarden said.

Unfortunately, on lap 178 he entered turn two to make a pass on then-leader Ryan Briscoe, and neither car made it out of the turn. The cars made contact and spun into the turn two wall.

“Ryan had been working the middle lane of the track for several laps,” Newgarden said. “That’s what you look at when you come up on someone to make a pass. When we entered the corner, he started coming lower and lower. I tried to go as low as I could to avoid contact. The last thing you want to do is ball up a car because there’s no reason to do that.”

Newgarden was especially disappointed with the incident because it stopped the momentum his car had been gaining as the race wore on.

“We struggled early from tire wear dropping off, but the car was really coming to us,” he said. “We were working on it and trying to maximize the car in longer stints. The car was just getting right where it needed to be when the incident happened.”

Despite his finish, Newgarden remains positive about Iowa Speedway and the many fans that came to watch the IZOD IndyCar Series put on a show.

“I like this place a lot and it has great fans,” he said. “It was just a shame not to finish the race.”

Ryan Hunter-Reay won the Iowa Corn Indy 250, giving him his second win on a short oval in as many weeks.

Marco Andretti, Tony Kanaan, Scott Dixon and Simon Pagenaud nabbed the remaining spots in the top five.

The IZOD IndyCar Series returns to action on the streets of Toronto for the Honda Indy Toronto on July 8.

Rookie Josef Newgarden kept a cool head Friday as the IZOD IndyCar Series turned up the temperature at Iowa Speedway with a new qualifying format that featured heat races to decide starting positions instead of the typical two-lap average qualifying format.

Newgarden, in the No. 67 Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing (SFHR) Dallara/Honda/Firestone car, drove safely through two practice sessions and a qualifying heat race to earn the 12th starting position in the Iowa Corn Indy 250. Tony Kanaan and Graham Rahal will serve 10-spot starting grid penalties for unapproved engine changes, moving Newgarden up to the 10th starting position.

It wasn't all smooth sailing, however.

Driving in the first of three heat races, Newgarden started second and fell back one position quickly before regaining his starting spot and challenging Graham Rahal for the lead.

"I got a good run on Graham (Rahal) early on," Newgarden said. "He wanted to go low when he saw I had a run on him. That was fine, so I chose the outside. The next thing I knew, when we got in the corner he was going straight up the race track in front of me."

Thanks to quick thinking and reaction, Newgarden made it out of the corner.

"I thought we were going to hit the wall, and I don’t know how we didn’t," Newgarden said. "Luckily we didn’t tear up any race cars."

Newgarden went on to finish the 30-lap heat race in second, learning a lesson along the way.

"You’re always learning new things about your competitors and how you can race people in instances like that," he said. "That will be valuable information for tomorrow during the race."

After his heat race, Newgarden identified that one of the most interesting story lines to follow during the Iowa Corn Indy 250 could be tire wear and management.

"This heat race was only half distance compared to a race stint for us on a set of tires," he said. "We need to figure out how the car and tires will handle on the next half of the stint tomorrow. The tires wore off pretty quickly today."

Dario Franchitti will start on pole for the Iowa Corn Indy 250. Franchitti won the third heat race which included eight drivers with the fastest lap times from the second practice session of the day.

Franchitti will lead Helio Castroneves, Marco Andretti, James Hinchcliffe and Ryan Briscoe to the green flag.

The Iowa Corn Indy 250 will be broadcast live on NBC Sports Network, formerly known as Versus. The qualifying heat races will precede the race broadcast, starting at 8 p.m. ET. The green flag will drop on the race at 10 p.m. ET.

The most frequent question reporters ask IZOD IndyCar Series rookie driver Josef Newgarden is how a kid from Nashville ended up at the elite level of open wheel racing instead of in the fendered-world of NASCAR that dominates his home state of Tennessee.

Newgarden’s answer is typically very simple: he saw a challenge and he wanted to drive fast.

Twenty-one-year-old Newgarden and his Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing (SFHR) team head to Iowa Speedway this weekend for the Iowa Corn Indy 250, and the familiar melting pot of open wheel and NASCAR racing will be palpable.

Iowa Speedway was designed by NASCAR star Rusty Wallace. The 7/8-mile paved tri-oval is a standout on the IZOD IndyCar Series schedule.

"Iowa’s great, and it's one of my favorite ovals,” Newgarden said. “It’s unique to a lot of other tracks, and it builds a lot of character with the bumps in turns one and two. The layout provides for really challenging driving.”

Last year’s IZOD IndyCar Series race at Iowa Speedway arguably provided the most exciting competition in recent INDYCAR history, and Newgarden is ready to try his hand at the track.

“It’s difficult to get the car around that place for a whole race because of the amount of banking and the size and shape of the track,” he said. “It’s a fun place to go and if you can master it it's pretty rewarding."

Newgarden has fond memories of racing at Iowa Speedway in 2011 in the Firestone Indy Lights Series. He won the Sukup 100 at Iowa Speedway on his way to winning the 2011 Firestone Indy Lights championship.

He has been back to Iowa a few times since racing last year and is looking forward to the hospitality and love of racing shown by Iowans.

"The race fans in Iowa are very passionate about all types of racing,” Newgarden said. “IndyCar is one of the best shows they bring to Iowa Speedway all year. The crowd is always huge and it’s a great event to race at because they make you feel so welcome."

IZOD IndyCar Series action at Iowa Speedway kicks off on Friday, June 22 with practice at 9 a.m. ET. The green flag drops on the Iowa Corn 250 on Saturday, June 23 at 10 p.m. ET.

Quotes

“JOSEF NEWGARDEN (Driver- Nashville, Tenn.)

What do you think about the heat races at Iowa? Have you ever participated in something like that?

“I’ve done something similar to the heat races in the Ford Festival in Europe where you run heat races before the final to determine your starting position. I think it’s pretty cool. It’s something new for IndyCar that will be cool to try out.”

Talk a little bit about the team’s test last week in Iowa. How was the car?

“I thought we had a really productive test, but you’ve got to keep focused on the big task at hand, which is the race. We really have to put our setups to good use this weekend. We’ve had good setups all year but unfortunately they haven’t translated into good results.”

Iowa is an even shorter track than your last race in Milwaukee. What is your main focus at a track like Iowa? 

“It’s all about keeping the car in one piece and not getting involved in an incident so you can make it to the finish. Being a short track, there are some good opportunities to pass. There’s also a chance to run away from the field if you catch a break.”

Of Note:

Josef Newgarden’s spotter on ovals this season is former Sam Schmidt Motorsports (SSM) driver Travis Gregg. Coincidentally, Newgarden drove for SSM in 2011 when he captured the Firestone Indy Lights championship. As a driver, Gregg collected three victories with SSM at Homestead, Kentucky and Texas in 2005. He also won seven Firestone Indy Lights poles with SSM. With a shared history, the two have formed a unique partnership.

Newgarden on having Travis Gregg as a spotter:

“Travis is really good. He’s a great spotter and he’s comforting in my ear. I worked with him last year in Lights so it’s great to have him on the IndyCar program. He says the right things and makes me feel comfortable in the car.”

Travis Gregg on spotting for Newgarden and transitioning from driving to spotting:

“I started helping Sam Schmidt with other Indy Lights drivers after I stopped driving. I kept connected with him over the years and last year at Las Vegas I spotted for Josef when he was driving in Firestone Indy Lights.

“You would always rather be driving the car yourself but spotting is probably the next best thing. It’s pretty exciting to watch the sport from a totally different perspective.

“It’s cool to see Josef where he is now because several drivers who spent time at Sam Schmidt Motorsports over the years moved up to the IZOD IndyCar Series. It’s good to see that Josef has made the system work for him and progressed to this level.”