INDYCAR SERIES reaches oval section of schedule

After seven of the first eight races of the season were held on either city or race tracks, the NTT INDYCAR SERIES now begins an oval-heavy schedule, beginning this weekend with a doubleheader at Iowa Speedway in Newton.

The Hy-Vee Homefront 250 and Hy-Vee One Stop 250 will take place on “The fastest short track in the world”, begin a series of six races on oval tracks during the final eight events of the season. After this weekend, oval tracks will be contested at World Wide Technology Raceway, the Milwaukee Mile (two races) and the season finale at Nashville Superspeedway.

Reigning INDYCAR SERIES champion Alex Palou, who primarily drives the No. 10 American Legion-branded DHL Honda for Chip Ganassi Racing (CGR), continues to lead the points race this year. He is coming off a second-place finish at the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio and is 48 points ahead of second-place Will Power.

And CGR rookie Linus Lundqvist, who drives the No. 8 American Legion Honda and supports the Be the One mission, still has the lead in the Rookie of the Year race. He has a 24-point lead over Christian Rasmussen after his 15th-place finish last week. Lundqvist qualified for Mid-Ohio’s Fast 12 and started the race in 10th place.

On Wednesday, the American Legion Riders of Iowa accompanied Lundqvist’s supporters to Newton before this weekend’s racing began.

This weekend’s two races cover 250 laps and 233.5 miles on Iowa Speedway’s 0.90-mile variable-slope tri-oval, which drives like a much larger superspeedway and offers sub-18-second lap times.

In addition to two races, the weekend also features concert performances by Post Malone, Kelsea Ballerini, Luke Combs and Eric Church
Broadcast schedule for this weekend (all times ET):

Friday, July 12 – NTT INDYCAR SERIES Practice, 3:35 p.m.-6:00 p.m. (Peacock).

· Saturday, July 13 – NTT INDYCAR SERIES Qualifying, 3:45-4:45 p.m. (Peacock); Hy-Vee Homefront 250, 8-10 p.m. (NBC and Peacock).

· Sunday, July 14 – Hy-Vee One Stop 250, 12:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. (NBC and Peacock)

NTT INDYCAR SERIES Notes:

The Hy-Vee Homefront 250 presented by Instacart and the Hy-Vee One Step 250 presented by Gatorade will be the 10th and 11th races of the 2024 season. There have been six winners in nine NTT INDYCAR SERIES races this season. Pato O’Ward (Streets of St. Petersburg and Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course), Scott Dixon (Streets of Long Beach and Streets of Detroit), Scott McLaughlin (Barber Motorsports Park), Alex Palou (Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course and WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca), Josef Newgarden (Indianapolis 500) and Will Power (Road America) all won in 2024. The modern record (1946 to present) for most different winners in a season is 11 in 2000, 2001 and 2014.

· The Hy-Vee INDYCAR Race Weekend, featuring the Hy-Vee Homefront 250 presented by Instacart and the Hy-Vee One Step 250 presented by Gatorade, is the second and third oval races on the 2024 NTT INDYCAR SERIES calendar. The first oval race of the season was won by Josef Newgarden (Indianapolis 500). The remaining oval races will be held on August 17 at World Wide Technology Raceway and on August 31 and September 1 at the Milwaukee Mile.

· With the introduction of the INDYCAR hybrid powertrain, the Hy-Vee INDYCAR Race Weekend will be the first time that power assist has been used on an oval track. Hybrid energy will be used indefinitely, with a maximum output of 105 kilojoules (kJ) per lap.

The Hy-Vee Homefront 250 presented by Instacart and the Hy-Vee One Step 250 presented by Gatorade are the 20th and 21st NTT INDYCAR SERIES events at Iowa Speedway. Josef Newgarden is the only driver to win more than once at Iowa Speedway. Newgarden has six wins (2016, 2019, 2020 Race No. 2, 2022 Race No. 1, 2023 Race No. 1 and 2023 Race No. 2). Previous winner Pato O’Ward (2022 Race No. 2) is also entered for the event.

Andretti Autosport has won seven of the 19 previous races at Iowa Speedway (Dario Franchitti in 2007, Tony Kanaan in 2010, Marco Andretti in 2011, Ryan Hunter-Reay in 2012, 2014 and 2015 and James Hinchcliffe in 2013). Team Penske also has seven wins (Helio Castroneves in 2017, Josef Newgarden in 2019, 2020 Race No. 2, 2022 Race No. 1, 2024 Race No. 1 and 2024 Race No. 2 and Simon Pagenaud in 2020 Race No. 1). Chip Ganassi Racing has two wins (Dan Wheldon in 2008 and Franchitti in 2009).

· Josef Newgarden has won nine of the last 12 oval races on the NTT INDYCAR SERIES schedule – including three of the four races held during the 2022 and 2023 Hy-Vee INDYCAR weekend at Iowa Speedway.

· Ryan Hunter-Reay, Dario Franchitti and Josef Newgarden are the only drivers to win at Iowa Speedway and in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship in the same season. Newgarden accomplished the feat in 2019, Hunter-Reay in 2012 and Franchitti in 2007 and 2009.

· Scott Dixon is the only driver to have competed in every NTT INDYCAR SERIES race at Iowa, and despite finishing in the top five 11 times in his previous 19 starts on the oval, he has never won on the “world’s fastest short track.” Twelve drivers have led laps at the track (Josef Newgarden 1,847, Will Power 383, Dixon 131, Pato O’Ward 97, Graham Rahal 32, Ed Carpenter 18, Felix Rosenqvist 9, Alexander Rossi 4, Marcus Ericsson 3, Scott McLaughlin 2, David Malukas 1 and Alex Palou 1).

· Milestones: Scott Dixon will attempt to make his 332nd and 333rd consecutive starts to extend his record-setting streak… Saturday’s race will be Dixon’s 395th INDYCAR SERIES start, breaking a tie with Helio Castroneves for second place on the all-time list.

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