2016 Iowa Corn 300 Results: Newgarden Dominates
The Verizon IndyCar Series’ resident iron man Josef Newgarden put on an absolute clinic in the Iowa Corn 300 at Iowa Speedway. Still recovering from clavicle and wrist injuries, the Ed Carpenter Racing driver jumped out front early and never looked back.
Newgarden, who was injured in a scary crash in the suspended race at Texas Motor Speedway in June, was in a rocket ship from the drop of the green flag. He leapt to the outside line early and put a huge gap between himself and pole winner Simon Pagenaud. Newgarden’s car was so fast that he nearly lapped the entire field before the first 100 laps of the 300 lap event were through. The dominance continued lap after lap.
The first test Newgarden faced came in the form of a restart after Honda driver and defending race winner Ryan Hunter-Reay blew an engine. On the ensuing restart, Pagenaud did his best to put pressure on Newgarden but the number 21 car was working perfectly and the young American was able to build another major gap on the field.
Newgarden kept a furious pace going until Team Penske’s Juan Pablo Montoya had his engine go sour. The caution gave all sixteen cars on the lead lap a chance to come in and get service. Newgarden easily retained the lead coming out of the pits. On the restart, he remained untouchable.
It was smooth sailing for Newgarden until rookie Max Chilton lost control and slapped the inside wall on the back straightaway. The crash and the following caution period destroyed the ten second lead Newgarden had built up in front of the field. The Ed Carpenter Racing team brought him into the pits for his final stop and made quick, clean work of it. He was able to retain his lead despite pitting farther away from the pit exit.
With 40 laps to go, Newgarden had to hold off attacks from not only Pagenaud, but also Chip Ganassi’s Scott Dixon who had pushed his way to the front after beating Pagenaud off of pit road. However, Newgarden’s performance was too much to overcome.
Newgarden’s first-ever oval victory could have a major impact on the race for the championship. The win vaults Newgarden into the second position overall. He earned a three position improvement. However, he will have to sit out the make-up race in Texas because of his earlier crash. The pressure will be on Ed Carpenter Racing to make sure Newgarden gets the most out of the events left on the schedule.
Also of note, Team Penske’s Will Power grabbed the second finishing spot in Iowa and managed to maintain his third place position in the championship standings. His recent string of race wins and solid finishes could signal an exciting fight for the Astor Challenge Cup is on the way.
Here are the full results from the Iowa Corn 300:
- Josef Newgarden, Chevrolet, Ed Carpenter Racing
- Will Power, Chevrolet, Team Penske
- Scott Dixon, Chevrolet, Chip Ganassi Racing Teams
- Simon Pagenaud, Chevrolet, Team Penske
- Mikhail Aleshin, Honda, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
- Alexander Rossi, Honda, Andretti Autosport
- Tony Kanaan, Chevrolet, Chip Ganassi Racing Teams
- Sebastien Bourdais, Chevrolet, KVSH Racing
- James Hinchcliffe, Honda, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
- Charlie Kimball, Chevrolet, Chip Ganassi Racing Teams
- Takuma Sato, Honda, A.J. Foyt Racing
- Carlos Munoz, Honda, Andretti Autosport
- Helio Castroneves, Chevrolet, Team Penske
- Marco Andretti, Honda, Andretti Autosport
- Jack Hawksworth, Honda, A.J. Foyt Racing
- Graham Rahal, Honda, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
- Gabby Chaves, Honda, Dale Coyne Racing
- Ed Carpenter, Chevrolet, Ed Carpenter Racing
- Max Chilton, Chevrolet, Chip Ganassi Racing Teams
- Juan Pablo Montoya, Chevrolet, Team Penske
- Conor Daly, Honda, Dale Coyne Racing
- Ryan Hunter-Reay, Honda, Andretti Autosport
Next: IndyCar Rewind: 2007 Iowa Corn 250
The next race for the Verizon IndyCar Series is the Honda Indy Toronto on the streets of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Newgarden is the defending race winner there, having found Victory Lane in 2015. The race is scheduled for Sunday, July 17 and it will air on the CNBC Network.