IndyCar: Andretti Autosport sweep top 4 at Iowa Speedway test
By Asher Fair
Andretti Autosport’s four drivers swept the top four positions in the test session at Iowa Speedway, which is the host of the next IndyCar race next Sunday.
The 11th race of the 17-race 2018 IndyCar season is the Iowa Corn 300. That race is scheduled to take place next Sunday, July 8 at 2:30 p.m. ET at Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa. It is the fourth of six oval races on the 2018 schedule.
A total of 13 drivers representing six teams tested at the four-turn, 0.894-mile (1.439-kilometer) D-shaped oval on Wednesday. All four Andretti Autosport drivers, all three Team Penske drivers, both Schmidt Peterson Motorsports drivers, both Ed Carpenter Racing oval drivers, one of the two A.J. Foyt Enterprises drivers and Harding Racing’s lone driver participated in this test session.
Six of the 13 drivers who participated in this test session drive Honda-powered cars, and those six drivers represent two teams. The other seven drivers who participated in the test session drive Chevrolet-powered cars, and those seven drivers represent four teams.
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The session concluded with a 1-2-3-4 Honda sweep, particularly a 1-2-3-4 Andretti Autosport sweep, of the speed chart. Ryan Hunter-Reay topped the speed chart in his #28 Honda with a top lap time of 17.72 seconds (177.765 miles per hour) around the track.
From second place through four place were his teammates Alexander Rossi, Marco Andretti and Zach Veach in their #27 Honda, #98 Honda and #26 Honda, respectively.
Team Penske’s three drivers were the highest finishing Chevrolet drivers in the test session, as they rounded out the top seven in fifth, sixth and seventh place. Josef Newgarden, Will Power and Simon Pagenaud took those three positions in their #1 Chevrolet, #12 Chevrolet and #22 Chevrolet, respectively.
Less than one second separated first place Hunter-Reay from last place finisher Matheus Leist in his #4 A.J. Foyt Enterprises Chevrolet. Just 0.27 seconds separated Hunter-Reay from eighth place finisher James Hinchcliffe in his #5 Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda. Hinchcliffe was the slowest driver whose fastest lap time was below 18 seconds.
Here are the full results from the test session at Iowa Speedway ahead of the 2018 Iowa Corn 300. Lap times are shown in seconds on this chart, while lap speeds are shown in miles per hour.
| Rank | Driver | Car, Team, Engine | Lap Time | Lap Speed |
| 1 | Ryan Hunter-Reay | #28, Andretti Autosport, Honda | 17.72 | 181.625 |
| 2 | Alexander Rossi | #27, Andretti Autosport, Honda | 17.75 | 181.318 |
| 3 | Marco Andretti | #98, Andretti Herta Autosport, Honda | 17.77 | 181.114 |
| 4 | Zach Veach | #26, Andretti Autosport, Honda | 17.80 | 180.809 |
| 5 | Josef Newgarden | #1, Team Penske, Chevrolet | 17.84 | 180.404 |
| 6 | Will Power | #12, Team Penske, Chevrolet | 17.86 | 180.202 |
| 7 | Simon Pagenaud | #22, Team Penske, Chevrolet | 17.91 | 179.698 |
| 8 | James Hinchcliffe | #5, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports, Honda | 17.99 | 178.899 |
| 9 | Robert Wickens | #6, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports, Honda | 18.10 | 177.812 |
| 10 | Ed Carpenter | #20, Ed Carpenter Racing, Chevrolet | 18.19 | 176.932 |
| 11 | Gabby Chaves | #88, Harding Racing, Chevrolet | 18.39 | 175.008 |
| 12 | Spencer Pigot | #21, Ed Carpenter Racing, Chevrolet | 18.40 | 174.913 |
| 13 | Matheus Leist | #4, A.J. Foyt Enterprises, Chevrolet | 18.71 | 172.014 |
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Be sure to tune in to the live broadcast of the Iowa Corn 300 next Sunday, July 8. It is set to begin at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Network.