Josef Newgarden has topped the opening practice session ahead of the Iowa Corn 300, leading a Penske 1-2-3 with a 185.609mph lap after an eventful start to the weekend around the Iowa Speedway.
The drivers were naturally eager to take to the short 0.894-mile oval at the start of the session, with only a limited amount of track action available before qualifying and the all-important 300-lap race.
Will Power was a close second for Penske, as Chevrolet power enjoyed a productive start to proceedings at the sharp end of the order.
Reigning champion Simon Pagenaud was P3 for Penske, with the Frenchman moving up the order during the latter stages of the session, along with team-mates Newgarden and Power.
Ed Carpenter was fourth fastest for Ed Carpenter Racing, with the team owner sitting at the top of proceedings throughout the majority of the session, only to be usurped by the Penskes during the final few minutes of track action.
Marco Andretti was the fastest Honda-powered racer for Andretti Autosport in P5, ahead of Chip Ganassi Racing’s Tony Kanaan.
Mikhail Aleshin was seventh for SPM Racing, with the Russian racer enjoying a productive start to the day towards the top of the time sheets behind Carpenter.
Alexander Rossi and James Hinchcliffe were P8 and P9 respectively, ahead of Graham Rahal who rounded out the top ten for RLL Racing.
The session was plagued by three caution periods, the first two for track inspections, before J.R. Hildebrand spun on the exit of Turn 2 and made contact with the barrier.
Upon contact with the barrier Hildebrand’s steering wheel was thrown into the air, bouncing down the track adjacent to the car.
Despite the relatively heavy impact Hildebrand gingerly extracted himself from the car, with the ever-efficient Holmatro Safety Team at his side.
Meanwhile Scott Dixon was way down the order in P16, with the championship leader penalised for several misdemeanours last time out at Road America during the warm-up session and therefore prevented from taking part in the final 20 minutes of practice one at Iowa.
Esteban Gutierrez could only manage P19 for Dale Coyne Racing, with the former Formula 1 racer making his official oval race weekend debut in the #18 car in place of Sebastien Bourdais who is still recovering from injuries sustained during qualifying for the Indianapolis 500.
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