Ryan Hunter-Reay leads the way as he and his Andretti Autosport teammates sweep the top four times in Iowa Speedway test.
The test shows great promise for Hunter-Reay, whose long winless streak was broken in Detroit this season, as his pace has continued to improve as he sits second in Verizon IndyCar Series points. He is tied in the championship with teammate Alexander Rossi, who came up just behind him in testing.
Hunter-Reay, a three-time winner at Iowa, has his sights set on repeating to catch Scott Dixon in the points as defending champion Josef Newgarden is moving his way to the top.
We're going for race wins,” Hunter-Reay said after Road America. “Hopefully we can get back on our stride like we were '12, '13 and '14 at Iowa, make something happen there. That's my objective at the moment.”
“We’re going to have to start raking in some wins.”
Honda power outnumbered Chevrolet 6 to 4, as Schmidt Peterson Motorsports teammates James Hinchcliffe and Robert Wickens came up P8 and P9 behind the trio of Team Penske Chevys and ahead of Ed Carpenter.
Wickens was particularly impressed with the track, noting the level of difficulty around the short oval. Next week’s race will mark his first on this track style.
“Honestly, it’s the most foreign track I’ve ever driven in my entire life,” Wickens said, via INDYCAR, “because I’ve never done a short-track oval, I’ve never done a high-banked short-track oval, I’ve never done a bumpy oval. You take all of them in one track and it’s pretty unique.”
While he has thrived in his rookie IndyCar season, Iowa will mark a major learning opportunity in Wickens’ career.
“It’s honestly pretty challenging. I’m not really up to speed yet, trying to still get comfortable.”
