The NTT IndyCar Series was set to go racing at the Iowa Speedway at around 7pm EST, however Mother Nature had other plans. Following a massive thunderstorm, the drivers were finally able to get underway just shy of midnight.
After struggling the past few races, points leader Josef Newgarden saw his lead shrink down to a mere four points over Alexander Rossi. Coming into Iowa, Newgarden felt robbed after leading 229 laps last year, losing the race to eventual winner James Hinchcliffe. This season Newgarden was able to outlast both the weather and his competition to claim his fourth victory of the 2019 campaign in the Iowa 300.
Simon Pagenaud continued his hot streak following his victory last round in Toronto, the Frenchman would score the pole on Friday. Leading the field to the green, Pagenaud held the lead for all of 100 yards before being passed in the first corner by Team Penske team-mate Will Power. Power would go on to build a sizeable gap over the rest of the field before caution No.1 would fly on Lap 16.
Sage Karam, driving in a second event for Carlin Racing, lost it coming out of Turn 4. His car would slide into the path of an oncoming Felix Rosenqvist, who would make light but significant contact. Both drivers would make repairs and continue. At the ensuing restart, Power would get the edge over his other Penske team-mate Newgarden. Newgarden, a driver who has been consistently strong at Iowa, would make effectively the racing winning pass for the lead on Lap 49.
That move would prove to have come at a perfect time as just a few moments later, rain would begin to fall once again at the speedway. After a 25 minute delay the cars were back on track and ready for action. The race remained calm until Lap 123 when Scott Dixon would fall a lap down. Following the second set of green flag pit stops, Dixon would mount another comeback charging hard to the front.
With around 100 laps to go, Karam's day went from the bad to really bad. Making contact with Takuma Sato, he sent the Japanese driver round, causing race ending mechanical damage. Karam on the other hand, would continue on before being parked by IndyCar for failing to make a safe minimum speed. Marco Andretti who had been struggling all day would later DNF as well, also from an apparent mechanical failure.
With Newgarden in his own timezone, the action was able to be seen in the mid-pack. In addtion to Dixon, Santino Ferrucci was putting on a show of his own. The American rookie sensation has passed more cars this season than any other driver, and Iowa was no exception. Ferrucci fought hard with everyone, including Alexander Rossi and James Hinchcliffe. Cars were running two to three wide following restarts, with Ferrucci and Dixon using the highline for massive gains.
Some late race drama would create some tension as Ed Carpenter would crash late in the race, followed by a blown motor on Colton Herta. At the ensuing caution, Dixon, Ferrucci, Conor Daly and a few others would pit for fresh Firestone rubber. However, it was not enough to catch Newgarden who would go onto claim victory for the second time at IndyCar's shortest race track.
Newgarden's No.2 Hitachi Chevrolet would go onto the lead 245 of the 300 laps run, making it the second year in a row the Hendersonville, Tennessee native has lead over 200 laps in an Iowa race. Newgarden lead 282 laps his previous Iowa victory in 2016.
Scott Dixon's incredible comeback come up one position short, as the driver of the No.9 Honda would settle for a runner-up. Defending race winner James Hinchcliffe would round out the podium with a third place run.
With only seven lead lap finishers, it opened the door for a few impressive runs. Toronto winner Pagenaud came home fourth, followed by the runner-up finisher last year Spencer Pigot in fifth. Rossi struggled all day but would bring his No.27 Honda home sixth with teammate Zach Veach finished sevneth, the last car on the lead lap.
Graham Rahal was eighth in his No.15 Honda. In his 200th career IndyCar start Sebastian Bourdais would come home with a top ten finish, the Frenchman would challenge Newgarden for his lap back late in the race but would ultimately settle for ninth. Tony Kanaan would round out the top ten, with his second top ten finish of the season.
Following Iowa, Newgarden has opened up a 29 point advantage on Rossi. With the Series moving onto to Mid-Ohio, Rossi is considered the odds-on favourite having dusted the field one year ago. However, with six different winners in the past six races it is anyone's guess as to who will claim the win. Rossi, Newgarden and Pagenaud are the race's three most recent winners, they will be hoping that history does repeat itself come the Honda Indy 200 at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on July 20.
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