INDYCAR Previews

Preview – 2019 Iowa 300

By Dylan Reynolds, The Open Wheel

The INDYCAR season continues this weekend with the NTT IndyCar Series Iowa 300 at Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa. The Open Wheel will be covering the action all weekend so stay tuned to this site and our Twitter page @openwh33l for all of the latest news.


2018 IOWA 4

Photo by Parker Hall/The Open Wheel

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NTT IndyCar Series Preview: Iowa 300 – Saturday, July 20, 2019 7:00PM (ET) NBCSN – Previous driver experience at Iowa Speedway shows five former winners in the field in Ryan Hunter-Reay (3), James Hinchcliffe (2), Marco Andretti (1), Tony Kanaan (1), and Josef Newgarden (1). The Top 5 in laps led are Newgarden (623), Kanaan (523), Hinchcliffe (290), Scott Dixon (126), and Andretti (94). Note that Hunter-Reay incredibly has three wins with only 54 laps led. Hinchcliffe and Castroneves have won over the last two years. Looking at the box scores from 2018 and 2017, no one has finished in the Top 5 in each of the last two years, but the Ed Carpenter Racing No. 21 car has finished in the Top 2 in each of those races albeit with two different drivers. If that’s expanded to the Top 10, the list includes Hinchcliffe, Newgarden, Will Power, Graham Rahal, and Simon Pagenaud. My pick to win: Josef Newgarden – This is a track where Newgarden has had plenty of success and a good chance for him to put some distance between himself and fellow championship contender Alexander Rossi.

My fantasy.indycar.com picks: Ryan Hunter-Reay, Scott Dixon, Colton Herta, & Spencer Pigot – You know my thoughts on Newgarden, but it’s hard to put together a strong team with him included at a price of $33, so we’ll try and scoop up the best of the rest. Ryan Hunter-Reay’s three wins on just 54 laps led show he’s capable of hanging around long enough to take advantage at the finish so he’s a strong pick. Iowa isn’t Scott Dixon’s best track, but he does have a 50% Top 5 rate there and needs a big result to keep within touching distance of the championship. Colton Herta has been lightning fast everywhere and will be eager for a good result to backup his exciting performances on ovals this year. Spencer Pigot has the good fortune of driving the No. 21 Ed Carpenter Racing car that has been the class of the field at Iowa over the last few years while being driven by Newgarden, JR Hildebrand, and last year himself to a P2 finish. It’s a great opportunity for the struggling American to earn a much needed strong result.

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