Team Penske’s Will Power will once again lead the field around at the start, but it is easy money to say that it will be teammate Josef Newgarden who will be leading pack at the finish as IndyCar completes its Iowa Speedway two-step with Sunday’s Hy-Vee Salute to Farmers 300. Newgarden put in a dominating run over 250 laps on Saturday and will have to do that for another 50 laps if he wants to sweep the weekend — and possibly take over as series championship leader from current leader, Chip Ganassi Racing’s Marcus Ericsson.
After temperatures in the high-90s on Saturday, Sunday’s race is expecting comfortable low-to-mid 80s on Sunday, but the track’s actual temperature will still likely be about 20-30 degrees higher than ambient. Tire degradation was a factor on Saturday and will remain a factor on Sunday with one more twist: Have the teams used up their allotment of Firestones for the weekend?
How to watch the IndyCar Hy-Vee Salute to Farmers 300
- Dates: Sunday, July 24
- Location: Iowa Speedway, Newton, Iowa
- Time: 3 p.m. ET
- TV: NBC
- Stream: fuboTV (try for free)
On the back foot
Andretti Autosport: Colton Herta looked particularly racy in the early going on Saturday, but the race just seemed to get away from him (24th) and the rest of the AA crew, although Romain Grosjean quietly drove to a top-10 finish with a run into seventh after starting 10th. Alexander Rossi quietly finished 13th.
Running in place
Rahal Letterman Lanigan: After a strong finish at Toronto, Graham Rahal was able to work his way through the field from 16th to finish ninth, with teammate Christian Lundgaard just behind him in 10th. Jack Harvey started in the top 10 but finished outside of it in 18th.
Best foot forward
Arrow McLaren SP: Pato O’Ward put his struggles at Toronto behind him rather quickly. He possibly just ran out of race in his chase of Josef Newgarden for the win on Saturday, so Sunday’s race may bring a better result for him, as it goes 50 more laps.
Chip Ganassi Racing: Alex Palou looked like he was going to be in for a long Saturday in the 14th spot but kept at it and the race came to him. The defending series champion worked and worked, eventually getting into the top three before slipping down to finish sixth behind teammate Scott Dixon. The championship leader Ericsson also had a great run and was challenging at the front before settling in to collect points with an eighth-place finish. But the surprise was Jimmie Johnson, who certainly looks more at home on ovals. He worked his way to the front after starting 15th and finished just outside the top 10 in 11th.
Team Penske: Newgarden has got it hooked up at Iowa. His fourth win on the 2022 season is the fourth win of his career at Iowa, and there is no reason to think he can’t make a clean sweep of the weekend. Power started from pole on Saturday and will do so again on Sunday, and he may be the only driver in the field with a strong chance of upsetting Newgarden’s plans.
