When the total competitive package is just right, oval racing can be some of the most exciting racing one can watch either in person or on the couch. When the package is off, the product and viewing experience suffers, and that was the case at Iowa Speedway for the Hy-Vee INDYCAR Race Weekend.
The package can be fixed, but let’s look back in time at another instance when things didn’t work. Back in 2009, the NTT IndyCar Series raced at Richmond International Raceway and Scott Dixon picked up a win by leading 161 of 300 laps in a race where passing was so difficult that second place finisher Dario Franchitti actually apologized to IndyCar fans for how bad the racing was that night.
Don’t believe me? Here’s the video proof.
IndyCar mandated several changes ahead of the next oval race at Kentucky Speedway focused with the aerodynamics of the cars and those changes made a significant impact on the racing product.
But before proposing changes, let’s get into what happened in Iowa this past weekend. The racing was single file for almost the entire weekend except for a few laps after restarts. Race control were very good about making sure that the track sweepers went out during caution periods to eliminate all the marbles on the higher groove.
There was a sweet spot for racing after every restart, but after several laps went by it was another procession all over again. But why was the racing like this in 2024? It wasn’t like this in previous years at Iowa.
Well, there were several reasons for that, and let’s look at the track itself first. NASCAR had the lower grooves in the corners repaved ahead of the Cup Series’ debut at Iowa Speedway back in June. The repaved area replaced some of the original pavement that went down back in 2006.
Putting it bluntly, the new pavement was faster than the old pavement, mostly because it removed a massive amount of bumps that existed in the lower groove. Scott McLaughlin won Saturday’s race and was on pole for Sunday’s race with a new track record of over 188 mph around a track that measures at .875 miles.
The higher groove was quite a bit slower despite having slightly more banking. If a racing driver knows one groove on the track will be slower, then they won’t put their race car there.
What makes contact with the track? The tires. Firestone does a tremendous job of being a safe tire supplier for IndyCar, having exclusivity since the 2000 season. Despite having a higher line practice session early in the weekend, every driver ran almost exclusively in the lower line during the main practice session on Friday night. When the tires had their standard degradation, the bits of rubber that come off the tires made the high line unusable.
Single groove racing was inevitable at that point.
Last but not least, IndyCar also mandated the new hybrid powertrain component to make its competitive debut at the most recent road course race at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. In that race, Scott Dixon had a hybrid failure during the pace laps and finished last. Other drivers had issues leaving the pits, but every car finished the race.
At Iowa, the hybrid system didn’t have much of an effect at all on the racing product, with some drivers either barely touching the system or abandoning it all together once the race began. However, qualifying was another story entirely.
Jack Harvey had two hybrid system failures in qualifying and IndyCar allowed the British racer the chance to do three qualifying runs. Alexander Rossi and Colton Herta also had hybrid system failures but they did not take IndyCar up on the offer to do another run.
Hybrids didn’t have any real effect on the racing product at Iowa Speedway. It just made the cars heavier and has a very limited effect because of spacing in the car. With such a large amount of weight going to something that has such a limited effect on the action, it may be better to just remove the hybrid component for the oval portion of the IndyCar schedule.
Hybridization is important. Road car relevancy is a priority for manufacturers. But this system can be much more impactful with a new car design to make that possible. But that’s for another time.
Between the partial-track repaving, Firestone’s tire compound and heavier cars, it’s no wonder that Iowa Speedway had mostly single-file parades the whole time. Once the leaders caught up to the rear of the field, it was a game of pace management until the next round of pit stops.
Iowa’s doubleheader weekend was a weekend where the perfect set of circumstances all came together to exhibit IndyCar racing in its least competitive form.
But at least Sting Ray Robb is cleared to race at Toronto following his massive crash in Sunday’s race.
In Other News
Conor Daly had one of the more wild weekends of his IndyCar career. Dale Coyne contacted Daly on Friday night asking if he was in Iowa and explained that Harvey might not be able to race due to his neck and back spasms.
Harvey felt better on Saturday morning and decided to qualify, but he pulled out of Saturday night’s race because of the pain.
“I would say I’m a very lucky person to get to do this for a job, but it’s agony in the car,” Harvey said on Saturday night after climbing out of the No. 18 Honda.
“Can’t really describe that pain. We actually probably did more laps than what I thought we might. The competitive person everybody is who does this, it kind of splits your spirit to the core knowing that you can’t do it but everybody on the IndyCar medical side have been fantastic. It was their recommendation not to do it. I have a lot of respect for Dale and everybody at Dale Coyne Racing so I still wanted to do my part.”
Daly substituted for Harvey with a special on track session just after 9 a.m. on Sunday and finished last after a mechanical failure ended his run.
IndyCar rule 4.3.3 states: “Provided INDYCAR approves the substitution, and the change takes place prior to the parade and pace laps, the original Driver
entered for the Race may be substituted by:
4.3.3.1. Oval Events – Another approved Driver who has already participated in practice, or a special session for the current Event.
That rule was the one IndyCar used to deny Tony Kanaan the ability to be Kyle Larson‘s backup driver at the Indianapolis 500 and also to prevent Daly from racing at Iowa Speedway. For road and street courses, any other approved driver may substitute.
This rule makes sense on the surface. Daly never drove with the hybrid system before the Iowa weekend and it was an entirely different track surface on the lower groove. His first time with the system was Sunday morning in his special practice session that allowed him to race in place of Harvey.
However, let’s not act like Daly would be completely like a fish out of water in the car. The Noblesville, Indiana native has an IndyCar pole at Iowa Speedway and won there in what was then known as the Star Mazda series back in 2010. Daly knows his way around the track, but rules are rules.
Which is why I’m proposing IndyCar Rule 4.3.3.1.1.
“In the event that a driver originally entered for the race cannot compete for reasons satisfactory to IndyCar and a special session cannot be arranged, a team may nominate a substitute driver to compete so long as 80 percent of team owners or team principals present approve of the substitution and the new driver starts from the rear of the field.”
Several teams had mechanics with very limited amounts of sleep after crashes forced them to work overnight building new cars for Sunday’s race. For the 2025 doubleheader, it might make things easier on crews if Sunday’s race started three hours later. It might also help race crowds as well who might still be nursing hangovers from Saturday’s post-race concert.
Speaking of post-race concerts, volunteers after Sunday’s race were handing out free cold Gatorade and water bottles to concert-goers as the sun shone over the infield. An absolute gesture of class by the track and HyVee to help hydrate people as they waited for Post Malone.
About the author
Christopher DeHarde has covered IndyCar racing and the Road to Indy for various outlets since 2014. In addition to open wheel racing, DeHarde has also covered IMSA and various short track racing events around Indiana. Originally from New Orleans, DeHarde moved to the Indianapolis area in 2017 to further pursue a career as a motorsports writer.
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Sooo, yeah, they’ve ruined Iowa. Another feather in NASCAR’s cap. And wow does that hybrid thing look like a joke. The decision to employ it at Iowa? Genius, because who doesn’t need a 40hp boost whilst going 185 on a 7/8s?
I’m done with NA$CAR messing up Indycar races too. From the “traction compound” at Texas to this.
I don’t get the obsession with hybrid either. From an on track product, it doesn’t affect much since it’s unlimited. Once drivers figure out when/how to deploy for quickest lap times or max fuel save, that’s what all of them will be doing. Unlike “push to pass” which is limited and must be used strategically, the hybrid boost is just what everyone has at all times and uses basically the same way – no different than throttle position running NA.
Guessing it’s a push from manufacturers to test the technology and increase durability on track to apply those learnings to street cars? I just don’t see where it’s going to improve the racing in any significant way. Hope I’m wrong and it produces the most competitive, exciting races ever, but right now I don’t have the vision to see it.