The sun soaked Iowa Speedway, guarded by acres of cornfields outside Newton, Iowa is stop number 11 and 12 for the NTT IndyCar Series Doubleheader weekend.
With two races on store, the Synk 275 Saturday (July 12) and Farm to Finish 275 Sunday (July 13), IndyCar hosts its fifth and sixth self-promoted races of the year. It’s a unique two-day affair, with a pair of 275-lap races on the seven-eighths-mile oval. The best racing product on earth will be on display with IndyCar’s short track package.
Sort of.
This is the second year after NASCAR paved the track they own, putting fresh asphalt in strips along the inside line of the turns to prepare for their own stock cars running. Unfortunately, it ruined the racing for IndyCar as the grip from the fresh surface forced everyone single file, which erased the frantic multi-groove shows from years past.
In the end, both races – one under the lights even – lacked much action outside restarts as drivers were hesitant to go even half a lane out of the groove. This was reminiscent of Texas Motor Speedway’s PJ1 days, which impacted the racing exactly the same way in the name of NASCAR.
INDYCAR is hoping that a new aero package relying on top downforce and a slightly different front tire will enable better racing, but that won’t be known until cars hit the track.
Last Year
As mentioned, the racing was not IndyCar’s finest in 2024, which is a shame. Had it been up to par, then all six of the short-track oval races would have put on Oscar-worthy racing productions. Alas, both were duds.
Scott McLaughlin did earn his breakthrough oval win, and Will Power used a good pit stop to overtake Alex Palou. The ending of Race 2 was marred by a bad wreck with Sting Ray Robb taking flight, then rolling over, but luckily walking away unscathed.
Iowa’s Future
Before any race stories can be outlined, the number one concern is the future of Iowa Speedway on IndyCar’s schedule. The track is facing the same problem Texas Motor Speedway did between 2020 and 2023, when PJ1 ruined the open-wheel racing product. Dwindling attendance, likely impacted by the poor on-track show, was unable to be reversed with two great shows in 2022 and 2023. The track was removed from the 2024 schedule and has been absent since.
Does Iowa follow a similar path? It has already slipped away once, in 2021 before being rescued by Penske Entertainment, with massive support and sponsorship from Hy-Vee. This year, Hy-Vee is gone, out of IndyCar racing altogether, and the race no longer has the top-dollar concerts that helped get people in the gate. If the racing is the only thing bringing fans into the speedway, then attendance might be lower than needed to keep the long-time oval on the schedule.
This continues a trend for IndyCar. So many fans want ovals, but not enough to attend to make the events work. Of course, it doesn’t help when the surface impacts the racing, or the show is put in the heat of the summer.
King of Iowa Country
Josef Newgarden’s season has been discussed ad nauseam on Frontstretch and other platforms. The reality is he isn’t winning the championship, and fighting even for the top three isn’t likely. Right now, the 19th-place driver in the championship needs to ensure he finishes in the top 22, just to keep the Leader Circle money for Team Penske. Wow, isn’t that a sentence to read? Not sure that’s ever been written.
This weekend is a great chance to return to victory lane, or at least a podium, because he owns this track. He has six wins, nine podiums and has led over 1,800 laps at Iowa. Last year, for the first time since 2014, he wasn’t able to pace the field, but that had everything to do with the pavement than his skill, as he leapt from 22nd to third in Race 1 and 14th to seventh the next day.
Qualifying will be critical, as getting up front and staying there will all but keep him in the hunt. Which would be expected with his record here. But Newgarden’s cursed season might continue, and mechanical woes or errors rear their ugly head.
If that happens, then the frustration will only worsen.
The Other Penske Guys
Power and McLaughlin are hoping to defend their wins from a year ago. With qualifying being critical more than any other time at this track, Power has the leg-up as eight of his series record 71 poles have come at the bull-ring. Saying that, though, his win last year was from 22nd.
McLaughlin did start second in the race he won, leading 164 laps. He later won at Milwaukee, so ovals are becoming more natural for him.
If either is able to finish well, and even win, then they will give Chevrolet a much much-needed boost at a track the power plant has dominated.
Positive results will bode well for Power as well, with the silly season rumors swirling.
Building The Legacy
Scott Dixon’s drive a week ago at Mid-Ohio was epic for his legacy, chasing down his younger championship teammate Palou, overtaking him after a mistake, then holding the Spanish Conquistador off while saving fuel.
Who else can do that? Not many, and that is looking at generations of talent, not just this current crop.
Jumping to fourth in the championship, Dixon may not catch Palou, but he can easily get to second. Iowa Speedway is in an exclusive club for him — along with Barber Motorsports Park — as the 59-time race winner hasn’t visited victory lane at the short oval.
He’s finished well, though, having single-digit results in all but one of the Iowa races since 2016, with 12th his worst in 2018. While leading hasn’t been within reach — he’s paced for just six laps in that entire span — he can get the checkered somewhere in the second through sixth range.
Chasing Kyle Kirkwood and Pato O’Ward in the points, a win would help greatly.
What Else?
O’Ward doesn’t have the finishes like Newgarden, mainly because of the American’s domination, but Iowa is one of his better tracks. He has four podiums, with a win in 2022, and last year placed second and sixth. A good weekend is needed for him to get back to second in points.
Kirkwood got a breakthrough oval win at World Wide Technology Raceway — a lot of that going around, it seems — so he can get it done. But Honda hasn’t taken the checkered flag first there since James Hinchcliffe did so in 2018. Can he be the one to put the Big H back in victory lane?
One might think Palou will fumble this weekend, since he placed 23rd after crashing in Race 1 last year. Squash all of that. A win is possible with how the track is grooved now, if his team gets him in front or uses strategy. He led 103 laps in Race 2 in 2024 and placed second.
A. J. Foyt Racing could place both its cars up near the front. David Malukas was in contention for the win at World Wide Technology Raceway and finished second at Indianapolis. Teammate Santino Ferrucci is a spitfire on ovals, but his best finish is only sixth at Iowa. Their recent results suggest more is in store this weekend.
Dale Coyne Racing’s Rinus VeeKay has been a surprise in his first year with the underfunded team. He’s on a three-race top 10 streak, which includes a seventh at WWTR, the last oval event. With Ed Carpenter Racing, he placed fifth and ninth last year, so history suggests he can do that again, even with a different team.
Frontstretch Predictions
Shifting off Palou this weekend, even know that was close at Mid-Oho. I had Dixon in third, with Palou winning, so two of the top three drivers’ names were right at least. For Iowa, this has to be a shift from the road course studs. Newgarden, O’Ward, and sleepers like Malukas have to be accounted on a short oval. At the same time, how to factor in the racing line is another matter.
So here goes nothing:
Race 1:
- Newgarden – he overcomes the odds and wins his first race of 2025.
- Palou – and everyone in the paddock cries.
- McLaughlin – handles his business but doesn’t leap the top two.
Race 2:
- Palou – second oval win because he’s just that good now.
- O’Ward – is in contention, but Palou uses some sort of pit strategy to best him.
- Newgarden – a win and a podium make him happy.
The two 275-lap IndyCar Doubleheader at Iowa races are this Saturday (July 12) with the Synk 275 Powered by Sukup at 5 p.m. and Sunday (July 13) with the Farm to Finish 275 Powered by Sukup at 1 p.m. Both will have coverage provided by FOX.
Tom is an IndyCar writer at Frontstretch, joining in March 2023. Besides writing the IndyCar Previews and frequent editions of Inside IndyCar, he will hop on as a fill-in guest on the Open Wheel podcast The Pit Straight. A native Hoosier, he calls Fort Wayne home. Follow Tom on Twitter @TomBlackburn42.