Josef Newgarden Sweeps Iowa Doubleheader

Josef Newgarden dominated this weekend’s two-race NTT INDYCAR SERIES stop at Iowa Speedway, putting his Chevrolet-powered Team Penske No. 2 car in Victory Lane on both Saturday and Sunday.

The wins were the Team Chevy driver’s fifth and sixth at the .0875-mile oval in Newton, Iowa.

Newgarden qualified third for Saturday’s Hy-Vee Homefront 250 and moved into the lead on Lap 121 when he passed teammate and race polesitter Will Power on the inside exiting Turn Two. Power led the rest of the way, save for a pit stop on Lap 126, and masterfully worked through lapped traffic to take the checkered flag by 3.3755 seconds over fellow Penske driver Scott McLaughlin. 

“It was a great day,” said Newgarden, who led 129 laps. “My team is just unbelievable. They gave me a great car. I show up every weekend and I feel like I have got the best of the best behind me. Team Penske, I am proud to be a part of this team and proud to have partners like Hitachi and Team Chevy. Team Chevy has been really tremendous to us, and they are always working hard, even with our feedback. They always take it and put it to use. I love Iowa.”
 
The 2.2L, direct-injected twin-turbo V-6 Chevrolet engine swept the podium on Saturday, with McLaughlin finishing second and Pato O’Ward coming home third. In addition, Power finished fifth and Alexander Rossi 10th to give Chevrolet five of the top-10 finishing positions.

On Sunday, Newgarden once again dominated the day, despite starting in the seventh spot. He took the lead of the Hy-Vee One Step 250 on Lap 31 and led the rest of the way except for pit stop exchanges. Ultimately, he led 212 circuits and scored the victory by 0.7050 seconds over Will Power.
 
Newgarden, a two-time INDYCAR champion, has now won all four oval races this season – including the Indianapolis 500. He has also won five in a row dating back to 2022, and six of the last seven, having scored the win in the first race of the Iowa doubleheader last year.
 
“We knew we had a great car, and the pressure was there because we wanted to execute on it and make sure it was a great weekend,” Newgarden said on Sunday. “I am happy now. When you finish the first race, it’s great to have a doubleheader, but you feel incomplete until you get through today. To be able to come back and do it again, and make our car a little bit better, I am super proud of the team.”

Power was the polesitter for the second day in a row and finished in the runner-up spot, while Felix Rosenqvist finished fourth and Scott McLaughlin fifth to put four cars from the Bowtie in the top five. In addition, Pato O’Ward finished 10th for Team Chevy.  Newgarden’s two weekend victories elevated his total to four on the season and 29 in his career. Each has come behind the wheel of a Chevrolet. Team Chevy also now has five wins in 2023, 11 overall at Iowa Speedway, and 111 since rejoining INDYCAR as an engine supplier in 2012.
 
With his dominant weekend, Newgarden now sits just 80 markers out of first place in the series standings with five races remaining. But regardless of the season outcome, he and his Team Penske crew have proven they are the team to beat every time INDYCAR visits an oval.

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