Hunter-Reay breaks thru for 1st win in 2015

Ryan Hunter-Reay scores his third victory in 4 years at Iowa Speedway

Ryan Hunter-Reay won this evening’s Iowa Corn 300 at Iowa Speedway. It was the first win of 2015 for the driver of the #28 DHL Honda, 15th of his Indy car career, and third victory at Iowa in 4 years.

"The No. 28 DHL Honda was on rails at the end," said Hunter-Reay, who had only one top-five finish entering the race. "This one we really had to work for. After a tough season, this one is really nice."

CFH Racing’s Josef Newgarden was second, with Sage Karam scoring his career best finish bringing home the #8 Comfort Revolution Chevrolet in third. Graham Rahal made it an American 1-2-3-4, with Carlos Munoz rounding out the top-five.

Hunter-Reay prevailed by 0.5046 of a second to become the ninth different winner in 13 Verizon IndyCar Series races this season. Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidate Sage Karam finished a career-high third.

Graham Rahal placed fourth for his third consecutive top-five finish, and Carlos Munoz, who won at Detroit in May, was fifth.

It was the sixth consecutive victory for Andretti Autosport at Iowa Speedway and the third victory at the track for Hunter-Reay, who beat Newgarden to the finish line by .5814 of a second in the 2014 race.

Hunter-Reay beats Newgarden to the flag

“The No. 28 DHL Honda was on rails at the end," said Hunter-Reay, who had only one top-five finish this season entering the race. “This one we really had to work for. After a tough season, this one is really nice."

Following a Lap 278 restart, Hunter-Reay held off multiple challenges by Newgarden in the No. 67 Wichita State University/CFH Racing Chevrolet.

“To finish second was bittersweet," said Newgarden, who qualified seventh and led a field-high 111 laps. “We had a great race car. I think we had a car to win. But it’s disappointing I’m really sad we lost to be honest. It’s just a shootout scenario we didn’t have what we needed at the end, but we still had a great effort all weekend."

Juan Pablo Montoya’s championship points lead appeared to take a hit when the No. 2 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet made right-side contact with the Turn 2 SAFER Barrier on Lap 10 of the 300-lap race. It was his first DNF of the season and the first in 18 races since the 2014 race at Iowa Speedway.

“We had a good car. It was a little loose the first couple of laps, so I was just really taking it easy, biding my time," said Montoya, who qualified third. “Something broke."

With a mechanical issue in the final third of the race plaguing the No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet of Scott Dixon, who entered the race 54 points behind, and an 11th-place finish by pole sitter Helio Castroneves, Montoya heads to the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio on Aug. 2 relatively unscathed.

Rahal moved to second in the standings — 42 points behind — while Dixon, who finished 18th, is 48 points back and Castroneves is 54 points arrears. Reigning series champion Will Power is 55 points off the pace.

QUOTES

MICHAEL ANDRETTI PRESIDENT, CHAIRMAN & CEO, ANDRETTI AUTOSPORT
“It was huge to get Ryan (Hunter-Reay) back up there and keep our streak alive at Iowa. We love Iowa, man, it’s unbelievable. I don’t understand why we’re so good here. It’s so great, I couldn’t be happier, so happy for Ryan." (Why are your cars so good at Iowa?): “I don’t know. If we knew, we’d try to do that everywhere. We’ve just had good luck here. We have good setups here and our drivers love driving here. Ryan does a great job here."

RYAN HUNTER-REAY NO. 28 DHL HONDA
“It felt like we had something (tonight). It certainly was going to be tough to beat them today, but this No. 28 DHL Honda was on rails at the end and I was driving the snot out of it. It was loose and I just kept my foot to the floor. It was barely having to lift at the end. It was a lot of work in the cockpit. This one we really had to work for, this was a hard one. After such a tough season, it was great to be back in Victory Lane. In the beginning of the race the car was really loose and I had a hard time with it. This is just amazing. … We’re having a tough year but we got into Victory Lane in one of the most competitive seasons. It was super tough to get this thing today."

JOSEF NEWGARDEN, NO. 67 WICHITA STATE UNIVERSITY CFH RACING CHEVROLET, FINISHED 2^ND: WHAT WAS THAT FINAL LAP SHOOTOUT LIKE?
“Well it was tough. I really feared that if we were going to get into a shootout situation and we were behind, not leading that it was going to be tough for us. We didn’t quite have the ultimate speed. I think some of that is down to downforce choices tonight. We had a great racecar. I’m so proud of my guys. We had a really incredible car. It was fun to run here. You can’t beat running around Iowa in an Indy car. It’s unbelievably fun and I think more fun for me because we had such a great racecar. But it’s disappointing I’m really sad we lost that thing to be honest. I think we had a car to win. It’s just a shootout scenario we didn’t have what we needed at the end, but we still had a great effort all weekend. I’m really proud of my guys. Hopefully, we keep this momentum going."

SAGE KARAM, NO. 8 COMFORT REVOLUTION/BIG MACHINE RECORDS CHIP GANASSI RACING CHEVROLET, FINISHED 3^RD: ON HIS FIRST PODIUM FINISH: “I am so excited to get my first podium finish in the Verizon IndyCar Series. The team did a great job tonight all around. I think we really put together an entire race, and that meant from start to finish we executed. It’s such a great feeling and running up front is our goal. I’ve felt this momentum was starting to build in Fontana and Milwaukee and am glad we were able to finish things off here at Iowa with a strong showing for the COMFORT REVOLUTION/Big Machine Records car."

CAN YOU DESCRIBE GOING AROUND IOWA SPEEDWAY TO US AND HOW PHYSICAL THIS TRACK IS? “That was probably the most physical race I’ve ever done. That was more physical than any road course race I’ve done so far. I don’t know why. I think it’s probably from the g-loads. You get like 4, 4.5 g’s here per corner. Especially when it was gripping up towards the end there and the steering became heavier. My arms are ready to fall off that is for sure."

AS THE RACE ENDED ED CARPENTER HAD A FEW WORDS WITH YOU. WHAT DID HE SAY? “He is just angry at my driving. He says I squeezed him a few times, but it is the same way he drove me. It’s hard racing. I’m going for wins and that is how we are driving. It’s close racing, its IndyCar Racing this ain’t go-karts or anything anymore. We are going to race each other hard and we are professionals. We know each other limits. I mean tough luck for him. I don’t know."

GRAHAM RAHAL, No. 15 Mi-Jack Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “That was my hardest race ever. First we had the right rear go down and then the car just wouldn’t shift. You don’t know how tough that is around here when you’re in traffic and you need to go down to fifth, fourth gear at times and I couldn’t do anything. It was a killer for me. We were quicker than (winner) Hunter-Reay, that’s for sure, which is frustrating. When the car was working right, we passed all those guys but dude I’m spent. I’m ready for a good beer and a nice sleep. The car was good, very competitive, very consistent tonight over the long run and that’s what helped me. On my starts and restarts I tried to be a little aggressive and go high (on track) there and it worked out for me. Nights like tonight are what build character, and what builds champions so I hope we can get there. It speaks volumes for this team that we are second in the points. We can win Honda a championship. We’ve got three more races to go and are going to two tracks I think we can be really strong at, and Pocono. A day like today when the car wouldn’t shift and we were down and out but were able to fight back shows what this team is made of. I think that is something I have learned in my time in this series. Hopefully we can keep it going three more. I’m so proud of this Mi-Jack Steak ‘n Shake team to be second in the standings. We’re just going to keep our heads down and go forward."

ED CARPENTER, NO. 20 FUZZY’S AWARD-WINNING VODKA CFH RACING CHEVROLET, FINISHED 6^TH: WHAT DID YOU SAY TO SAGE KARAM?
“I said that he has no respect for anyone out there. If it wasn’t for guys with experience driving with their heads on he would be hurting himself and other people. I think it’s ridiculous. It’s cool that Ryan (Hunter-Reay) won the race, he needed that. American’s kicked butt tonight. I’m just mad because I had a car that was good enough for third or fourth and I do safe driving – slam on the brakes on the straightaway to save Sage’s butt and he gets rewarded with a podium for it. He should have been penalized on the spot. He has no clue."

SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS, NO. 11TEAM MISTIC E-CIGS – KVSH RACING CHEVROLET, FINISHED 9^TH: “It was a really good effort from the Mistic E-Cigs Chevy team. We did everything we could hope for. I had a massive vibration on the second to last stint, so we came in on the early side of the window. I ran really hard laps on that set of tires to try and make up some ground, and we did getting up to sixth, but that last yellow really hurt us. Unfortunately, it gave some guys the opportunity to get a new set of tires and we couldn’t because we had used up so many tires early in the race. Then the restart was such a mess. We got bottled up by guys that were a lap down who were fighting like they were trying to win the race. That allowed all the guys that were at the back of the pack on new tires to come through. You have to feel good about going from 24th to ninth and the fact that over the last two races we have really improved the car and our performance on ovals, but to get up to sixth and end up ninth, that is always tough. But, with the debacle of qualifying, I guess we have to be pretty happy with tonight’s result."

WILL POWER, NO. 1 VERIZON TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, FINISHED 10^TH: "The Verizon Chevy was really good from the middle to the end of stints, but we struggled to get going there on restarts and so we lost some track positions and we weren't able to make that back up. So we need to have a better car when the field is bunched up and the traffic is heavy. But we'll take this and just focus on better results in Mid-Ohio."

HELIO CASTRONEVES, NO. 3 HITACHI TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, FINISHED 11^TH: “The Hitachi Chevy was unbelievable the first half of the race until we had a huge moment on the exit of turn three while leading the race. I’m still not sure how I was able to catch it. After that it was all downhill because we adjusted the car for the oversteer, but then it really cooled off and we developed an understeer. Then we lost a lot of positions on restart after I felt we got chopped off numerous times. We were able to minimize the damage a bit over the last few laps but, man, I really thought we had a Chevy that could win the race."

SIMON PAGENAUD, NO. 22 PENSKE TRUCK RENTAL TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, FINISHED 14^TH: “We’re not quite sure what happened with the Penske Truck Rental Chevrolet. We practiced really well yesterday. At the end of the race we had the exact same car that we had in practice. But at the beginning it was just really, really loose and I could barely hang on to it. It was all about survival at that point. We made some adjustments on the first pit stop but it was still too loose. By that point we were really behind in having any chance at winning the race. The Penske Truck Rental Chevy was good on the last two stints. That is the positive that we can take away from tonight and go to Mid-Ohio."

SCOTT DIXON, NO. 9 TARGET CHIP GANASSI RACING CHEVROLET, FINISHED 19^TH: “I think we had a really fast car this weekend. The Target car was good and in the top three, and I thought it was a contender all night. We had to overcome some challenges during the race but we stuck with it. We made a ton of changes and were really trying to just keep up with the track all night. I thought we were getting a break with the 2 car going out early, and then we had a weird problem with the right rear axle. The Target team did a great job getting us back out and that’s all you can ask for in that situation."

STEFANO COLETTI, NO. 4 KV RACING TECHNOLOGY CHEVROLET, FINISHED 20^TH: "I thought it was going to be a good race. I had my best qualifying performance on an oval and the car felt good. Unfortunately at the beginning of the race I got hit by Charlie Kimball and then had to pit for a new rear wing and lost five laps. I could then only gain a lap back when there was a yellow, so managed to get from five to three. I was pushing really hard to pass some cars and then lost it in turn two and hit the wall."

CHARLIE KIMBALL, NO. 83 NOVOLOG FLEXPEN CHIP GANASSI RACING CHEVROLET, FINISHED 22^ND: “It was a shame for our night to end like that. I had been running the high line pretty well. I felt like I went in on the same line I had the lap before, but the No. 83 car just caught an extra marble or two and it went up the track. Once you’re up there in the marbles it just took off. I feel badly for the guys, but overall the car was pretty good and we made progress with the NovoLog FlexPen Chevrolet."

TONY KANAAN, NO. 10 FUSION CHIP GANASSI RACING CHEVROLET, FINISHED 23^RD: “I guess it just wasn’t meant to be for us here today. The Fusion car was really awesome and we had a really fast car all weekend. When mechanical problems happen, there’s not much you can do. I’ve had a ton of these races go my way, and a ton that haven’t gone my way. There’s just not much you can do in that situation."

JUAN PABLO MONTOYA, NO. 2 VERIZON TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, FINISHED 24^TH: ARE YOU OKAY? WHAT HAPPENED? “Yeah a little bruise to my hand, but it’s not a big deal. It’s just disappointing. Our Verizon Chevy had a good car. It was a little loose the first couple of laps. I was just really taking it easy and bide my time."

IT LOOKED LIKE A RIGHT-FRONT BLOWING IN NASCAR. DID YOU HAVE ANY WARNING? “No, something broke. As soon as I loaded up something gave up. I don’t want to say anything until I know what happened."

WAS THE BUMP POSSIBLY THE CULPRIT?
“No, I was running high. It was way before the bump. As soon as I put wheel in it, it loads up and the car just went right."

THIS IF THE FIRST TIME YOU HAVE HAD ANY HICCUP ALL YEAR: “Well, yeah, it sucks when it is completely out of our hands when something fails. But we will find out what happened."

Results

Race Statistics
Winners average speed: 129.943
Time of Race: 02:03:50.3315
Margin of victory: 0.5046 of a second
Cautions: 6 for 73 laps
Lead changes: 14 among 10 drivers

Lap Leaders:
Castroneves 1
Kanaan 2 – 68
Castroneves 69 – 77
Kanaan 78 – 80
Power 81 – 82
Jakes 83 – 85
Bourdais 86 -91
Kimball 92 – 98
Castroneves 99 – 105
Newgarden 106 – 125
Castroneves 126 – 158
Newgarden 159 – 249
Hawksworth 250 – 256
Rahal 257 – 263
Hunter-Reay 264 – 300

Verizon IndyCar Series Point Standings: Montoya 445, Rahal 403, Dixon 397, Castroneves 391, Power 390, Bourdais 366, Andretti 358, Newgarden 352, Kanaan 324, Pagenaud 294.