IndyCar

Pagenaud holds off Dixon to win 1st Iowa 250

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Winner Simon Pagenaud came from last to first to win
Winner Simon Pagenaud came from last to first to win
Barry Cantrell/LAT for Chevy

Simon Pagenaud's Chevy engine would not start in qualifying so he had to start last. But he came from last to first in his Penske Chevy to win the 1st Iowa Twin 250 IndyCar race by holding off Scott Dixon's Ganassi Honda by 1/2-second – his 15th IndyCar win and first of 2020. In doing so he snapped Ganassi Racing's grip on the 2020 season.

“I can't believe it. I have to rewatch the race. How did I get there?" asked Pagenaud, who also gave team owner Roger Penske his first IndyCar victory since purchasing the series late last year. “I don't know. The last 50 laps, a lot of tension. When Dixon is chasing you, you'd better hit your marks."

Dixon also came from the back, starting 17th he finished 2nd and has a 5-point lead coming out of this event.

Rookie Oliver Askew completed the podium in third for the Arrow McLaren-SP Chevy.

Askew's teammate Pato O'Ward was 4th and early leader Josef Newgarden rounded out the top-5 as Chevy took 4 of the top-5 finishing positions.

“I wish you could see my smile right now," Askew said. “This Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet came alive once the track started to get cooler. We were really good on new tires and when they were very used. If that yellow didn’t come out on the restart there (on Lap 156), I think we would have had a really good shot at finishing at least 1-2 with Pato (O’Ward) and I. We’ll go get them tomorrow, but I’ll sleep really well tonight. Honestly, that’s probably one of the funnest races I’ve ever done in my life."

“The caution was certainly the nail in the coffin," said Newgarden. "Without sounding too over-confident, we had the car to beat tonight, hands-down," he said. “To be honest, I'm angry about how this all transpired. Some of it's just bad luck. The yellow coming out when it came out, I can't fault my guys. They did a great job. I had a rocket ship."

Alexander Rossi was in a position to possibly win but he faded at the end and had to settle for 6th, still not leading a single lap since Road America last June.

Two mid-race wrecks set the stage for the conclusion.

The first occurred when Will Power’s left front wheel came off his car, sending him into the wall and the tire bounding within feet of his head. The second occurred on the aborted restart, when Colton Herta’s car catapulted over Rinus VeeKay,

The race was preparing to go green after Will Power caused a caution when his left-front wheel came off the car after a pit stop. As Pato O’Ward led the field to green, IndyCar’s race control waved off the restart late. As drivers tried to slow down after accelerating off turn 4, Herta’s car hit VeeKay’s and went airborne.

“It happened so fast. I wasn’t really sure what was going on," said Herta, the only driver to finish in the top 10 each of the first four races. “I wasn’t told the restart was called off. I was told green, and I wasn’t going to go by the light when I was told green. So there you go. I guess everyone else got the message."

The drivers said the new air scoop definitely moved a lot more air into the cockpit as the drivers were covered in tire rubber dust.

More to follow…..

Quotes

SIMON PAGENAUD, NO. 22 MENARDS TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET – Race Winner

FROM WORST TO FIRST! IS THERE A BETTER WAY TO NOTCH YOUR FIRST WIN HERE AT IOWA?

“Wow, this place is tough! What a night! What a day for us. First of all, it was an amazing group effort from the whole Team Penske to recover from Road America. I made a mistake. We unloaded really well. This morning was a lot of fun. Qualifying was disheartening, but these guys never give up and that’s what this team is all about. It’s amazing to get the Menards car to be shining here in Iowa is awesome. So, I’m really proud for John and everybody at Menards and Chevy. Obviously, we had the horsepower and the fuel conception, but most importantly, I can’t believe it. I have to re-watch the race. How did I get there? I don’t know. The last 50 laps were certainly a lot of tension. A lot of tension. When (Scott) Dixon is chasing you, you’d better hit your marks."

TAKE US THROUGH THAT AND HAVING THE FIVE-TIME CHAMPION BREATHING DOWN YOUR NECK AT TIMES AND TRYING TO STRETCH THE FUEL AND KEEP HIM IN YOUR REAR VIEW MIRROR AND DEALING WITH LAPPED TRAFFIC, HOW DID YOU DEAL WITH ALL OF THAT?

“Yeah, it’s certainly not easy with lapped traffic. I knew we had a really good car on long runs, so that was really my chance. I was really keeping up with the tires and they behaved really well. I was a little worried about the (Arrow) McLaren guys because they pitted for new tires, and new tires were so much speed, so I was a little worried. In the end, I had my hands full. Thanks for everybody at Team Penske and everybody who supports us. It was an amazing team effort."

YOU’RE GOING TO DO IT ALL AGAIN TOMORROW NIGHT, STARTING FROM THE REAR. DO YOU HAVE IT IN YOU?

“I do, I do. I never give up. If I’ve got to do it again, I’ll do it again. This we certainly a pretty cool win on an oval. Indy will always be the top, but this one was pretty cool, too."

1st – SIMON PAGENAUD (No. 22 Menards Team Penske Chevrolet): “Wow. This place is tough. But what a night. What a day for us. First of all, amazing group effort from the whole Team Penske group to recover from Road America. We unloaded really well. This morning was really fun. Qualifying was disheartening, but these guys never give up. And that’s what this team is all about. It’s amazing. To get the Menards car to be shining here in Iowa is awesome. I’m really proud for John (Menard) and everyone at Menards and Chevy. Obviously, we had the horsepower and fuel consumption, but most importantly I can’t believe it. I have to rewatch the race. How did I get there? I don’t know, but the last 50 laps were certainly a lot of tension. When (Scott) Dixon is chasing you, you’ve got to hit your marks. It certainly wasn’t easy with lapped traffic, and I knew we had a really good car on long runs. That was really my chance. I was really keeping up with my tires and they behaved really well, the Firestone tires tonight. I was a little worried about the McLaren guys (Askew and O’Ward) because they pitted for new tires, and new tires had so much speed, so I was a little worried. In the end, just thanks everyone at Team Penske. And thank everyone who supports us. That was an amazing team effort. Thank you. If I have to do it again, this was certainly a cool win on an oval. Indy will always be the top, but this one was pretty cool, too."

2nd – SCOTT DIXON (No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda): “First of all, congratulations to Simon Pagenaud. That was an awesome race, and I’m sure he’s happy after the mess-up they had with qualifying. I’m proud to be powered by Honda and HPD. They did a tremendous job on fuel mileage. I think that’s what enabled us to really stay out and get that fuel mileage and jump a couple of cars. And those cautions really did help, especially because when you pit on such a small track, you fall down a couple laps. We had a pretty dreadful car in qualifying. We worked on it, but unfortunately with the way the race is this weekend you can’t change anything after qualifying, so it took us awhile to get us going. Huge credit to the PNC Bank crew. They did a hell of a job. Unfortunately, we’re starting at the back again tomorrow, so we’ll have another long night tomorrow in the No. 9 PNC Bank Honda car."

3rd – OLIVER ASKEW (No. 7 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet): “I wish everyone could see my smile right now. This No. 7 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet just absolutely came alive when the track became cooler. We were good on new tires and when they were used. If that yellow didn’t come out there near the race end, I think we would have had a shot at least 1-2 there. We will go again tomorrow, and I’m sure I’ll sleep well tonight. That’s probably one of the funnest races I’ve done in my life. Big hats off to everyone at Arrow McLaren SP. Awesome night."

4th – PATO O’WARD (No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet): “Arrow McLaren SP and Team Chevy gave Oliver (Askew) and I great cars tonight. We could really fight in a pack out there on track. It was a fantastic team result, but we are going to keep pushing. We have the pace for both of us to be on the podium tomorrow. So, I think we just have to execute, no mistakes, and I think we will be right there tomorrow. I’m looking forward to it. Having a race under our belt at Iowa Speedway will be a huge help. Let’s go get it."

5th – JOSEF NEWGARDEN (No. 1 Hitachi Team Penske Chevrolet): “The caution was certainly the nail in the coffin. Not to sound too overconfident, but we had the car to beat tonight, hands down. It is just bad luck. The yellow coming out when it came out, you can’t predict that stuff. You weigh the pros and cons when you’re trying to go long or trying to go short with your pit windows. I can’t fault my Hitachi guys. I think they did a great job. I had a rocket ship, and I’m sad we couldn’t put our car in Victory Lane because I feel that we had that potential. Like I said, I’m really proud of my guys. They always do a great job for me. We just chalk it up to bad luck tonight. We got to try and make up for it tomorrow. Look, all you can do is go forward. This is racing. Some days the racing gods shine down on you and some days they don’t. And today they definitely didn’t. But that’s how it works. You need to take the good days when you get them and accept the bad days when you have them. So, we’re going to try and regroup for tomorrow. But Chevy has done a great job for us. We had the package to beat tonight, in my opinion, and having Hitachi support us always means the world. We’re going to try again tomorrow and try and get them."

6th – ALEXANDER ROSSI (No. 27 AutoNation / NAPA AUTO PARTS Honda): “I think our car was all right. I think we went on the strategy to win the race, but we didn't have the car to do that amount of laps. Ultimately, it was the right strategy but the wrong car for that strategy. Our strength was the first 30 to 40 laps of the stint, but then we couldn’t look after the tires like the people that beat us. It’s disappointing because I thought that we the AutoNation / NAPA team was looking good for at least a podium, but it slipped away from us with tire degradation."

7th –JACK HARVEY (No. 60 AutoNation / SiriusXM Honda): “Today was a really solid day. Getting to drive this track in an Indy car is much different from the Indy Lights car, but the competition and intensity are still the same. As anticipated, the race was non-stop, and I definitely learned a ton that I can take with me into tomorrow. This type of finish is what we needed and finally we were able to get a result that was reflective of our pace. I’m hoping that we can improve for tomorrow."

8th– CONOR DALY (No. 59 Gallagher Carlin Chevrolet): “It was definitely a rollercoaster of a day for us. Obviously, we were so excited to win the pole for tonight’s race in the No. 59 Gallagher Carlin Chevrolet. That’s just such a major accomplishment for myself and this team. We’ve all been working so hard and the guys gave me a great car to qualify, so I was pretty excited that I was able to get that pole. We started the race tonight OK but just really struggled with keeping the rear underneath me and trying to figure it out as we went. It was just tough, and we just didn’t have the pace that we needed. The yellow really killed us. Some people just got so lucky with that, but unfortunately it didn’t fall our way. We chose to extend the last stint and make the tires last, but it was really tough driving absolutely to the limit on older tires and trying to hold people off there at the end. It was tough end to the day, but it was seriously awesome to get the first INDYCAR pole for both Carlin and myself, and I’m looking forward to tomorrow night’s race where we’ll start up front again in third."

9th – MARCUS ERICSSON (No. 8 Huski Chocolate Chip Ganassi Racing Honda): “We didn’t have a great start, but the car was good and we got into a rhythm. I think we were really strong in free air, but when you’re in traffic, it’s another story. We had P6 solidly and were competitive. The other guys had fresher rubber at the end, and we dropped to P9. I think we need to work on the car a bit more in traffic, and we’ll be competitive again tomorrow here at Iowa in the Huski Chocolate car."

10th –TAKUMA SATO (No. 30 Panasonic/Mi-Jack Honda): “I was a tough race, but I think we improved a lot in the race although obviously were not able to change the car between qualifying and the race. We focused for the race (in practice), and I think that was right. At one stage we led the race, and we were competing in the top three, top five. But unfortunately on the last period of the yellows, we decided to divide the two stints, so we pitted. Most of the people who finished high today basically stayed out. We need to review the strategy. Nobody knew how it would play out until we finished. I think the boys did a great job, and I think we gained quite a lot of good experience today, so we should be better tomorrow."

Remainder of Drivers (alphabetical – with finishing position):

MARCO ANDRETTI (Finished 22nd – No. 98 U.S. Concrete / Curb Honda): “We attempted the undercut, which was powerful as you saw with (Oliver) Askew today. But we burnt a clutch line and couldn’t get out of the (pit) box. The guys were able to push start me and we saved another stint, but then the next stop it gave way, and our day was done. Really not the way we’ve wanted the Iowa doubleheader – or the season – to start, and we’ll keep fighting to turn it around."

ED CARPENTER (Finished 15th – No. 20 US Air Force Chevrolet): “This has always been one of my favorite tracks, but I don't remember ever having as difficult of a night here. I was excited to run the U.S. Air Force colors and want to do a good job for them. I'm embarrassed about the performance tonight. The good thing is we have another chance tomorrow, so long as it's not a repeat. It was pretty brutal. It's hot in the cars, it's uncomfortable and with a poor performance, I am pretty disappointed."

COLTON HERTA (Finished 19th – No. 88 Capstone Turbine Honda): “I'm not positive where things went wrong on that restart. (INDYCAR) waved off and didn’t throw the green, but I was never told that it didn’t go, that it was still yellow. I’m glad Rinus (VeeKay) is OK; I’m glad I’m okay. I know the Capstone Honda was fast tonight, and hopefully we can show it again tomorrow. Thanks to the 88 crew and the whole team for all the hard work they're putting in to get the car ready for Race 2."

RYAN HUNTER-REAY (Finished 16th– No. 28 DHL Honda): “We had a good start, moved up a few spots around the outside. On the first stop, I just lit the rears up in first gear trying to get a good run out, but lost the rear and smacked the left front into the pit exit wall, continued on but lost some front wing downforce and some front wing pressure that we had to work at getting back all night. We had the pace at the end of the night; it was just too little too late. Hopefully we can capitalize on starting P4 tomorrow night in Race 2."

SANTINO FERRUCCI (Finished 13th – No. 18 SealMaster Honda): “At the start of the race, there was some slight contact that cracked the front wing, so we lost a lot of aero balance, which made things really tough. We made some adjustments during the race but didn’t realize the extent of the damage until the car was back in the pits after the race. The SealMaster crew worked hard tonight, and we are looking forward to coming from 16th on the starting gird tomorrow to get back into the top 10 and score some good points."

TONY KANAAN (Finished 18th – No. 14 Bryant/AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet): “It was a shame. I think we had a consistent car but the tire deg for us was more than other people, so we need to figure out what’s causing it. It’s on the setup. We’re pretty decent halfway through the stint, and then the car will fall off really quick. And in one of those, I got loose, and not to spin I went wide, got in the marbles, brushed the wall a little bit, so that cost us 18 laps. But track position is really important, so we have that for tomorrow (starts eighth). I think we have overnight to think about it and another hour session tomorrow to try to make the tires last a little bit longer and then go from there. I truly believe we have a top-10 car for tomorrow."

CHARLIE KIMBALL (Finished 17th – No. 4 Tresiba AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet): “I think it was a disappointing night for both AJ Foyt Racing cars. The No. 4 Tresiba Chevrolet was not what I wanted to feel underneath me, but I know the engineers will do really good work making it better tonight. I felt like everyone did a good job with what we had. Today was busy, practice, qualify and straight into the race – especially racing what you qualify. We had to compromise on gears, ride heights and setups and stuff, but it was the same for everyone and we just didn’t maximize it. But we’ll review it and be ready to go for another 250 laps tomorrow night."

ALEX PALOU (Finished 11th – No. 55 Dale Coyne Racing with Team Goh Honda): “It was awesome. It’s my first short oval and the first oval race that I finish. I think the result wasn’t as good as we would have wanted it, but I’m super happy with the car and the race. I felt really comfortable, and I was getting more and more comfortable with every lap. It was tough because the strategy we did, we had to do a lot of laps on old tires, and those laps were really hard to do because everybody around me was running so quick and we just had to maintain our pace. But it worked out. It’s a shame that we were not in the top 10, but I think 11th place is good, and tomorrow we’re starting P7, so it should be a bit easier. I learned so much tonight, and I have a lot to process before the race tomorrow."

WILL POWER (Finished 21st – No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet): “Yeah, I just got loose, and the front end took off and I went into the wall. Not a good feeling. It’s unbelievable. I don’t know what I’m going to do, and it’s frustrating. So, so, so frustrating. It’s unbelievable, man. I don’t know what to say but fortunate for me and my Verizon Chevy guys we get another shot tomorrow. Man, I can’t thank INDYCAR enough for everything they’ve done safety-wise with the Aeroscreen and halo inside the Aeroscreen. You just saw Colton Herta go over the top of someone, and they’ve just done a tremendous job. It’s better than any other series that have invented something like it. Just a very good job."

GRAHAM RAHAL (Finished 12th – No. 15 One Cure Honda): “It was kind of an up-and-down night for us. I thought that the One Cure car had periods in the race where we were OK and were able to make up time. You look, we fell down a lap very early in the race, and we only finished two down, so obviously the pace was all right through the middle stints. But we put ourselves in a hole to begin but then we got around some guys a couple of times. It was hard to get by and kind of lost track there a little bit. But I thought our guys did a good job in the pits; I thought the strategy was fine. We had one set of tires that we struggled on, but other than that, we were just kind of trying to work our way to the front. Obviously, Simon did a great job. But when you start where we did and struggled like we did today, it is hard to win a race like this. Hopefully tomorrow is a little better."

FELIX ROSENQVIST (Finished 14th – No. 10 NTT DATA Chip Ganassi Racing Honda): “I think we had good pace, and the whole team did a great job preparing these cars for us. It seems like every race one of us, if not all three, are in the hunt or feel like we have pace to contend. Obviously it’s not the finishing position we wanted with the NTT DATA car, but the thing about doubleheader races is that you have the chance to immediately bounce back, and that’s our goal for tomorrow."

ZACH VEACH (Finished 23rd – No. 26 Gainbridge Honda): "This was one of the hardest nights of my career. We had a huge moment in qualifying with the car not being right, and per the rules we couldn’t change the car between qualifying and the race. We tried to make the best of what we could, but the car was just too far out of the window to be as competitive as we usually are here. At the second pit stop, we had a clutch fail, which turned into a small fire which ended my night. Glad everyone is OK. Just a tough night."

RINUS VEEKAY (Finished 20th – No. 21 SONAX Chevrolet): “There was nothing I could have done. I had a good start, but I was told it was a no-start, so I went off the throttle. I think the other car was too late getting that information; I really don't know. I got hit – that's clear. It's very tough. We could have gone for a podium or a win today. We've got to go for it tomorrow. I'm happy that we'll have a Take 2."

Results

Pos No Name Laps Diff Gap Led ST Engine Points Team
1 22 Simon Pagenaud 250 0.0000 0.0000 83 23 Chevy 163 Team Penske
2 9 Scott Dixon 250 0.4954 0.4954 0 17 Honda 213 Chip Ganassi Racing
3 7 Oliver Askew 250 7.2128 6.7174 0 14 Chevy 86 Arrow McLaren SP
4 5 Pato O'Ward 250 13.9893 6.7765 30 8 Chevy 143 Arrow McLaren SP
5 1 Josef Newgarden 250 16.7356 2.7463 68 2 Chevy 137 Team Penske
6 27 Alexander Rossi 250 19.6004 2.8648 0 5 Honda 94 Andretti Autosport
7 60 Jack Harvey 250 20.0484 0.4480 0 9 Honda 75 Meyer Shank Racing
8 59 Conor Daly 250 20.5345 0.4861 13 1 Chevy 93 Carlin
9 8 Marcus Ericsson 250 20.7383 0.2038 0 10 Honda 115 Chip Ganassi Racing
10 30 Takuma Sato 249 1 LAPS 7.1420 49 6 Honda 90 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
11 55 Alex Palou 249 1 LAPS 15.4923 0 18 Honda 98 Dale Coyne Racing with Team Goh
12 15 Graham Rahal 248 2 LAPS 10.7196 0 21 Honda 106 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
13 18 Santino Ferrucci 247 3 LAPS 11.8557 0 11 Honda 104 Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser Sullivan
14 10 Felix Rosenqvist 247 3 LAPS 2.9089 7 7 Honda 105 Chip Ganassi Racing
15 20 Ed Carpenter 247 3 LAPS 1.4015 0 16 Chevy 45 Ed Carpenter Racing
16 28 Ryan Hunter-Reay 247 3 LAPS 2.4281 0 12 Honda 95 Andretti Autosport
17 4 Charlie Kimball 245 5 LAPS 1 LAPS 0 15 Chevy 83 AJ Foyt Enterprises
18 14 Tony Kanaan 213 32 LAPS 27 LAPS 0 19 Chevy 32 AJ Foyt Enterprises
19 88 Colton Herta 156 4.1891 0.6332 0 4 Honda 130 Andretti Harding Steinbrenner Autosport
20 21 Rinus VeeKay 156 5.3254 1.1363 0 13 Chevy 81 Ed Carpenter Racing
21 12 Will Power 142 1 LAPS 4.3292 0 3 Chevy 101 Team Penske
22 98 Marco Andretti 128 21 LAPS 3 LAPS 0 20 Honda 51 Andretti Herta w/Marco & Curb-Agaj
23 26 Zach Veach 95 54 LAPS 33 LAPS 0 22 Honda 85 Andretti Autosport


Race Statistics
Winner's average speed: 132.220 mph
Time of Race: 1:41:25.2939
Margin of victory: 0.4954 of a second
Cautions: 1 for 26 laps
Lead changes: 7 among 6 drivers

Lap Leaders:
Daly 1 – 13
Newgarden 14 – 70
Rosenqvist 71 – 77
Sato 78 – 126
Newgarden 127 – 137
Pagenaud 138 – 147
O'Ward 148 – 177
Pagenaud 178 – 250

NTT INDYCAR SERIES point standings: Dixon 213, Pagenaud 163, O'Ward 143, Newgarden 137, Herta 130, Ericsson 115, Rahal 106, Rosenqvist 105, Ferrucci 104, Power 101.

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