IndyCar: Herta tops Wednesday test at Iowa (Test Times)

With only a month left until Hy-Vee INDYCAR Race Weekend, July 21-23, NTT INDYCAR SERIES teams spent Wednesday testing at Iowa Speedway as they gathered data while searching for the right combination of balance and speed in advance of next month’s annual series visit to the 7/8 of a mile oval track.

A total of 20 cars representing eight series teams tested throughout the day, with competitors recording over 3,800 combined laps at the “Fastest Short Track on the Planet.” Three former NTT INDYCAR SERIES Iowa race winners, six Indianapolis 500 winners and four former series champions were among the drivers testing on Wednesday.

“We got through our program, and I was pretty happy with how everything went,” said Colton Herta, driver of the No. 26 Gainbridge Honda for Andretti Autosport, who posted one of the fastest laps of the test. “We started out with a pretty good car, and we just kept making it better, so I’m pretty happy with the result, and we should have some pretty good stuff to go off of when we come back here.”

Current series points leader Alex Palou of Chip Ganassi Racing, winner of the three of the last four series races, was also among the fastest testers on the day. Palou is in position to capture a $1 million bonus if he can produce a victory in either of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES races during Hy-Vee INDYCAR Race Weekend. After posting wins at both a street circuit and permanent road course already this season, Palou just needs to secure a victory on an oval track to earn the bonus, though the PeopleReady Force for Good Challenge.

“I feel very fortunate to be in a position to compete for the $1 million prize and we will have two opportunities to do it next month here at Iowa,” said Palou, who has produced a top result of sixth in four previous career races at Iowa Speedway.

Hy-Vee INDYCAR Race Weekend will once again feature the only doubleheader weekend on the series schedule. The Hy-Vee Homefront 250 presented by Instacart will take the green flag on Saturday, July 22 followed by the Hy-Vee One Step 250 presented by Gatorade on Sunday, July 23. Both races will be televised live on NBC and streamed live on Peacock. In addition to the INDYCAR races during the action-packed weekend, the rising stars of INDY NXT by Firestone will also compete on Saturday, July 22 (11 am ET on Peacock).

The event will also feature an amazing music lineup with country music superstar Carrie Underwood performing live before Saturday’s INDYCAR race and Kenny Chesney live in concert after the race, followed by Zak Brown Band in concert before Sunday’s INDYCAR race and Ed Sheeran hosting a post-race concert Sunday. All concerts are included with the price of a ticket.

Wednesday Test Times

Pos No Name Time Gap Laps Speed Engine Team
1 26 Colton Herta 18.3904 0.000s 292 175.004 Honda Andretti Autosport w/ Curb-Agajanian
2 20 Ryan Hunter-Reay 18.6031 0.2127 174 173.003 Chevy Ed Carpenter Racing
3 60 Simon Pagenaud 18.6513 0.0482 208 172.556 Honda Meyer Shank Racing
4 10 Alex Palou 18.6861 0.0348 260 172.235 Honda Chip Ganassi Racing
5 9 Scott Dixon 18.6946 0.0085 187 172.157 Honda Chip Ganassi Racing
6 45 Christian Lundgaard 18.7744 0.0080 108 171.425 Honda Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
7 30 Jack Harvey 18.7846 0.0102 211 171.332 Honda Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
8 11 Takuma Sato 18.7853 0.0007 139 171.325 Honda Chip Ganassi Racing
9 8 Marcus Ericsson 18.7957 0.0104 159 171.231 Honda Chip Ganassi Racing
10 06 Helio Castroneves 18.8321 0.0364 245 170.900 Honda Meyer Shank Racing
11 27 Kyle Kirkwood 18.8726 0.0405 181 170.533 Honda Andretti Autosport
12 29 Devlin DeFrancesco 18.9118 0.0392 259 170.179 Honda Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport
13 21 Rinus VeeKay 18.9124 0.0006 276 170.174 Chevy Ed Carpenter Racing
14 33 Ed Carpenter 18.9516 0.0392 224 169.822 Chevy Ed Carpenter Racing
15 15 Graham Rahal 18.9792 0.0276 179 169.575 Honda Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
16 51 Sting Ray Robb 19.0958 0.1166 187 168.540 Honda Dale Coyne Racing with RWR
17 78 Agustin Canapino 19.0965 0.1117 160 168.534 Chevy Juncos Hollinger Racing
18 28 Romain Grosjean 19.1536 0.0571 103 168.031 Honda Andretti Autosport
19 14 Santino Ferrucci 19.3268 0.1732 188 166.525 Chevy A.J. Foyt Enterprises
20 55 Benjamin Pedersen 19.5312 0.2044 107 164.783 Chevy A.J. Foyt Enterprises