Team Chevy’s Josef Newgarden dominated the Verizon IndyCar Series Iowa Corn 300 at Iowa Speedway Sunday, leading 282 laps before crossing the finish line 4.282 seconds clear of Will Power.
Newgarden, who was injured with a fractured clavicle and right hand in a crash at Texas Motor Speedway in June, started from the front row in his No. 21 Chevrolet. He passed pole-sitter Simon Pagenaud for the lead on the first lap stayed there for the race’s remainder, lapping the entire field save for Pagenaud by the 100th lap.
“I’m just so elated that we were able to get that oval win,” Newgarden said post-race. “We’ve been so close, finishing second here twice the last couple of years and second at other ovals, but this team, they got it done. They had an amazing car and made it easy on me.”
The first caution of the race came after Honda’s Ryan Hunter-Reay suffered a mechanical failure on Lap 109. Another yellow as put out on Lap 179 after Montoya also suffered a mechanical failure, which was followed by a third and final yellow on Lap 246 when rookie Max Chilton spun his No. 8 Chevrolet on the exit of Turn 2.
Chilton’s wreck forced a restart on Lap 260 that saw Newgarden lead the field to green. With just six cars on the lead lap, Newgarden again pulled away from the field and left Scott Dixon, Power and Pagenaud to fight for second. Power would win that duel, with Dixon classified third and Pagenaud fourth.
The Verizon IndyCar Series returns to a street course next weekend for the Honda Indy in downtown Toronto. Click here for full results from Iowa.
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