CHEVROLET IN THE NTT INDYCAR SERIES
IOWA 300
IOWA SPEEDWAY
NEWTON, IOWA
TEAM CHEVY ADVANCE
JULY 17, 2019
Chevrolet seeking more success on short oval
Chevrolet has four wins in seven races at Iowa Speedway
Ed Carpenter Racing entries have been especially strong
Team Chevy drivers are first and third in standings
Josef Newgarden, Simon Pagenaud in championship talk
Chevrolet remains strong on variety of racetracks
Bowtie brand has six wins and five poles in 11 races
Sage Karam, Conor Daly to drive Carlin Chevrolet entries
DETROIT (July 17, 2019) – In the past four NTT IndyCar Series races at Iowa Speedway, Ed Carpenter Racing entries powered by Chevrolet have finished first or second.
The team owner/driver is aiming to add to the streak, especially in the No. 20 Autogeek Chevrolet he’ll drive at one of his favorite racetracks. Carpenter has recorded five top-five starts and five top-five finishes in the seven races at the .894-mile tri-oval since Chevrolet’s 2012 return to NTT IndyCar Series manufacturer competition.
Overall, four different Chevrolet drivers have won four of the seven Iowa races and recorded five pole starts. Under the lights July 20, nine drivers powered by the 2.2-liter, twin turbocharged, direct-injected Chevrolet V6 engine will compete in the 300-lap race.
“It’s been a place that as a team we’ve felt very comfortable. It’s a racetrack that I’ve always liked going to,” said Carpenter, who competes on ovals while Ed Jones drives the No. 20 Chevrolet on street and road courses. “With as much as the tracks change over the years, we’ve always seemed to be able to adapt and get a car that’s comfortable and fast. Hopefully, that won’t be any different this year and Spencer (Pigot) and I can be strong.”
Pigot was runner-up last year and will drive the No. 21 Autogeek Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet.
In 2017, JR Hildebrand’s Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet was second to Team Penske Chevrolet driver Helio Castroneves. Josef Newgarden won in 2016 in an Ed Carpenter Racing entry and won in ’15 in a CFH Racing (Carpenter Fisher Hartman) Chevrolet.
“I’m really excited to get back in the car; Texas seems like six months ago,” said Carpenter, who has a best finish at Iowa Speedway of fourth in 2013. “It’s pretty wild to run an Indy car there. Every year you go back, bumps that maybe were a problem are not a problem but there’s a new bump. That’s one of the things I really like about the racetrack is it presents a unique challenge all the time. (At) Iowa you can move around and make different lines work due to the bumps and how physically demanding the place is.
“The back straight we’re going straight for maybe a second so you’re always turning. And with these cars not having power steering and the downforce we have and the speeds we run there – we’ll qualify mid-175s average – so the G force we see there – over 4 Gs — there’s no other place we go like it as far as the physical challenge and in a lot of ways the mental challenge just because it’s so dynamic.”
Newgarden, driver of the No. 2 Hitachi Team Penske Chevrolet, holds the championship points lead through 11 of 17 races and teammate Simon Pagenaud, winner of the most recent race in Toronto, is third. Both are three-time winners this season.
For the first time on a short oval, drivers will receive a turbo boost equivalent to about 50 horsepower, which will put engine power on par with road and street courses. The boost will also be in place for the August 24 race at the 1.25-mile World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway.
Sage Karam, who drove the No. 31 SmartShop Self Storage Carlin Chevrolet at Toronto, will also compete this weekend. He’ll be joined by Conor Daly in the No. 59 Gallagher Carlin Chevrolet.
Chevrolet NTT IndyCar Series drivers will greet fans at the Chevrolet Performance display this weekend at the track. The lineup:
July 19 – 3:45 p.m. Carlin (Conor Daly, Sage Karam)
5 p.m. Team Penske (Josef Newgarden, Simon Pagenaud, Will Power)
July 20 – 1:45 p.m. AJ Foyt Racing (Tony Kanaan, Matheus Leist)
Additionally, Chevrolet drivers will be involved in the Sweet Corn Feed presented by The Premier Chevy Dealers at 1 p.m. July 20 in the display area.
A Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport will lead the field to the green flag.
NBCSN will telecast the race live at 7 p.m. ET July 20.