Jul 24

Jul 24 Newgarden into the history books with Indycar doubleheader dominance in Iowa

Josef Newgarden took out the second leg of the Indycar doubleheader in Iowa to complete a sweep of the weekend and continue his dominance in oval racing.

Josef Newgarden celebrates after completing a clean sweep of the Indycar Iowa doubleheader. *(Chris Owens / Penske Entertainment)*

The #2 Hitachi Team Penske driver took his sixth oval victory in the past 12 months and fifth in a row, joining A. J. Foyt and Al Unser in the record books.

Foyt holds the all-time record with seven consecutive victories from his 1964 season, with Newgarden tying Unser on five victories, a record he took in both 1968 and 1970.

It was the Penske driver’s sixth career victory at Iowa after a much closer contest than the Saturday running, besting reigning series champion Will Power by just seven tenths of a second to the chequered flag, the field compressed after a late caution.

“We knew we had a great car, and the pressure was there because I think we wanted to execute on it and make sure it was a great weekend,” said Newgarden.

“I’m happy now. When you finish the first race, it’s great to have a doubleheader, but you just feel incomplete until you get through today. To be able to come back and do it again, I’m so proud of the team.”

“It’s very gratifying because I know how good our car is here. When you show up with a car like this, you’ve got the pressure to just execute and get the job done. When you don’t get the job done, you feel like you did something wrong.”

Newgarden crosses the line on Sunday on Iowa. *(Chris Jones / Penske Entertainment)*

Newgarden narrowed the lead to championship leader Alex Palou to just 80 points with five races remaining on the NTT Indycar Series calendar, with the Spaniard eighth on Saturday before moving up to third in the Hy-Vee One Step 250 on Sunday.

He cruised into the lead in the early stages despite starting seventh, but a late race crash from Ryan Hunter-Reay brought out the caution and set up a three-lap dash to the finish between the five drivers on the lead lap.

Kiwis Scott McLaughlin and Scott Dixon were fifth and sixth respectively, with Dixon holding on to third in the championship, 40 points behind Newgarden.

The Indycar series returns for the Music City Grand Prix on August 6.

2023 NTT Indycar Series - Round 12 Hy-Vee One Step 250 Result