Ganassi Leads the Way for Honda at Iowa Speedway
Iowa Speedway
・Scott Dixon finishes fourth in his 300th consecutive NTT INDYCAR SERIES start
・First top-five result for Jimmie Johnson; Marcus Ericsson maintains Drivers’ Championship lead with sixth-place run
・David Malukas scores eighth-place finish, closes on rookie points lead
The Chip Ganassi Racing team led the way for Honda in the second race of the HyVee INDYCAR doubleheader race weekend at Iowa Speedway, with Scott Dixon, Jimmie Johnson and Marcus Ericsson finishing fourth, fifth and sixth respectively in Sunday’s 300-lap closing event.
Dixon was the biggest mover of the day, climbing from eighteenth on the grid to fourth at the line, and moving himself into third place in the championship fight. Teammate Ericsson maintains his drivers’ title lead with his sixth-place finish, eight points ahead of Will Power.
Including the Ganassi crew, Honda claimed six of the top ten positions: eighth for David Malukas for Dale Coyne Racing with HMD—the highest finishing rookie—ninth for Andretti Autosport’s Romain Grosjean and 10th for Malukas’ Dale Coyne Racing teammate, Takuma Sato, in his Dale Coyne Racing with RWR Honda.
It was a little frustrating on the restarts, as our chassis was bottoming out. I tried to attack on the last [restart] for a podium, but couldn’t pull it off. But the long runs were really good for us all weekend long, our Honda was strong as always, and that paid dividends today with just the couple of cautions we had in the race. I had a lot of fun racing my fellow ‘Kiwi’ [Scott McLaughlin] trying to get that podium finish, but fourth is good [championship] points, a great day for the entire Chip Ganassi team.
This is a really special day for me, and for everyone who’s been with me on this journey in Indy car. It took me a little while to get my best finish, but today was just a fun race today. We’ve had tons of support all the way from my teammates and the entire Chip Ganassi Racing organization. I raced my teammates with the most respect I possibly could, and this is the first time I felt like I could fight for position with them. It was just an awesome day.
What a joy of a race that was! Although today’s race was 50 laps longer than Saturday, it felt much shorter. Every lap was either a pass, or setting up for a pass. It was just chaos from start to finish, and we just kept working our way forward. The Penske’s and McLaren’s were on rails, but other than them, no one else could pass us. I had an amazing battle with my teammate Takuma [Sato] at the end, Neither of us made it easy, but it was a lot of fun and he pushed me to the end.
First and foremost, we wish all the best for Josef Newgarden. It certainly was a hard hit and we hope to see him back in the cockpit next weekend. Regarding today’s race, the results speak for themselves, it seems we have pretty significant chassis work to do on short ovals. Credit where it's due, it was a masterclass from Team Penske and Josef for most of the weekend. We have a lot to learn and improve as a collective group, simple as that.
Well done to Chip Ganassi Racing for making the best of things and bringing home some solid results for their team and for us at Honda.
Fast Facts
The NTT INDYCAR SERIES continued a hectic run of five races over a four-week period this Saturday and Sunday at Iowa Speedway with a doubleheader race weekend, the only two-race weekend on the 2022 NTT INDYCAR SERIES schedule.
With a lap distance of just 0.89 miles, the banked Iowa Speedway oval is the shortest circuit on the 2020 schedule. Saturday’s HY-VEEDeals.com 250 was a 250-lap event; while today’s HY-VEE Salute To Farmers 300 will ran for 300 laps.
Next
With the completion of this weekend’s pair of races at Iowa Speedway, the NTT INDYCAR Series continues its mid-season run of consecutive race weekends with a return to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course for the July 30 Gallagher Grand Prix, part on the “Brickyard” weekend with NASCAR in Indianapolis.
