Dixon Runs Fourth for Honda at Iowa Speedway Opener
Iowa Speedway
・Scott Dixon finishes fourth to lead Honda effort in opening race of doubleheader NTT INDYCAR SERIES weekend at Iowa Speedway
・Colton Herta scores career-first oval track pole for Saturday's 250-lap run
・Second 250-lap contest to take place Sunday to close out Hy-Vee INDYCAR weekend
Scott Dixon led the way for Honda tonight with a fourth-place finish in the opening 250-lap race of the doubleheader Hy-Vee INDYCAR weekend at Iowa Speedway.
Andretti Global's Colton Herta scored his first NTT INDYCAR SERIES pole and led the opening 86 laps, but was unable to maintain the same pace following the first round of pit stops as eventual race winner Scott McLaughlin took over at the front and led for the rest of the night.
Behind Dixon, Kyle Kirkwood climbed from 19th on the grid to finish seventh for Honda, with his Andretti Global teammate Marcus Ericsson rounding out the top 10th. Herta survived a major sideways moment on Lap 224 to recover for an 11th-place finish; while championship leader Alex Palou saw his points lead reduced when he crashed out of the race on Lap 75.
Fast Facts
・The NTT INDYCAR SERIES continues a hectic run of four races over a three-week period this Saturday and Sunday at Iowa Speedway with a doubleheader race weekend, the first of two doubleheader oval track weekends on the 2024 NTT INDYCAR SERIES schedule.
・With a lap distance of just 0.89 miles, the banked Iowa Speedway oval is the shortest circuit on the INDYCAR schedule, and features repaving in the corners for 2024. Both Saturday's HY-VEE Home Front 250 and Sunday's HY-VEE One Step 250 will be 250-lap events.
Next
The NTT INDYCAR SERIES continues its first doubleheader race weekend of 2024 here at Iowa Speedway with Sunday's Hy-Vee One Step 250. Green flag for the 250-lap weekend closer is set for 12:30 p.m. ET, with live television coverage on NBC and streaming on NBC Peacock.
The car was very good early on, the first stint was pretty decent. But we had some issues of our own, and at the last stop for whatever reason I couldn't get first gear, that's when Pato [O'Ward] passed us. Then in the last stint I was just so loose. I don't know what happened. The car was really good up until that point. I tried to drive it in as deep as possible without spinning, but got passed there as well. Definitely a messy day for us, so I guess fourth isn't too bad. Obviously huge thanks to Honda and everyone on the PNC Bank #9 stand.
The car was very good early on, the first stint was pretty decent. But we had some issues of our own, and at the last stop for whatever reason I couldn't get first gear, that's when Pato [O'Ward] passed us. Then in the last stint I was just so loose. I don't know what happened. The car was really good up until that point. I tried to drive it in as deep as possible without spinning, but got passed there as well. Definitely a messy day for us, so I guess fourth isn't too bad. Obviously huge thanks to Honda and everyone on the PNC Bank #9 stand.
To be honest, I'm a little bit bummed. I thought we were one of the better cars out there, but I kept losing positions on the restarts. I just wasn't risking enough. It seemed like some of these guys were willing to risk more, and it paid off for them. That's something for me to think about for tomorrow, when we're starting fifth. We know we've got a good car. Time not to analyze the race a little bit and get ready to go again tomorrow.
To be honest, I'm a little bit bummed. I thought we were one of the better cars out there, but I kept losing positions on the restarts. I just wasn't risking enough. It seemed like some of these guys were willing to risk more, and it paid off for them. That's something for me to think about for tomorrow, when we're starting fifth. We know we've got a good car. Time not to analyze the race a little bit and get ready to go again tomorrow.
