What You Should Look Forward to for the IndyCar Hy-Vee Homefront 250

Andretti Autosport and Chip Ganassi Racing embraced the opportunity, fielding four steeds each to the fray. Joining them were Meyer Shank Racing, presenting a duo of contenders, while RLL Racing confidently added their triumvirate, making up 13 of the test-takers. The Andretti squadron delivered a varied performance, with Colton Herta leading the pack, followed by Kyle Kirkwood, Devlin DeFrancesco, and Romain Grosjean. Their ally, Meyer Shank Racing, flaunted Simon Pagenaud and Helio Castroneves, who came in 3rd and 10th, respectively.

Herta rides a wave of momentum following his bronze finish in Toronto, his maiden podium of the season. Ganassi's squadron, composed of Alex Palou, Scott Dixon, Takuma Sato, and Marcus Ericsson, held their own. Despite a winless streak at Iowa, Dixon remains a steady contender with five consecutive top-five finishes and a series of solid placings in his last seven races. His Gateway track record is equally impressive.

Palou's past performances at Iowa and Gateway have been a mixed bag, but he holds a top 8 finish in all ten races this season. Factoring in last season's impressive run, he's a wildcard. Despite his confession that Iowa isn't his strong suit, he's keen to conquer the .894-mile track.

The RLL team is entering with a renewed energy following Christian Lundgaard's double whammy - a pole and race win in Toronto. Along with Jack Harvey and Graham Rahal, they're riding a high tide of confidence and could shake things up. A sparse representation from the Chevy teams in June featured ECR, Juncos, and Foyt, sparking the question if Honda teams have bridged the performance gap and whether Chevy paid the price for lack of representation.

Ganassi Racing, winners of two of the initial three Iowa races, haven't tasted victory in 14 attempts since, while Andretti has stumbled after winning seven of the first nine. The pendulum of victory swings unpredictably, but could this test help them regain control? In recent times, limited testing and more condensed race weekends have amplified the significance of practice runs. This could be a game-changer for the Iowa showdown.

Honda's dominance this season is evident with victories in nine out of ten pole positions, including eight in a row and seven races. However, their Iowa track record since 2016 bears only a single win from 2018. Chevy, last year, reigned supreme in Iowa, sweeping the podium twice and conquering seven of the last eight races. A test run at an already dominated track seems unnecessary from their perspective, thus their choice to venture to Road America for practice.

Honda teams might have had a leg up in the race in Iowa. According to Power, the teams that had tested on the track previously had gathered a trove of data, which would help them in this short weekend with minimal practice. This data-rich advantage was especially significant given the importance of track position and the tire limitations on this doubleheader weekend. Among the Honda teams, only Dale Coyne Racing was absent from the June testing, leaving us to question if their absence had closed the gap.

Despite all the speculations, the results from Friday's practice and Saturday's qualification suggested otherwise. To everyone's surprise, three of the top five speeds belonged to the untested teams: Josef Newgarden (first), Scott McLaughlin (second), and Pato O'Ward (fifth). On the qualification day, Power snatched the pole position for both days. But Newgarden (third) and O'Ward (fifth) didn't fall far behind in the first race.

The exciting part was the lackluster performance of O'Ward's Arrow McLaren teammates Alexander Rossi (14th) and Felix Rosenqvist (26th), whose poor practice and qualifying ranks stirred up questions. Was it due to a lack of pace, or was O’Ward's performance an exception? O’Ward's splendid performance at Gateway and his rising track record, with three straight top-eight finishes this season, were signs of a looming champion. However, he modestly stated that there was still work to be done to fine-tune his car.

Meanwhile, O'Ward and Newgarden, the winners of seven of the last eight oval races, cast an intimidating shadow over the competitors. Their dominance over short ovals extended back to Race 2 at the World Wide Technology Raceway in 2020, and they had even secured the top two positions in five of the last 12 oval races.

In an interesting twist, three of O'Ward's four victories occurred on the second day of a doubleheader weekend, painting him as a strong contender for Sunday's race. The questions that arose were: would they dominate the weekend, or would someone else steal the limelight? How much did missing the June test affect their performance?

The answer seems to be 'not much.' The teams were provided with 14 sets of tires for the weekend, adding another layer of strategy to the race: a three-stop vs. a four-stop strategy. This factor and other conditions, such as tire degradation, would determine the race's outcome. In the backdrop, Newgarden, a seasoned player at the Iowa Speedway, cast a long shadow over the field. Given his track record, he was expected to perform well, with victories in three of the last five races. However, despite securing both poles, Power still had to contend with him and the formidable O'Ward.



Although Alex Palou holds a comfortable 117-point lead over teammate Scott Dixon, has not claimed a victory here yet. He and Dixon, who have struggled at this track, were ranked 10th and 15th in Friday's practice, respectively. The spotlight was also on Josef Newgarden, who had been victorious in 3 of the last five races and was the fastest on Friday. He was closely followed by Marcus Ericsson and Pato O'Ward, who also had commendable track records.

All eyes were on Palou to see if he could maintain his points lead. He could very well be tiptoeing towards an early victory if his rivals fail to narrow the points gap. In the 2020 INDYCAR race at Mid-Ohio, Andretti Autosport pulled off a 1-2-3 finish. The last time this happened was in 2017, when Team Penske took over the podium. This weekend, we will see if history will repeat itself.