2022 IndyCar at Iowa results: Josef Newgarden wins the Hy-VeeDeals.com 250, his fourth Iowa Speedway victory

Newgarden dominated much of the race, holding off Pato O'Ward and Will Power en route to his first-place finish

Iowa Speedway seems to be Josef Newgarden's personal playground. The Team Penske driver and two-time IndyCar Series champion was dominant on Saturday, winning the Hy-VeeDeals.com 250 going away from Pato O'Ward and Will Power, hanging on at the end for win No. 4 at Iowa.

"I was surprised how hard these guys were pushing the restarts," Newgarden said at the finish. "I was disappointed after qualifying, but I knew we had a car today that could win this race."

Newgarden -- who has completed every lap in the past four races around the .825-mile, D-shaped oval in Newton, Iowa -- navigated lapped traffic with 25 to go to make things interesting, as it allowed O'Ward to claw into Newgarden's lead. But O'Ward then ran into the same lapped traffic issues and saw all those gains slip away as Newgarden drove away, somehow making his well-used Firestones find just a little more grip than O'Ward to hang on at the finish.

"I knew they were playing games on the restarts, but then I found a way to do things and not lose ground," O'Ward said. "It's all about having a good race car here."

The surprise was Jimmie Johnson, who spun early in the race and somehow recovered to finish 11th. The Chip Ganassi Racing driver found something that worked for him high up the track and made that line work for him time and again to work his way up to fifth during the race before fading at the finish.

Friday's practice session, the only one for the weekend, showed that there were two distinct racing lines at the track -- one in the low-middle and another a bit high-middle -- but there were times when drivers made three-wide work for some hold-your-breath-and-don't-blink moments. 

Tire management and clean air were key to getting into a rhythm and carrying momentum through each lap, and it was Newgarden who had it working. The two races in 2020 combined for only three cautions for a total of 50 laps (Race 1 - one caution, 26 laps; Race 2 - two cautions, 25 laps), but Race 1 of 2022 was up to four by the halfway point, stretching and changing strategies for the teams.

Ericsson's eighth-place finish keeps him atop the championship table, but Newgarden is now only 15 points behind. 

Unofficial results

1. Josef Newgarden, Team Penske
2. Pato O'Ward, Arrow McLaren SP 
3. Will Power, Team Penske
4. Rinus VeeKay, Ed Carpenter Racing 
   
5. Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing
6. Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing
7. Romain Grosjean, Andretti Autosport
8. Marcus Ericsson, Chip Ganassi Racing
9. Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan
10. Christian Lundgaard, Rahal Letterman Lanigan
11. Jimmie Johnson, Chip Ganassi Racing
12. Callum Ilott, Juncos Hollinger Racing
13. Alexander Rossi, Andretti Autosport
14. David Malukas, Dale Coyne Racing
15. Kyle Kirkwood, A.J. Foyt Enterprises
16. Helio Castroneves, Meyer Shank Racing
17. Devlin DeFrancesco, Andretti Autosport
18. Jack Harvey, Rahal Letterman Lanigan
19. Conor Daly, Ed Carpenter Racing
20. Dalton Kellett, A.J. Foyt Racing
21. Takuma Sato, Dale Coyne Racing
22. Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske
23. Simon Pagenaud, Meyer Shank Racing
24. Ed Carpenter, Ed Carpenter Racing
25. Felix Rosenqvist, Arrow McLaren SP
    
    

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[Jul 23, 2022 at 5:44 pm ET · Richard Biebrich Jr.]

It's 10 laps to go and Newgarden is hanging on, followed by O'Ward. Power is a distant third followed by Palou, VeeKay, Dixon, Grosjean, Johnson, Rahal and Ericsson for the top 10.

[Jul 23, 2022 at 5:36 pm ET · Richard Biebrich Jr.]

Palou's car is swerving a bit. He must have used up every bit of tire that he has.

O'Ward trying to use lapped traffic to put a pass on Power as they come up on Kyle Kirkwood. Patience rewards O'Ward as he makes the pass work. 

And Newgarden just keeps increasing his lead with 31 laps to go.

[Jul 23, 2022 at 5:34 pm ET · Richard Biebrich Jr.]

Newgarden is using the lapped traffic to open up a lead on teammate Power. Still behind them are O'Ward, Palou, VeeKay and Johnson in the top six.

[Jul 23, 2022 at 5:30 pm ET · Richard Biebrich Jr.]

At Lap 200 of 250, the leaders can make it on fuel but will be hanging on for dear life on well-worn tires. Could there be a stop coming for them? Likely only under a caution.

[Jul 23, 2022 at 5:29 pm ET · Richard Biebrich Jr.]

Palou has backed off a bit and at Lap 195 the gap to the front two cars is now 1.2-seconds. Newgarden and Power are still going at each other.

O'Ward is racing by himself a bit in fourth, with Johnson about 3-seconds adrift.

The leaders are now coming on the lapped cars.

[Jul 23, 2022 at 5:25 pm ET · Richard Biebrich Jr.]

Behind the leaders and Jimmie Johnson is up to fifth after dueling with Rinus VeeKay. Something tells me that discussion is not over between the two.

[Jul 23, 2022 at 5:23 pm ET · Richard Biebrich Jr.]

Newgarden and Power are teammates, but they aren't racing each other like teammates. Power is challenging Newgarden and Newgarden is having none of it. All this is helping Palou close up the gap to the two of them.

[Jul 23, 2022 at 5:22 pm ET · Richard Biebrich Jr.]

Green at Lap 176 and Newgarden and Power make it a Team Penske 1-2 at the front, but the third Penske car of Scott McLaughlin is back in the pits after losing a wheel nut on his right-rear tire. That will likely push him out of contention.

Palou makes a move high stick on O'Ward and is into third.

[Jul 23, 2022 at 5:18 pm ET · Richard Biebrich Jr.]

And the leaders do pit. Newgarden takes back the wing he had taken out the previous stop. 

The top 10: Newgarden, Power, O'Ward, McLaughlin, Palou, Johnson, VeeKay, Dixon, Christian Lundgaard and Ericsson.

There are 80 laps left.

[Jul 23, 2022 at 5:15 pm ET · Richard Biebrich Jr.]

Caution is out for Ed Carpenter. But have the gone far enough for the leaders to come in for fresh rubber and make it last the rest of the race?