IndyCar racing times three at Iowa Speedway

Say the Andretti name, and IndyCar racing immediately comes to mind. Even at Iowa Speedway, Andretti Autosport’s drivers have dominated the Verzion IndyCar Series race, winning five straight and six of the eight on the 7/8-mile oval’s history.

“We definitely want to keep that streak going,” said Marco Andretti, who won at Iowa Speedway in 2011 for Andretti Autosport. He finished 18th in the 2014 Iowa Corn 300, when mechanical problems put him out of the race late.

Ryan Hunter-Reay comes into Saturday’s 2015 Verizon IndyCar Series Iowa Corn 300 driving for Andretti Autosport and looking to defend his 2014 race title. Hunter-Reay goes after his third win at the Speedway, winning in 2012 on his way to the IndyCar Series championship that season.

The green flag drops for the 2015 Iowa Corn 300 at 7:50 p.m. Saturday. It will be televised on NBCSN. Qualifying laps are at 3 p.m.

Open-wheel racing fans will have a full day of action at Iowa Speedway with two of the Mazda Road to Indy developmental series hitting the track before the IndyCar race Saturday.

The day of Indy racing begins with the Pro Mazda Iowa 100 — quailing laps at 1 p.m. and race start at 4:15 p.m. Then comes the Indy Lights Iowa 115 — qualifying laps at 3 p.m. and race start at 5:20 p.m. Both races are presented by Cooper Tires.

On Friday, racing fans will see all three levels of Indy racing cars on the Speedway track in practice sessions starting at 9:15 a.m. and running through 2:45 p.m. Also on the track will be the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards with practices, qualifying and the Menards #ThisIsMySpeedway 150 at 8 p.m.

Andretti, who stands seventh in the Verizon IndyCar Series points, strives to be the next repeat winner at Iowa Speedway like his teammate Hunter-Reay. He is the only Verizon IndyCar Series driver this season to complete every lap of all 12 races. That’s 1,557 laps without a mechanical failure, issues with the Honda engines or on-track incident.

“Having success at Iowa for Andretti Autosport comes down to good setups for the cars and good drivers,” Andretti said. “Plus they have cool trophies — the fuel pumps.”

Andretti and CFH Racing co-owner/driver Ed Carpenter tested the new aerodynamic components (aero kits) July 1 at Iowa Speedway.

“The way the track is laid out and how banked it is almost runs like a small super speedway track,” Andretti said. “Being able to go in and test the new aero kits allowed us to balance things up with the mechanical set up of the car.”

Carpenter found the day of testing to be beneficial also.

“Even though I’ve only missed one year of racing at Iowa since IndyCar came there, this year having the testing was good because of the new aero kits we have. We learned a great deal about the changes we needed to make,” Carpenter said. “Iowa is a great race track and one of the most unique tracks in the country.”

2015 Indianapolis 500 winner Juan Pablo Montoya comes in to Saturday’s race with a 54-point lead in the series over Scott Dixon. Will Power, the Verizon IndyCar Series 2014 champion, is in fifth place, 70 points back. Including the Iowa Corn 300, there are four races remaining in the series.

“We need to keep doing what we’ve been doing. I’m very pleased with the No. 27 Snapple team across the board,” Andretti said. “We’re excited about the Iowa race. The amount of speed we’re able to carry on such a small track is unbelievable. The banking allowed us to carry that speed. It’s a night race and it should be fun.”

Andretti said growing up in the sport with his grandfather, Mario, and his father, Michael, successful drivers was amazing. He said Mario is the most passionate person about the sport he knows and Michael is the owner of Andretti Autosport.

“My father is an extremely loyal dude,” the 28-year-old Andretti said. “He is on my side and wants me to do well. He wants me to win the races he believes I can win, which includes the Indianapolis 500. That’s a goal.

“I’m in the sport for the pure love of driving. I just love it. I’m learning as I’m becoming a veteran in the sport to enjoy every aspect of it. I love all the challenges it presents. I’m a very, very intense guy at the race track, and extremely focused on the task at hand. I’m learning to smile more at the track.”

Oval driving is physically and mentally tasking for drivers, according to Andretti and Carpenter. Carpenter only drives the oval races on the Verizon IndyCar Series circuit.

“It was a business discussion more than anything else. My background is in racing on ovals and I came to road course racing late in my career,” Carpenter said. “As a team owner, I believe we have other drivers who are better at the road courses than I. It allows us more opportunities to be successful as a team.

The Indy 500 is what hooked Indianapolis native Carpenter.

“Growing up here and going to that race as kid made me love racing. Winning the Indy 500 is what we’re striving for as drivers. There is no event in the world like it,” Carpenter said.

Carpenter made another business decision a year ago. He combined his team with Sarah Fisher-Hartman Racing to form CFH Racing. Carpenter ran fifth at Iowa a year ago while new teammate Josef Newgarden made the podium in second place.

He said the new team is going well with Newgarden winning two races this season. Carpenter said both he and Newgarden are excited to get back on track at Iowa this weekend.

“Iowa Speedway’s track always produces great racing. As the track has aged, it has gotten harder and a few more bumps, which has made for better racing and it a better IndyCar track,” Carpenter said. “It is very physical at Iowa because things come at you very fast and you have to be on your toes. You are always turning so you have to stay focused.”

Jack Harvey, a second-year driver, and rookie Spencer Pigot come into Iowa Speedway in the top two spots in the Indy Lights points race. Harvey, who is from Lincoln, England, has 261 points to Pigot, a Florida native, has 247 points. Harvey was the 2014 Indy Lights Rookie of the Year finishing second in the points race.

The Indy Lights has become a training ground for drivers who aspire to become IndyCar greats. The series has groomed current IndyCar Series drivers Dixon, Carpenter, Andretti, Carlos Munoz, Sebastian Saavedra and James Hinchcliffe, among others.

“I learned a great deal about myself last year. Racing on ovals was new for me, I came to understand what I could be doing better,” Harvey said. “I won the Freedom 100 at Indianapolis this year. It was my first oval win. I believe driving on ovals is becoming one of my strengths.”

Both Harvey and Pigot were involved in the testing day at Iowa two weeks ago. It was the first time either driver had been on the Iowa Speedway track. Plus Indy Lights’ drivers are driving new AER turbo-powered cars this season.

“We have brand new cars and brand new engines, which is a big step forward for many reasons for Indy Lights,” Harvey said. “You are learning all the time. Testing at Iowa was big for us. It has quite a notorious bump in Turn 2 people talk about, and now, I know how it effects the car, and learned about the down force level and the fuel levels at that track.”

Pigot said he found Iowa Speedway to be one of the unique oval tracks with its progressive banking. He said his team worked on car setups and understanding the tricky bump in Turn 2. Pigot moved from winning the Pro Mazda Championship in 2014 into the Indy Lights series.

The Pro Mazda Championship is the second official step on the Mazda Road to Indy ladder system, bridging the gap between the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda and Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires. The series champion is awarded a scholarship package to advance to Indy Lights competition the following year.

As part of its commitment to assisting drivers’ progress from the grassroots of the sport up to the Verizon IndyCar Series, IndyCar, via the Mazda Road to Indy, guarantees the 2015 Indy Lights champion a three-race program in the 2016 Verizon IndyCar Series, including an entry in the 100th Indianapolis 500.

“Racing on ovals is challenging because of the speed we reach and maintain for the whole race. That has been a major difference for me this season — the speed of Indy Lights compared to the Pro Mazda cars,” Pigot said. “Iowa appears to be a track which we’ll have a great race on. The banking will make for some good side-by-side racing.”

Rookie Santiago Urrutia, an 18-year-old from Uruguay, is taking advantage of a dream of his, which began when his grandfather put him on motor bikes then his mother moved him into go-karts by age 5. Urrutia holds a 30-point lead in the Pro Mazda Championship.

“I love all types of motorsports, but I really want to be like Gonzalo Rodrigues, who raced in Formula One then came to America to race for Penske Racing,” Urrutia said. “I came here and have been working hard, which is why we’ve had success this season.

“But races are races and sometime you crash. My first oval race this season, I crashed. I know Iowa is a great oval track. I’m excited about racing there. I need to have a top-5 finish to stay in the points lead.”

Rodrigues was from Uruguay and had success racing in Formula 3000 in Europe. He raced for Penske Racing in CART until he died from injuries in a crash during a practice lap in 1999.