Hunter-Reay is Iowa Corn 300 champ again

Ryan Hunter-Reay needed a boost to his 2015 Verizon IndyCar Series season. He got it Saturday at Iowa Speedway. He can certainly use the Speedway’s hashtag of #ThisIsMySpeedway.

With no series wins this season Hunter-Reay told the Newton Daily News in a pre-race interview,

“I’ve won twice there, but it will be difficult to keep that streak going because of the new aero kits on the cars. I’ve not had the year I wanted so far. It’s crunch time with only four races remaining. We’re hoping Iowa is key to helping us turn things in the right direction.”

Make that three times he has won at Iowa Speedway. Hunter-Reay won his second straight Verizon IndyCar Series Iowa Corn 300 victory. He gave Andretti Autosport its sixth consecutive victory at Iowa Speedway.

“I love Iowa Speedway and certainly this team does,” Hunter-Reay said. “Andretti Autosport is 7-of-9 on this track and that’s pretty phenomenal.”

With the victory, he became the winningest IndyCar driver in the nine-year series history at Iowa.

Hunter-Reay helped with another IndyCar historic moment Saturday, leading All-American sweep of the podium as American drivers finished in the first top four spots in a very international sport series.

“I think it’s always great when Americans do well. It’s very important to note that it’s an international series,and there’s international drivers. So when the Americans do good, and they beat the rest of the world, it’s always great. To do it here in the heartland, to do a 1-2-3-4, it’s pretty cool,” Andretti Autosport owner Michael Andretti said.

The last time Americans swept the podium in a Verizon IndyCar Series event was the 2006 Indianapolis 500 Mile Race, when Michael Andretti followed winner Sam Hornish Jr. and Marco Andretti across the finish line in one of the most historic finishes at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Hunter-Reay led the final 36 laps to victory, staving off the challenge by Joesf Newgarden of CFH Racing. It was the second year in a row for Newgarden to end up second at Iowa.

Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidate Sage Karam had a career-high finish at third. Graham Rahal placed fourth and Carlos Munoz, another Andretti Autosport driver, was fifth.

“I am so excited to get my first podium finish in the Verizon IndyCar Series. The team did a great job tonight all around. I think we really put together an entire race, and that meant from start to finish we executed,” Karam said.

Hard luck followed Tony Kanaan at Iowa for the second time in as many races. A year ago, Kanaan led most of the race and was passed by Hunter-Reay and Newgarden at the end for a third-place finish. Saturday, Kanaan was in contention again when mechanical problems put him out of the race after 189 laps.

“The No. 28 DHL Honda was on rails at the end,” said Hunter-Reay, who had only one top-five finish this season entering the race. “This one we really had to work for. After a tough season, this one is really nice.”

Hunter-Reay made a pit stop for four tires and fuel on Lap 238. He was able to gain the race lead following a caution when Takuma Sato’s car hit the wall in Turn 2 with 38 laps to go. Following a Lap 278 restart, Hunter-Reay held off multiple challenges by Newgarden in the No. 67 Wichita State University/CFH Racing Chevrolet.

“To finish second was bittersweet,” said Newgarden, who qualified seventh. “We had a winning car, but it’s a credit to the team to finish second.”

Juan Pablo Montoya’s championship points lead appeared to take a hit when the No. 2 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet made right-side contact with the Turn 2 SAFER Barrier on Lap 10 of the 300-lap race. It was his first DNF of the season and the first in 18 races since the 2014 race at Iowa Speedway.

“We had a good car. It was a little loose the first couple of laps, so I was just really taking it easy, biding my time,” said Montoya, who qualified third. “Something broke.”

A mechanical issue in the final third of the race plagued the No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet of Scott Dixon, who entered the race 54 points behind, and an 11th-place finish by pole sitter Helio Castroneves, allowed Montoya to enter the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio on Aug. 2 relatively unscathed.

Rahal moved to second in the standings — 42 points behind — while Dixon, who finished 18th, is 48 points back and Castroneves is 54 points out of the lead.

“This race was tough. I wasn’t sure if we had the car to win at the first,” Hunter-Reay said. “After the sun went down, we made the right changes on the front wing on the stop and the car just came to life.”

Hunter-Reay posted wins at Iowa Speedway in 2012, 2014 and 2015, and took second in 2013.

“I’m not telling him (Hunter-Reay) anything except to go fast,” Michael Andretti said. “This is a great track for us to come to and we hope we come back here many, many more times. Our drivers love this track.”

Andretti Autosport has two of the three wins by Honda engine-powered cars this season. Hunter-Reay told the Newton Daily News before the race Chevrolet powered cars had been dominating this season with the new aero kits.

Munoz won in Detroit on May 30 for Andretti Autosport. The other Honda car to win was Rahal’s on June 27 at Fontana, Calif.

The next Verizon IndyCar Series event is the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on Aug. 2.

Iowa Speedway has a two-week turnaround for its final 2015 race weekend. The “Fastest Short Track on the Planet” has the NASCAR K&N Series East/West combination race and the NASCAR Xfinity Series U.S. Cellular 250 presented by New Holland July 31-Aug.1.

Contact Jocelyn Sheets at
641-792-3121 ext. 6535 or jsheets@newtondailynews.com