Two IndyCar veteran drivers, a rookie ready for Sunday’s Iowa Corn 300

Marco Andretti and James Hinchcliffe are former Verizon IndyCar Series rookies of the year. They both are past winners at Iowa Speedway.

Zach Veach is one of the top rookies in the 2018 Verizon IndyCar Series.

All three have several things in common. The most important of those would be they are doing what they are passionate about — driving in the IndyCar Series. They also all are seeking their first race win of the 2018 season as they hit the Iowa Speedway track this weekend for 2018 Iowa Corn 300.

Although Andretti and Hinchcliffe have claimed the Iowa Speedway gas pump trophy in 2011 and 2013, respectively. Veach is not unfamiliar with The Fastest Short Track on the Planet. He has two Indy Lights races at Iowa Speedway under his belt. In 2016, Veach was second in the Indy Lights 100.

The two veteran drivers learned things will be a bit different this time on the shortest oval track on the IndyCar Series. They along with several other drivers including Veach participated in IndyCar testing at Newton last week driving the new style chassis.

“It was a big eye opener to me and my teammates to have the test at Iowa with the new car,” Andretti said. “It is super, super light with about 1,300 pounds less of downforce which comes with a lot less drag. That means you’re flying on the straightaways at Iowa and it is so light in the corners.”

Andretti and Veach drive for Andretti Autosport along with Alexandar Rossi and three-time Iowa winner Ryan Hunter-Reay. Hinchcliffe and leading rookie driver Robert Wickens drive for Schmidt Peterson Motorsports.

“We had a nice warm, sunny day for testing so the weather matched up pretty well what everyone is predicting for race day at Iowa,” Hinchcliffe said. “With the new chassis, I learned it feels a lot different on the Iowa racetrack. The meaningful loss of downforce is tremendous so we got a good sense of what it feels like behind the wheel on the shortest oval track we race at during the season.”

The green flag drops at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday for the 2018 Verizon IndyCar Series Iowa Corn 300. There are 22 drivers entered including series points leader Scott Dixon of Chip Ganassi Racing and 2018 Indy 500 winner Will Power of Team Penske. Driver introductions are slated for 1 p.m.

There won’t be a defending Iowa Corn 300 champion in the field as the 2017 winner Helio Castroneves retired. Iowa was Castroneves’ first win of the 2017 season. It was the first IndyCar win at Iowa Speedway by Team Penske.

Going into the 12th annual IndyCar Series race at Iowa Speedway, Andretti Autosport has won seven times in the previous 11 races. Andretti Autosport drivers have won six of the last eight races — the last was a back-to-back run by Hunter-Reay in 2014 and 2015.

“Iowa is a great place to race, but it hasn’t been kind to me the past few years. I’m looking to run well this year after our testing results last week with the new car,” Marco Andretti said. “The new design suits me and I prefer it because you can feel the car more, but it’s going to be a handful for 300 laps on the short track at Iowa.”

Andretti said with the information gathered from the testing day, he is confident the No. 98 U.S. Concrete/Curb Honda will be a good race car this year for Iowa. He said it would be nice to win the pole position at Iowa.

“I believe we have the pace to do that from what we learned on testing day. You have to be good on laps 30 through 60 on tires. The new chassis is on the edge and we’ve had good short-oval stuff this season,” Andretti said.

“At Iowa it is so busy and on the edge because of the speeds of the laps we have. It is a very physical track to race on — feels more like a circle than an oval because we’re turning out such fast laps. It’s not the same track as it was and not in great shape but that gives it character. The challenge was the tunnel turn bump at 1 and 2, which is still there, but the biggest challenge now is at turns 3 and 4 where all the bumps are.” Andretti said.

For Veach, the youngest Andretti Autosport driver this season at age 23, the most important thing he has learned about Iowa in his two Indy Lights race at Newton is understanding where the second lane is to run on. He said Iowa Speedway is such a fast track drivers get sucked into a mindset that there is only one lane for cars to drive around the track.

“Once you get comfortable with the track and comfortable with your car, you find that grip on the higher side. When you’re running up there it’s easier to make some passes,” Veach said. “The last time I ran at Iowa (2016), I went from eighth to the lead running on the high side then lost the lead on the last lap. I’m hoping to redeem myself this year with a strong run in my first IndyCar race there.”

Veach has moved up the IndyCar ladder racing in the three Mazada Road to Indy levels. He is the first driver to race on all levels with the same team, Andretti Autosport.

“When I was 4-years-old I told my parents I wants to be an IndyCar driver and race in the Indy 500. I had one goal and one vision I wanted to chase,” Veach said. “Andretti Autosport discovered me and developed me from the time I was very young until now. I have been fortunate to be around so many people with great heritage in the motorsports world.”

Veach made his IndyCar Series debut at the 2017 Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama as a last-minute replacement driver for the injured JR Hildebrand. He accomplished his dream of racing in the Indy 500 in 2017 for A.J. Foyt Enterprises, placing 26th, when he retired on lap 155 with mechanical issues.

In September 2017, it was announced Veach and Andretti Autosport reached an agreement to drive it’s fourth Indy car full time for 2018.

“Driving for A.J. Foyt is an experience I’ll keep for the rest of my life,” Veach said. “Andretti Autosport has become family for me so I’m able to continue chasing my vision. The new Indy car design resembles the cars I watched and dreamt of racing when I was a kid.”

Veach is one of four rookies competing in the Iowa Corn 300 on Sunday. He comes in to the race at 16th on the drivers’ points list with Wickens seventh. Matheus Leist of A.J. Foyt Enterprises is 19th and Zachary Claman De Melo of Daley Coyle Racing is 22nd. Leist won the 2017 Indy Lights 100.

Veach’s best finish of the season is fourth at Long Beach. He has six top 16 finishes in 10 races.

“I’m learning as much as I can each weekend. Our goal is to be running at the end of every race and at this point in my career it’s about seat time. We have good team fro the No. 26 Relay Group 1001 Honda,” Veach said. “It comes down to me being comfortable in my team as I’m lucky to have a three-year deal with Andretti Autosport. I can just focus on learning, improving and racing because I know I’ll be about go racing for the next two years.”

Veach said he prefers oval racing to road races or street courses so he’s excited about coming to Iowa Speedway. He said at 5-foot-4 inches and 130 pounds, he knows the challenge of the short track with the high banks.

“Iowa has been on my mind as an endurance test but it is one of my favorite places to race. I grew up in a small farm town in Ohio so racing with corn around the track is like being back home in Ohio,” Veach said. “There’s great fans in Iowa. I’ve had great support from fans all season and I really appreciate that. I’ve watch Andretti Autosport teammates win at Iowa and I’d like to win and take home the gas pump trophy.”

Andretti and Hinchcliffe each have one of the coveted Iowa Speedway gas pump trophies and looking to add another one to their collections. Series leader Scott Dixon has not won at Iowa.

“Iowa Speedway is such a tough track for racing Indy cars. You have very high G-force loading and there is always a lot of action on this little bullring style track,” Dixon said. “You really have to be on your game with traffic and the quick lap times. I really love this event and especially the fans that attend— they really love Indy car racing and show their support. We’ve had a few poles here over the years but the best we’ve finished so far is third — hopefully, we can change that this time.”

Hinchcliffe said the Schmidt Peterson Motorsports drivers had a strong testing day at Iowa Speedway last week. He said his team for the No. 5 Arrow Electronics SPM Honda had a lot of data to pore over during the weekend to be able to roll a strong car off the trucks at Iowa on Saturday morning.

“Iowa is a fun place to race. It’s Indy car short-track racing at its best. What is cool about it is for us in many ways it races like a superspeedway,” Hinchcliffe said. “There are two very usable lanes on both ends of the track which opens the passing opportunities.

“It’s never boring racing at Iowa. Passing in the IndyCar Series is never easy because of the level of competition but Iowa has those opportunities creating some really great racing for us and for the fans.”

Hinchcliffe echoes the words of all other IndyCar drivers about how physically taxing driving at Iowa Speedway is because of the G forces on the corners along with the fact the cars are running 17 to 18-second laps on the Fastest Short Track on the Planet.

“You have to be focused because the straightaways are so short so you have little time to make your normal adjustments and talk to your team. You can’t really talk in the corners. Plus it is usually pretty warm and humid for our race in Iowa. You have to train for the heat. There’s little room for error,” Hinchcliffe said.

Andretti is in his 13th season in the IndyCar Series and was the 2006 series rookie of the year. He comes into Sunday’s race in 10th place on the points list. Hinchcliffe was the 2011 IndyCar Series rookie of the year and is 11th on the 2018 points list.

Also running on Sunday at Newton’s 7/8-mile track is the Indy Lights Series. Colton Herta and Pato O’Ward, both Andretti Autosport developmental drivers, are No. 1 and No. 2 in the drivers’ points. Santi Urrutia, who finished third in last year’s Indy Lights 100 at Iowa, is third on the points list.

The Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires is the second tier of the IndyCar racing series.

The Indy Lights Iowa 100 practice sessions are slated for 2:15 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. on Saturday. Qualifying runs are at 8 a.m. Sunday with the race slated for 11 a.m.

Practice sessions for the IndyCar Iowa Corn 300 are scheduled for 11 a.m. and 6:15 p.m. on Saturday with the qualifying runs in between at 3 p.m. Race time for the Iowa Corn 300 at 1:30 p.m. Sunday

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