Palou looking at $1 million bonus with a win in either Iowa races this weekend
Moving closer to a second NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship is likely one of the main goals every weekend for Alex Palou. But there is added bonus possible this weekend in an oval track doubleheader at the Iowa Speedway.
Palou will drive the No. 10 American Legion Honda in both Saturday’s Hy-Vee Homefront 250 presented by Instacart and Sunday’s Hy-Vee One Step 250. And should Palou win, it will give him 2023 season wins on all three INDYCAR venues – oval, road course and street course – and earn he and Chip Ganassi Racing (CGR) a $1 million bonus through the PeopleReady Force For Good Challenge. Half of that will go to The American Legion, Palou’s chosen charity.
Palou is coming off a second-place finish in the Honda Indy Toronto, despite starting the race 15th and then running the final 39 laps with a broken nose cone and loose right wing as a result of an incident involving two other cars on Lap 46.
"I'm really excited for Iowa and to have back-to-back races, especially because we are coming off a good race in Toronto that could have been a lot worse,” Palou said via CGR media. “We've tested at Iowa and we're now hoping to take another step forward from last year. We also have a great opportunity to win $1 million dollars for the team, The American Legion and myself. We need to win one of those for that bonus and to continue going after this championship."
Palou currently sits way atop the NTT INDYCAR SERIES points standings, leading second-place and CGR teammate Scott Dixon by 117 points. Palou has won four of the past six races and has nine top-five finishes in 10 races. He’s the only driver in the series to finish in the top 10 in every race.
Also carrying American Legion branding this weekend will be CGR teammates Marcus Ericsson, who is fourth in the points standings and has recorded eight top-10 finishes this year.
"This weekend is definitely one of the highlights of the year. It's a really fun short oval and the racing is always great with plenty of overtaking and action in general,” Ericsson said. “The fact that there are two races in one weekend makes it tough for the teams and drivers, but I really enjoy that challenge. For us on the 8 car, we've had a couple of tough weekends. Even though we had a strong race in Toronto, the ending there wasn't what we wanted. So, we're very focused and determined to have a strong weekend and score some big points."
In the INDY NXT SERIES, CGR developmental driver Kyffin Simpson also will carry American Legion branding in Saturday’s INDY NXT by Firestone at Iowa Speedway race. Simpson currently sits ninth in the INDY NXT points race and is on a bit of a hot streak. He finished second in the July 2 INDY NXT by Firestone Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio, and last weekend he was a part of the winning Algarve Pro Racing team in the European Le Mans Series 4 Hours of Le Castellet race.
The Iowa Speedway is a .875-mile tri-oval with variable banking that drives like a much bigger superspeedway. With laps under 18 seconds, "The World's Fastest Short Track" is exceptionally demanding physically and mentally on drivers.
The weekend also will include concert performances by Carrie Underwood, Kenny Chesney, the Zac Brown Band and Ed Sheeran over the two days.
This weekend’s broadcast schedule (all times ET):
· Friday, July 21 – NTT INDYCAR SERIES practice, 4:30-6 p.m. (Peacock).
· Saturday, July 22 – NTT INDYCAR SERIES race qualifications, 9:30-10:30 a.m.; INDY NXT race, 11 a.m.-12:20 p.m.; NTT INDYCAR SERIES Hy-Vee Homefront 250 presented by Instacart, 3-5 p.m.
· Sunday, July 23 – NTT INDYCAR SERIES Hy-Vee One Step 250, 2-5 p.m.
NTT INDYCAR SERIES Notes:
· The Hy-Vee Homefront 250 presented by Instacart and Hy-Vee One Step 250 presented by Gatorade will be the 11th and 12th races of the 2023 season. There have been six different winners in 10 NTT INDYCAR SERIES races this season. Marcus Ericsson (Streets of St. Petersburg), Josef Newgarden (Texas Motor Speedway and Indianapolis 500), Kyle Kirkwood (Streets of Long Beach), Scott McLaughlin (Barber Motorsports Park), Alex Palou (Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course-1, Streets of Detroit, Road America and Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course) and Christian Lundgaard (Streets of Toronto) have all won in 2023. The modern record (1946-present) for most different winners in a season is 11 in 2000, 2001 and 2014.
· Hy-Vee INDYCAR Race Weekend, featuring the Hy-Vee Homefront 250 presented by Instacart and Hy-Vee One Step 250 presented by Gatorade, will be the third and fourth oval races of the 2023 NTT INDYCAR SERIES schedule. The previous two oval races were won by Josef Newgarden (Texas Motor Speedway and Indianapolis 500). Newgarden has won five of the last seven oval races on the NTT INDYCAR SERIES schedule – including one of the two races during the Hy-Vee INDYCAR Race Weekend in 2022. The remaining oval race will take place Aug. 27 at World Wide Technology Raceway.
· The Hy-Vee Homefront 250 presented by Instacart and Hy-Vee One Step 250 presented by Gatorade will be the 18th and 19th NTT INDYCAR SERIES events at Iowa Speedway. Josef Newgarden and Ryan Hunter-Reay are the only entered drivers to win at Iowa Speedway more than once. Newgarden has four wins (2016, 2019, 2020 Race #2 and 2022 Race #1) while Hunter-Reay has three wins (2012, 2014 and 2015). Past winners Pato O’Ward (2022 Race #2), and Helio Castroneves (2017) are also entered in the event.
· Andretti Autosport has won seven of the 17 previous races at Iowa Speedway (Dario Franchitti 2007, Tony Kanaan 2010, Marco Andretti 2011, Ryan Hunter-Reay 2012, 2014 and 2015 and James Hinchcliffe 2013). Team Penske has five wins (Helio Castroneves 2017, Josef Newgarden 2019, 2020 Race #2 and 2022 Race #1 and Simon Pagenaud 2020 Race #1). Chip Ganassi Racing has two wins (Dan Wheldon 2008 and Franchitti 2009).
· Ryan Hunter-Reay, Dario Franchitti and Josef Newgarden are the only drivers to win at Iowa Speedway and win the NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship in the same season. Newgarden accomplished the feat in 2019, Hunter-Reay in 2012 and Franchitti in 2007 and 2009.
· Scott Dixon is the only driver to have competed in every NTT INDYCAR SERIES race at Iowa, and although he has 11 top-five finishes in his previous 17 starts on the oval, he’s never won at “The World’s Fastest Short Track.” Twelve drivers entered have led laps at the track (Josef Newgarden 1,506, Helio Castroneves 644, Will Power 234, Dixon 130, Pato O’Ward 97, Takuma Sato 64, Graham Rahal 32, Ed Carpenter 18, Conor Daly 17, Felix Rosenqvist 7, Alexander Rossi 4 and David Malukas 1).
· Hy-Vee INDYCAR Race Weekend presents the first chance for Alex Palou to complete the PeopleReady Force For Good Challenge. The 2021 NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion has already scored wins on a street course (Streets of Detroit) and a road course (Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Road America and Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course). He would become the second driver to claim a $1 million bonus to be split among his team and chosen charity – The American Legion – should he win on an oval. Josef Newgarden won the bonus last season.
· Milestones: Scott Dixon will attempt to make his 316th and 317th consecutive start, the second-longest streak in INDYCAR SERIES history. Tony Kanaan holds the INDYCAR SERIES record with 318 consecutive starts…Ed Carpenter will attempt to make his 200th career INDYCAR SERIES start in Sunday’s Hy-Vee One Step 250 presented by Gatorade.