“Iowa (Speedway) is another track where we have great history as a team. On the 28 side, we’ve found victory lane twice and are entering the weekend as defending race winners. We hope to get the DHL Honda back up front this weekend.”
Track: Iowa Speedway, a 7/8-mile (0.894-mile) oval in Newton, Iowa
Race distance: 300 laps / 268.2 miles
Firestone tire allotment: Nine sets for use through the weekend
Twitter: @iowaspeedway @IndyCar, #IowaCorn300, #IndyCar
Event website: http://IowaSpeedway.com/
INDYCAR website: www.IndyCar.com
2014 race winner: Ryan Hunter-Reay
2014 Verizon P1 Award winner: Scott Dixon, 34.5588 seconds, 186.256 mph (two laps)
One-lap qualifying record: Helio Castroneves, 17.2283 seconds, 186.809 mph, July 11, 2014
Two-lap qualifying record: Scott Dixon, 34.5588 seconds, 186.256 mph, July 11, 2014
NBCSN television broadcasts: Qualifying, 6:30 p.m. ET Saturday, July 18 (same-day tape delay); Race, 8 p.m. ET Saturday, July 18 (live). Brian Till is the lead announcer, alongside analysts Townsend Bell and Paul Tracy. Pit reporters are Jon Beekhuis, Kevin Lee, Katie Hargitt and Robin Miller.
Advance Auto Parts INDYCAR Radio Network broadcasts: Paul Page is chief announcer with analyst Davey Hamilton. Pit reporters are Rob Howden, Nick Yeoman and Michael Young, with Mark Jaynes serving as the turn announcer. Verizon IndyCar Series qualifying and races air live on network affiliates, Sirius 212, XM 209, IndyCar.com, indycarradio.com and the INDYCAR 15 app. Practice sessions are available on IndyCar.com, indycarradio.com and the INDYCAR 15 app.
Video streaming: All practice sessions for the 2015 Verizon IndyCar Series season and this weekend’s qualifying session are available live on RaceControl.IndyCar.com.
INDYCAR 15 app: The Verizon INDYCAR 15 app has exclusive features for Verizon Wireless customers, including interactive 3D Live View with real-time leaderboard and car telemetry to see where drivers are positioned, a leaderboard with enhanced 2D “marching ants” and car telemetry, in-car camera video streams from cameras that move 360 degrees and driver-pit crew chatter during the race.
At-track schedule (all times local):
Friday, July 17
3-3:45 p.m. – Verizon IndyCar Series practice 1
6-6:45 p.m. – Verizon IndyCar Series practice 2
Saturday, July 18
3-4 p.m. – Verizon IndyCar Series qualifying (single-car format, two laps each), NBCSN (same-day tape, 5:30 p.m.)
7 p.m. – NBCSN on air
7:50 p.m. – Iowa Corn 300 (300 laps/268.2 miles), NBCSN (live)
Race notes:
* There have been eight different winners in 12 Verizon IndyCar Series races in 2015: Juan Pablo Montoya (Streets of St. Petersburg and Indianapolis 500), James Hinchcliffe (NOLA Motorsports Park), Scott Dixon (Streets of Long Beach and Texas Motor Speedway), Josef Newgarden (Barber Motorsports Park and Streets of Toronto), Will Power (Grand Prix of Indianapolis), Carlos Munoz (Raceway at Belle Isle-1), Sebastien Bourdais (Raceway at Belle Isle-2 and Milwaukee) and Graham Rahal (Auto Club Speedway). In 2014, there were a record-tying 11 different race winners.
* The Iowa Corn 300 will be the fifth of six oval races on the 2015 Verizon IndyCar Series schedule. Montoya won the Indianapolis 500 on May 24, Dixon won the Firestone 600 at Texas Motor Speedway on June 6, Rahal won the MAVTV 500 at Auto Club Speedway on June 27 and Bourdais won the ABC Supply Co. Inc. Wisconsin 250 at The Milwaukee Mile on July 12.
* The Iowa Corn 300 will be the ninth Verizon IndyCar Series event at Iowa Speedway. Ryan Hunter-Reay is the only active driver to win at Iowa Speedway more than once. Hunter-Reay has two wins (2012 and 2014). Past winners Marco Andretti (2011) and Tony Kanaan (2010) are also entered in the event.
* Andretti Autosport has won six of the eight races at Iowa Speedway, including the last five in a row (Dario Franchitti 2007, Kanaan 2010, Andretti 2011, Hunter-Reay 2012 and 2014 and James Hinchcliffe 2013). Chip Ganassi Racing has two wins (Dan Wheldon 2008 and Franchitti 2009).
* Kanaan has finished on the podium in the last five races at Iowa Speedway after failing to finish better than 15th in his first three starts. Andretti has finished on the podium in four of his eight starts at Iowa Speedway. Dixon has started on pole three times (two earned) and has seven top-10 finishes at Iowa in eight starts, but he has never finished better than third.
* Hunter-Reay and Franchitti are the only drivers to win at Iowa Speedway and win the Verizon IndyCar Series championship in the same season. Hunter-Reay accomplished the feat in 2012 and Franchitti in 2007 and 2009.
* No driver has won the Verizon IndyCar Series race at Iowa Speedway from the pole.
* Four drivers have competed in every Verizon IndyCar Series race at Iowa: Andretti, Helio Castroneves, Dixon and Kanaan. Twelve drivers entered have led laps at the track (Kanaan 453, Castroneves 377, Dixon 125, Andretti 87, Ryan Briscoe 87, Power 32, Ed Carpenter 18, Hunter-Reay 17, Rahal 12, Takuma Sato 7, Justin Wilson 5 and James Jakes 1).
* Kanaan seeks to start his 246th consecutive race this weekend, which would extend his Indy car-record streak that began in June 2001 at Portland. Teammate Dixon looks to make his 187th consecutive start this weekend.
* With its next Verizon IndyCar Series victory, Chip Ganassi Racing will earn its 100th Indy car race win.
* The 2015 Verizon IndyCar Series season marked the competition debut of aerodynamic bodywork kits designed, manufactured and supplied by Chevrolet and Honda that attach to the Dallara IR-12 chassis used by all entrants. Cars are differentiated by their shape as the manufacturers have designed a separate aero kit specification for road and street course/short ovals and another for superspeedways. References to the cars incorporate the name of the corresponding kit manufacturer.
* The No. 11 KVSH Racing crew of Bourdais claimed the Firestone Pit Stop Performance Award at the ABC Supply Co. Inc. Wisconsin 250 at Milwaukee IndyFest on July 12 with a total pit-lane time of 1 minute, 50.931 seconds. The KVSH Racing crew will receive its $10,000 award during pre-race festivities at the Iowa Corn 300.
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