Andretti INDYCAR and INDY NXT Set for Action-Packed Weekend at the ‘Fastest Short Track on the Planet’
Following the historic 300th victory for the Andretti Global team captured by Dennis Hauger on the Mid-Ohio road course last weekend, both Andretti INDYCAR and INDY NXT will quickly shift gears to oval racing this weekend at Iowa Speedway. Also known as “The Fastest Short Track on the Planet”, Iowa Speedway is a 0.875-mile tri-oval with variable banking that drives like a superspeedway, and with laps under 18 seconds and races lasting almost two hours, is extremely demanding both physically and mentally on drivers throughout the paddock. The Andretti organization has been historically strong on the Iowa oval with 10 wins, nine poles and 26 podiums between the INDYCAR and INDY NXT programs, so expectations will be high throughout the three-race weekend that will include INDYCAR’s only doubleheader race weekend of the season and INDY NXT’s second oval start of 2025.
Race Details
| INDYCAR Sukup INDYCAR Race Weekend – Iowa Speedway |
| Round | 11/17 |
| Track Type | Oval |
| Laps | 275 Laps |
| Track Length | 0.875 Miles |
| INDY NXT by Firestone at Iowa Speedway – Iowa Speedway |
| Round | 9/14 |
| Track Type | Oval |
| Laps | 75 Laps |
| Track Length | 0.875 Miles |
Notes
INDYCAR
- In Andretti INDYCAR’s 21 starts at Iowa Motor Speedway, the team has collected seven wins (Franchitti – 2007, Kanaan – 2010, Marco Andretti – 2011, Hinchcliffe – 2013 and Hunter-Reay – 2012, 2014 & 2015), one pole (C. Herta – 2024, Race 1), 14 podiums, 38 top-10 finishes and led a total of 765 laps.
Colton Herta
- With nine starts at Iowa Speedway, Colton Herta will look to add his second career INDYCAR oval win on a track where he has one pole, led 86 laps and two top-10 finishes.
- Last season, Herta led the field to green on an oval for the first time during Race 1 and went on to lead 86 laps. After Herta was unable to reclaim the lead after a Lap 93 restart, the Gainbridge Honda was second until the final stop. Unfortunately, an untimely yellow during that pit cycle shuffled Herta to the back where he unfortunately spun in Turn 3, bringing out another yellow. Herta ultimately finished just outside the top 10 in 11th. In Race 2, he started from the second row, maintained a steady run in the top five and brought home his sixth top-five result of the season at the time.
Kyle Kirkwood
- With new primary partner Sukup, and the race weekend’s title sponsor, on board the No. 27 Honda this weekend, Kyle Kirkwood returns to Iowa Speedway after capturing his first oval win earlier this season at World Wide Technology Raceway. He has previously recorded two top-10 finishes in his six starts on the Iowa tri-oval.
- After starting 19th in Race 1 of last year’s doubleheader weekend at Iowa Speedway, Kirkwood capitalized on the restarts to gain 12 positions before going on to score his sixth top-10 finish of the season at the time. The second race of the weekend saw Kirkwood quickly break into the top 10 on the opening lap, where he would run steadily throughout the race before the No. 27 was collected in a multi-car incident in Turn 3 as the field came to the checkered flag.
Marcus Ericsson
- Carrying the Delaware Life colors this weekend in his 10th and 11th starts at Iowa Speedway, Marcus Ericsson has only finished outside the top 10 twice and has completed 99% of the 2,350 laps raced since he made his 2019 rookie debut on the tri-oval.
- Ericsson’s best Iowa Speedway result came in 2023 when the Swede took the checkered in fourth during Race 1.
| NTT INDYCAR SERIES CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS |
| Driver Championship Standings |
| Colton Herta | 217 points | 7th |
| Kyle Kirkwood | 317 points | 2nd |
| Marcus Ericsson | 141 points | 20th |
INDY NXT
- The Andretti INDY NXT team will take on its second oval race of the season this Saturday afternoon at Iowa Speedway. In the team’s 14 appearances at the track dating back to 2007, the team has collected three wins (O’Ward – 2018, McElrea – 2022 and Foster – 2024), eight poles (Cunningham – 2007, Luyendyk Jr. – 2008, Hildebrand – 2009, Munoz – 2013, Herta – 2017, O’Ward – 2018, McElrea – 2022 and James Roe – 2024), 12 podiums, 19 top-five finishes and 444 laps led.
Lochie Hughes
- Following a podium finish last weekend in Mid-Ohio, Lochie Hughes will make his Iowa Speedway race debut this weekend after capturing his first INDY NXT oval victory earlier this season at World Wide Technology Raceway (WWTR), which also marked his first-ever INDY NXT oval race.
- The Andretti INDY NXT team tested at Iowa Speedway at the beginning of June, where Hughes recorded the third fastest lap of the testing session.
Salvador de Alba
- Salvador de Alba will make his second INDY NXT start at Iowa Speedway, after last year saw the Mexican driver round out the trio of the all-Andretti podium with teammates James Roe and reigning INDY NXT Champion, Louis Foster.
- In last year’s event, de Alba delivered an impressive drive, gaining seven positions to finish third and earning the title of most improved driver of the race.
- At this year’s Iowa Speedway test, de Alba recorded the fourth-fastest lap of the day.
Dennis Hauger
- After securing his fifth victory of the season and 300th overall win for the Andretti Global team last weekend at the Grand Prix at Mid-Ohio, Dennis Hauger will compete at Iowa Speedway for the first time in his career.
- Despite this being his first time on the Iowa tri-oval, the Norwegian driver has already seen oval success this year at WWTR, where he secured the pole position and a top-five finish.
- At the Iowa Speedway test in June, Hauger recorded the second-quickest lap of the day.
James Roe
- This weekend will mark the fourth time that James Roe will race at Iowa Speedway in his INDY NXT career.
- Last year’s race at Iowa Speedway saw Roe record the best performance of his INDY NXT career, scoring his first INDY NXT career pole position and capturing his highest career finishing result of second place.
Seb Murray
- This weekend at Iowa Speedway will be the second oval race of Seb Murray’s career. Earlier this season at WWTR, Murray finished his oval racing debut in 12th place and the Iowa Speedway test in 18th.
Ricardo Escotto
- Following his INDY NXT oval race debut at WWTR, Ricardo Escotto will race at Iowa Speedway for the first time this weekend. At WWTR, Escotto took the checkered flag directly behind teammate Murray in 13th and wrapped up the Iowa Speedway testing day in the top 10 fastest lap times.
| INDY NXT CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS |
| Andretti INDY NXT Driver Championship Standings |
| Lochie Hughes | 324 points | 2nd |
| Salvador de Alba | 223 points | 6th |
| Dennis Hauger | 371 points | 1st |
| James Roe | 122 points | 15th |
| Andretti Cape INDY NXT Driver Championship Standings |
| Seb Murray | 140 points | 10th |
| Ricardo Escotto | 127 points | 13th |
Team Quotes
Colton Herta
No. 26 Gainbridge Honda
“We’re looking for a bit of a resurgence this year at Iowa Speedway. Getting my first oval pole and starting up front last year was a big step. This race hasn’t been too kind to us in the past, but I think we’ve learned a lot and can build on that. I’m looking forward to seeing what we can do this weekend with the Gainbridge crew.”
Kyle Kirkwood
No. 27 Sukup Honda
“Iowa is our only doubleheader of the year, and with the repave, it has gotten fast. Things are definitely going to feel different compared to previous years, so we’ll need to adapt quickly. We had the chance to test there a few weeks ago, and I’m looking forward to having a few opportunities to go after some more oval wins while representing Sukup this weekend.”
Marcus Ericsson
No. 28 Delaware Life Honda
“The Iowa doubleheader has become one of the coolest race weekends of the year. It has always been a great track to race at with lots of action, overtaking and just great racing overall. The repave changed things a bit, so it’ll be interesting to see how it races this time around. Having two races there makes it a real physical and mental challenge for both drivers and teams – you’ve got to be sharp and stay focused. It was great to test there a few weeks ago, and I’m looking forward to carrying the Delaware Life colors this weekend.”
Rob Edwards
Chief Operating Officer
“After a quick turnaround from Mid-Ohio, we’re headed to Iowa for a doubleheader weekend on the shortest track of the season. The race distance being extended by 25 laps will play into strategy. I’m hoping we can showcase the best of what INDYCAR has to offer across both races.”
Lochie Hughes
No. 26 McGinley Clinic/USF Pro Championship Dallara
Andretti INDY NXT
“This is going to be my first time racing in Iowa. It seems like a pretty cool race weekend for fans from what I’ve seen. The track itself is pretty difficult, and it’s one of the smaller ovals that we race on, so it’s going to be important for us to start the weekend strong and get the hang of things quickly. I’m hoping that we can pick up some good points this weekend.”
Salvador de Alba
No. 27 Grupo Indi Dallara
Andretti INDY NXT
“I’m looking forward to going back to Iowa this year since this is where I got my first podium. They resurfaced it again, so I hope this year it’s going to be more side-by-side racing and have two or three lines available to race on. I’m excited to get back out there and try to get some good results again this time.”
Dennis Hauger
No. 28 Nammo Dallara
Andretti INDY NXT
“We’re back at it on an oval again this weekend in Iowa. This is only my second time racing on an oval, so I’m looking forward to getting more experience with that. I’m hoping that we get up to speed as quickly as possible in practice to gain some confidence throughout the weekend. We did well here at the test, so I feel pretty good going into it.”
James Roe
No. 29 Topcon Dallara
Andretti INDY NXT
“We’re at the second oval of the year in Iowa. This was a great track for me last year with the pole, lap record and a podium, so I’m looking forward to going back and doing one better this year. Hopefully, we can come out with a win.”
Seb Murray
No. 2 Dream Racing Dubai Dallara
Andretti Cape INDY NXT
“I’m excited for Iowa Speedway. It’s going to be interesting to see how different it is compared to the first oval we did at the start of the season at WWTR. We tested here a bit ago, so we’ll use that experience we got for this weekend for sure.”
Ricardo Escotto
No. 3 Frank’s Red Hot Dallara
Andretti Cape INDY NXT
“Heading to Iowa, I know that the team has a lot of work to do on the car after last weekend’s incident in Mid-Ohio. Sorry to the crew, it was a very unfortunate situation. I’m hoping that we can go into this weekend on a better note and have a calm race where we can get some good results.”
Don Lambert
Team Manager
“Iowa should be an interesting race for us this year since the INDY NXT Series introduced some oval rule changes for this track that affect the aero of the car. There is also a different engine curve that we have not run yet this year that will be at play. Although with our team’s record in Iowa, I still expect us to have very strong cars to fight for a win from one of our outstanding drivers this weekend. All I ask of the team and drivers is to keep executing, and the Championship will decide itself.”
