Andretti INDYCAR Iowa Speedway Race 2 Report
Iowa Speedway Race 2 Notes
After kicking off the doubleheader weekend at Iowa Speedwaylast night in Race 1, the NTT INDYCAR SERIES faced a quick turnaround this afternoon as drivers took on the short oval for the second time this weekend.
Starting positions for Race 2 were determined by each driver’s second flying lap from yesterday’s qualifying session. This saw Colton Herta once again leading the charge for the Andretti trio, this time in P4 after the Gainbridge Honda overcame hybrid technology issues in yesterday’s qualifying session. Teammate Kyle Kirkwood improved upon his Race 1 qualifying result by starting 12th today while Marcus Ericsson rounded out the lineup in P21.
Starting from the second row, Colton Herta took on IowaSpeedway this afternoon with hopes of improving his results from last night that saw him finish just outside of the top 10. Following a strong start, Herta maintained his position in P4 until pitting on Lap 95 and cycling down to fifth. The Gainbridge Honda rode in that P5 position for the majority of the race to collect his sixth top-five of the season. Today’s result sees Herta in sixth in the INDYCAR Championship standings.
Following an impressive performance yesterday in Race 1 that saw the AutoNation Honda driver move forward from the back of the field to land a top-10 finish, Kyle Kirkwood came into Race 2 hoping to replicate another strong result. Starting farther up the field today, Kirkwood maintained a strong pace breaking into the top 10 on the opening lap. Unfortunately, as the field came to the checkered on the final lap, the AutoNation Honda, running P10 at the time, was collected in Turn 3 in a multi-car incident. Kirkwood was seen and released by the AMR INDYCAR Safety Team.
Marcus Ericsson took on the Iowa oval today trying to navigate his way through the field from a P21 starting position. During the first pit cycle, a slow stop saw the Delaware Life Honda lose valuable lap time and cycle two laps down to the back of the field. Despite lap times that matched the race leaders, the pit lane mishap was too much for the Swede to overcome and Ericsson would ultimately take the checkered in 23rd.
The on-track excitement continues next weekend as INDYCAR takes on the Streets of Toronto for the third race weekend in a row and the first street circuit race since early June in Detroit. Fans can tune in for the action on Sunday, July 21 through Peacock and INDYCAR LIVE.
Race Results
Colton Herta No. 26 Gainbridge Honda
P5
Started: P4
Standings: 6th (299pts)
“Overall, we had a solid race with an okay finish. I’m happy to get the No. 26 Gainbridge Honda into the top five today. I felt like we had a strong car that could have seen higher this weekend considering where we started, but it’s still a good result since Race 1 was a bit of a disappointment for us yesterday. So, pretty good race from us, and we’ll move on from it into Toronto.”
Kyle Kirkwood No. 27 AutoNation Honda
P16
Started: P12
Standings: 7th (274pts)
“First, I hope that everyone that was involved in the incident today is okay. It was definitely a very scary wreck. As soon as I saw that the cars ahead of me were actually slowing down so much because Rossi was already going slow and Sting Ray was in the air, I lifted out of the throttle out of the corner and then instantly spun myself. Thanks to the AMR INDYCAR Safety Team for getting there in seconds and helping us in those scary situations. So, that’s unfortunate, and I’m sorry to the No. 27 crew because we were having a good race there. Although, we were still on the lead lap, so we actually still didn’t finish that bad. Overall, the crew did a great job today and I wish that things went differently so that we could have ended the weekend on a higher note.”
Marcus Ericsson No. 28 Delaware Life Honda
P23
Started: P21
Standings: 12th (209pts)
“It was a tough day for us in the No. 28 Delaware Life Honda. The team did a good job overnight to make the car better for today and I could definitely feel the difference, so that was a big improvement. Unfortunately, with a bad starting spot, this race was all about being patient, but then on that first pit stop, we had an issue and lost two laps. From then on, we needed a few yellows to put us back, but we didn’t really get there. Regardless, I’m proud of the effort here today. The car felt good and I could overtake the leaders even though we were a couple of laps down, so that just shows the speed we had. There were still some positives even though the results were disappointing.”
Rob Edwards Chief Operating Officer
“First of all, I’m happy that Kyle is okay after the incident at the end there. It’s unfortunate and I think he was just in the wrong the place at the wrong time in someone else’s mess. Colton, unlike last night, had a trouble-free race and there wasn’t really much we could do outside of what we did today. Marcus had a problem on the first pit stop and that set him back. I think he had a good car and good recovery from there, but it’s hard to come back again when it’s difficult to make forward progress on the race track. We’re heading to a street course again next weekend, so we’ll just have to put it to work in Toronto.”
