4 Winners and Losers from IndyCar's 2025 Iowa double-header

Pato O'Ward and Alex Palou won the IndyCar Race 1 & 2 at the Iowa Speedway, respectively. While Team Penske had the outright fastest cars, the streak of bad luck continued for their drivers, as they failed to win either of the two races.

IndyCar introduced a brand new aerodynamic package for the Iowa Speedway following the single-file race in 2024. The package did somewhat help with the racing, but the race was mostly about keeping the track position rather than attacking.

Let's have a look at the Winners and Losers from the IndyCar race weekend at Iowa Speedway.

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Winners from the IndyCar races at Iowa Speedway (Synk 275 and Farm to Finish 275)

#1 Pato O'Ward

The Mexican driver won Race 1 at Iowa Speedway after starting from P5. Pato O'Ward mostly ran in the Top 5 for the first two stints, but made an ecstatic restart after the second pitstop under caution and made up multiple positions, getting up to P2.

The final pitstop call to overcut race leader Josef Newgarden also paid off, with O’Ward coming out on the lead and winning the race. The Mexican became the first Chevrolet-powered driver to win a race this season. The Arrow McLaren driver started P9 in race 2 and finished P5.

#2 Alex Palou

After the costly mistake in the final moments of the Mid-Ohio race, which gave Scott Dixon the win, Alex Palou came into Iowa to stamp his authority. The Spaniard qualified P4 for race 1 and took the pole position for race 2 with the fastest time of the weekend.

NTT INDYCAR Series Sukup Race Weekend - Source: Getty

Palou finished the first race in P5 but came alive in the second race. The CGR driver got lucky with the timing of the caution late in the race, which gave him a cheap pitstop, as he came out in the lead, and was able to fend off the pressure from Dixon to win the race.

#3 Josef Newgarden

The #2 Team Penske drivers had the fastest race car this weekend, starting the two races in pole position and P4, respectively. Newgarden led 232 laps in the first race, but was undone by O'Ward's overcut strategy. Newgarden was unable to pass the Mexican driver in the final 40 laps and finished P2.

In the second race, Josef Newgarden carved his way through the field and got into the effective lead, before an untimely caution put his strategy in the bin. Nonetheless, the Team Penske driver was able to get back into the lead of the race from the midpack, but was again unlucky with the timings of the safety car, which led to him finishing just inside the Top 10.

#4 Team Penske

Roger Penske's team was arguably the strongest at the Iowa Speedway. Josef Newgarden won pole position in race 1, followed by all three drivers in the Top 5 in the race. Penske has made improvements since the Mid-Ohio race, where all three drivers failed to qualify for the second round.

Josef Newgarden could've easily won both the Iowa Speedway races had it not been for the bad luck with cautions in Race 2 and the undercut strategy call in Race 1. Scott McLaughlin and Will Power also had great pace in the car, as the Kiwi driver was caught by Devlin DeFrancesco during the first lap of Race 2.

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Losers from the IndyCar races at Iowa Speedway (Synk 275 and Farm to Finish 275)

#1 Andretti Global

All three Andretti Global drivers suffered a tire failure at either of the two IndyCar races at Iowa. Kyle Kirkwood blew his front right in the first race, followed by Colton Herta and Marcus Ericsson, suffering the same fate in the second race. The outright pace of the Andretti cars wasn't great either, with none of the drivers qualifying inside the Top 10 for either of the two races

#2 Nolan Siegel

Nolan Siegel qualified P8 and P5 for the two races, respectively. However, after a major crash in the first race, the youngster was not cleared by IndyCar to race in the second one and hence had to sit out. What could've been a string performance for Siegel considering his teammate's pace turned into a nightmare weekend.

NTT INDYCAR Series Sukup Race Weekend - Source: Getty

#3 Kyle Kirkwood

The Andretti Global driver started the first race in P18 but crashed out of the race on Lap 151 after a front right failure. Kyle Kirkwood qualified P21 for the second race, and only managed to finish P18.

#4 Felix Rosenqvist

The Meyer Shank Racing driver qualified in the Top 3 for both races at Iowa. However, Felix Rosenqvist wasn't able to convert the strong grid spot into a result, finishing the first race in P17 and the second race in P7. His teammate, Marcus Armstrong, on the other hand, finished P9 and P3, respectively.