Iowa Speedway set for last Iowa Corn 300 with current aero kit

NEWTON — Could Sunday's Iowa Corn 300 at Iowa Speedway be a last hurrah for defending race winner Josef Newgarden?

The answer to that is most certainly not, given he's 27 years old and drives for Team Penske. Still, he won last year's race by leading a race-record 282 of the 300 laps in an aero package he's adapted quite well to with four wins and 12 podiums in the last three seasons.

While last time the IndyCar Series was at Iowa Speedway saw his dominating display, Sunday's 5 p.m. race will be the last time the current body style and aero package runs at the 7/8-mile speedway. Maybe it won't be a last hurrah, but Sunday likely serves as a chance for Newgarden to send this package at this track off on a high note.

'When you have success at a place, you always feel more comfortable and confident going back,' Newgarden said. 'You feel like you have more tools at your disposal from an information standpoint and an experience standpoint.

'(The change), to me, that's exciting. I don't mind changing the rules and going away from something I've been successful at.'

IndyCar unveiled the new universal body design for the 2018 (and beyond) DW12 chassis earlier this season, and it features a simpler, sleeker look than the manufacturer-specific kits drivers like Newgarden pilot now.

While the chassis won't change, the body change is significant. The last time there was a major change — when the DW12 first hit the track in 2012 — IndyCar saw a sizable shift in parity.

In the six seasons before the DW12 hit the track, three teams — Team Penske, Chip Ganassi Racing and Andretti Autosport (previously Andretti Green Racing) — won 93 of the 100 races run from 2006-2011. In the six seasons since its debut, those teams still have the leg up, but the number of smaller teams' wins has increased. From 2012 through 10 races of this season, those three teams have won 72 of the 100 races run.

From 2006-11, only two of those seasons saw more than three teams win races (six in 2008, five in 2011), while at least five different teams have won races in every season since 2012 — highlighted by six different teams in 10 races this year and seven each from 2013-15.

The DW12 had a universal aero kit from 2012-14, and went to manufacturer-specific kits produced by Honda and Chevrolet in 2015. Of those 28 wins that came from the non-Big 3 teams, 14 each came with both DW12 aero kits.

Newgarden's win at Iowa Speedway for Ed Carpenter Racing was an example of that parity. Obviously teams like Carpenter's hope for that parity to continue. Before the DW12, ECR had one win. Since, it has six.

'There's simplicity to it which is a good thing, but until we get it on track, that's what we care about,' Carpenter said. 'Any time things get reset it's an opportunity to get an advantage. It's an opportunity to get our arms around it quicker. An argument can be made that bigger teams can get more data quicker.

'It's a fun challenge when we have a new car or new package.'

Newgarden raced for Carpenter and Sarah Fisher before that. Now he races for Roger Penske. Knowing what it's like to race for both the little and big teams — as have many others — gives him a good perspective on the comparison.

He said the change in this year's car and next year's car are close enough that 'I don't think small teams will be at a disadvantage,' and that 'I don't think the great parity we have now will go away.'

Still, a change is a change. And if nothing else, it'll be a change away from a package he's had almost all his success with so far — namely that most-dominant effort last year at Iowa Speedway, which he hopes to repeat Sunday.

Ever the racer, Newgarden echoed his old boss in saying he's excited for what's to come — and maybe a chance to eventually match what he did in 2016 with the new car that will show up in 2018.

'I'm always excited for a new challenge; I think it's good for everybody,' Newgarden said. 'You've got to rethink about things, you've got to try to maximize new rules as a team. When you're with Team Penske, you feel confident you're going to have things figured out quickly.'

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