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Hunter-Reay goes back-to-back at Iowa Speedway in Iowa Corn 300
Jul. 19, 2015 12:43 am
NEWTON - Earlier this week, Andretti Autosport driver Ryan Hunter-Reay hesitated, if only slightly, when asked if Iowa Speedway was the oasis he needed in an otherwise dismal 2015 Verizon IndyCar Series season where he'd led just three laps total and had just three top-10 finishes.
A few days, 300 laps, one big trophy and a slice of Casey's pizza in Victory Lane later and there's no more hesitation. The 2013 IndyCar Series champion got his second straight - and third out of four - win in the Iowa Corn 300 at Iowa Speedway on Saturday night, and this time it didn't take a late call for four tires.
'It's still been a tough season, but that makes this win that much more - it makes it sweet. The last 20 laps felt like an hour and half, just knowing how important this was to me, to the team,” Hunter-Reay said. 'We went out and earned this one. We took it away from them and went out and earned it. That's a big deal. This was, as I said, a massive win for the team.
'It feels great to be back in Victory Lane and certainly I'm not happy with the way the season's gone at all. More than anything right now, I feel relief. It's like a big exhale.”
Over the course of nearly a decade of racing, Iowa Speedway has morphed into The House That Andretti Built. In nine Verizon IndyCar races, Andretti Autosport cars have now gone to Victory Lane seven times, including six in a row.
Hunter-Reay had a feeling he'd be at least in the hunt for a good finish this weekend - his previous best this season before the win was fifth at Birmingham - after the first practice session on Friday in which he was third.
But knowing how the season has played out, both through bad luck and poor-handling racecars, he wasn't about to get ahead of himself. A cautiously optimistic approach was the mindset coming into the race.
'When we rolled off the truck we were third, and then we had another strong practice after that. Things felt right in the world again for a moment there,” Hunter-Reay said. 'I was sure not to get too far ahead of myself there and not trying to get too confident about it. It's been a tough season for us and certainly been tough in the races not having the grip level we need.
'Tonight was a different deal. When the sun went down, I just kept my foot in it, kept my head down and kept positive about it, because it didn't feel very good at the start. I was hoping it would come to us, and it did. That's how we won the past two times is being really strong at the end of the race.”
Hunter-Reay battled for the win with CFH Racing driver Josef Newgarden, who also finished second to Hunter-Reay in last year's race at Iowa Speedway.
Newgarden led a race-high 111 laps, but on the final pit stop Hunter-Reay came out in front and cycled back to the lead. He got his first career podium on an oval with that runner-up here last season, but felt much better about the finish this time around. He, like Hunter-Reay, said his team earned this finish.
But through a restart with 24 laps to go, the 2013 champ pulled away and grabbed a win he needed as bad as anything. The win is unexpected, like last season, but the scenario within the race is something Hunter-Reay and his team can feel much better about.
'It doesn't even compare. The win last year was pretty cool because Michael made a good call. I was pretty skeptical at the time, and we blitzed the field at the end of the race,” Hunter-Reay said. 'That was a lot of fun, but this is a big deal to come in on the slump we've been on and to go in and come from ninth and really work at it to earn the race win - really earn it - in the fashion we did is a statement win.”
FIREWORKS BETWEEN KARAM, CARPENTER AND RAHAL
While Ryan Hunter-Reay and Josef Newgarden were racing for the win, 20-year-old Sage Karam was working his way past some veterans of the IndyCar Series en route to his first career podium and a third-place finish.
Along the way, he made slight contact with Ed Carpenter and nearly forced the driver and co-owner of the No. 20 into the wall, while Honda driver Graham Rahal looked on from behind. The contact and near-wreck incensed Carpenter, who confronted the young driver after the race at his car. Rahal, too, said something to Karam on pit road after the race.
Karam, though, didn't understand why they were so upset, and certainly didn't shy away from airing his opinions to NBCSN or the news media.
'Ed's a professional, Graham's a professional. They know how to drive, I know how to drive,” Karam said. 'Give them 10 minutes, they'll be fine, they'll cool down. Yeah, (I'm surprised they're mad) because they raced me the same way. So for Ed to be that mad, I don't understand. He raced me the same way. He swerved into me down the straightaway and out of turns he puts me in the wall. And Graham's the same way, he puts people in the wall.”
Obviously, both Carpender and Rahal saw it the opposite way.
Rahal even went so far as to say Karam's driving could hurt or kill another driver if he doesn't calm down.
'He's going to kill somebody if he doesn't give anybody room like that,” Rahal said. 'I think Ed hit the wall a few times being squeezed. But that's being young; I used to do the same thing.
'Sage has got a reputation for being that sort of driver. When you get up to the big leagues, you need to be a little smarter.”
Rahal finished fourth and moved to second in the IndyCar Series points standings, just 42 behind leader Juan Pablo Montoya, who wrecked less than 10 laps into Saturday's race.
Rahal had an up and down day with a flat tire early, then gearbox problems that had him two laps down at one point, then back on the lead lap, then a lap down again and back on the lead lap with the final caution.
With a little luck and determination from his team, Rahal is in the thick of the title hunt.
'That's the hardest one ever,” Rahal said. 'It speaks volumes to this team. And I hope Honda gets behind us. They need to get behind us (at Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing). I know they put a lot of weight behind Andretti, but they need to get behind us because we can win them a championship. We've got three races to go and going to three tracks I think we can be really strong at.
'It's the team. These guys have done an unbelievable job this year.”
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IndyCar Series driver Ryan Hunter-Reay (28) celebrates winning the IndyCar Series Iowa Corn 300 at Iowa Speedway on Saturday, July 18, 2015. (Cliff Jette/The Gazette-KCRG TV9)
IndyCar Series driver Ryan Hunter-Reay (28) takes the checkered flag as he the IndyCar Series Iowa Corn 300 at Iowa Speedway on Saturday, July 18, 2015. (Cliff Jette/The Gazette-KCRG TV9)
IndyCar Series driver Sage Karam (8) pulls past Ed Carpenter (20) during the IndyCar Series Iowa Corn 300 at Iowa Speedway on Saturday, July 18, 2015. (Cliff Jette/The Gazette-KCRG TV9)
IndyCar Series driver Graham Rahal (15) is in the front of a pack of cars on turn three during the IndyCar Series Iowa Corn 300 at Iowa Speedway on Saturday, July 18, 2015. (Cliff Jette/The Gazette-KCRG TV9)