The Iowa Corn 300 is this weekend, for the next stop on the Verizon IndyCar Series schedule.
Courtesy of IndyCar PR, here’s the weekend Fast Facts:
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Track: Iowa Speedway, a 7/8-mile (0.894-mile) oval in Newton, Iowa
Race distance: 300 laps / 268.2 miles
Entry List: Iowa Corn 300 (pdf)
Firestone tire allotment: Nine sets for use through the weekend
Twitter: @iowaspeedway @IndyCar, #IowaCorn300, #IndyCar
Event website: http://IowaSpeedway.com/
INDYCAR website: www.IndyCar.com
2015 race winner: Ryan Hunter-Reay
2015 Verizon P1 Award winner: Helio Castroneves, 35.0817 seconds, 183.480 mph (two laps)
One-lap qualifying record: Helio Castroneves, 17.2283 seconds, 186.809 mph, July 11, 2014
Two-lap qualifying record: Scott Dixon, 34.5588 seconds, 186.256 mph, July 11, 2014
NBCSN television broadcasts: Qualifying, 3 p.m. ET Saturday, July 9 (live); Race, 5 p.m. ET Sunday, July 10 (live). Brian Till is the lead announcer for the NBCSN broadcasts this weekend alongside analysts Townsend Bell and Paul Tracy. Pit reporters are Jon Beekhuis, Kevin Lee, Katie Hargitt and Robin Miller.
Advance Auto Parts INDYCAR Radio Network broadcasts: Mark Jaynes is the chief announcer alongside analyst Davey Hamilton. Jake Query is the turn announcer with Rob Howden, Nick Yeoman and Michael Young reporting from the pits. All Verizon IndyCar Series races are broadcast live on network affiliates, Sirius 212, XM 209, IndyCar.com,indycarradio.com and on the INDYCAR Mobile app. All Verizon IndyCar Series practice and qualifying sessions are available on IndyCar.com, indycarradio.com and on the INDYCAR Mobile app.
Video streaming: All practice sessions for the 2016 Verizon IndyCar Series season not covered by television will be available on RaceControl.IndyCar.com.
INDYCAR Mobile app: Verizon Wireless puts fans around the world in the driver’s seat with its INDYCAR Mobile app. The app has been enhanced with new features to keep fans in the know of the latest race-day action. Exclusive features of the INDYCAR Mobile app for Verizon Wireless customers will stream live through the app and includes enhanced real-time leaderboard and car telemetry; the ability to follow the race in real time with the interactive 3D track; live in-car camera video streaming for select drivers during Verizon IndyCar Series races; live driver and pit crew radio transmissions during races and live Advance Auto Parts INDYCAR Radio Network audio streaming during all track activities.
At-track schedule (all times local):
Saturday, July 9
10 - 11:15 a.m. - Verizon IndyCar Series practice #1, RaceControl.IndyCar.com (Live)
2 p.m. - Qualifying for the Verizon P1 Award (single car/two timed laps), NBCSN (Live)
6:15 - 6:45 p.m. - Verizon IndyCar Series practice #2, RaceControl.IndyCar.com (Live)
Sunday, July 10
1 p.m. - Systems Check
4 p.m. - Driver Introductions
4:35 p.m. - Command to Start Engines
4:40 p.m. - Iowa Corn 300 (300 laps/268.2 miles), NBCSN (Live)
Race notes:
• There have been six different winners in the nine previous Verizon IndyCar Series races in 2016: Juan Pablo Montoya (Streets of St. Petersburg), Scott Dixon (Phoenix International Raceway), Simon Pagenaud (Streets of Long Beach, Barber Motorsports Park and Grand Prix of Indianapolis), Alexander Rossi (Indianapolis 500), Sebastien Bourdais (Raceway at Belle Isle-1) and Will Power (Raceway at Belle Isle-2 and Road America). Dixon’s win at Phoenix on April 2 tied him for fourth on the all-time Indy car victory list with Al Unser at 39. He is the active leader in wins. Bourdais’ win at Belle Isle on June 4 tied him with Bobby Unser for sixth on the all-time list with 35 wins. Power’s win at Road America on June 26 tied him with Johnny Rutherford for 13th all-time with 27.
• The Iowa Corn 300 will be the fourth of five oval races on the 2016 Verizon IndyCar Series schedule. Dixon won at Phoenix on April 2 and Rossi won the 100th Running of the Indianapolis 500 on May 29. The conclusion of the third race, the June 12 Firestone 600 at Texas Motor Speedway, will occur on Aug. 27.
• The Iowa Corn 300 will be the 10th Verizon IndyCar Series event at Iowa Speedway. Ryan Hunter-Reay is the only active driver to win at Iowa Speedway more than once. Hunter-Reay has three wins (2012, 2014 and 2015). Past winners James Hinchcliffe (2013), Marco Andretti (2011) and Tony Kanaan (2010) are also entered in the event.
• Andretti Autosport has won seven of the nine previous races at Iowa Speedway, including the last six in a row (Dario Franchitti 2007, Kanaan 2010, Andretti 2011, Hunter-Reay 2012, 2014 and 2015 and Hinchcliffe 2013). Chip Ganassi Racing has two wins (Dan Wheldon 2008 and Franchitti 2009).
• Hunter-Reay and Franchitti are the only drivers to win at Iowa Speedway and win the Verizon IndyCar Series championship in the same season. Hunter-Reay accomplished the feat in 2012 and Franchitti in 2007 and 2009.
• No driver has won the Verizon IndyCar Series race at Iowa Speedway from the pole.
• Four drivers have competed in every Verizon IndyCar Series race at Iowa: Andretti, Helio Castroneves, Dixon and Kanaan. Fourteen drivers entered have led laps at the track (Kanaan 523, Castroneves 427, Hinchcliffe 245, Dixon 125, Josef Newgarden 111, Andretti 87, Hunter-Reay 54, Power 34, Graham Rahal 19, Ed Carpenter 18, Jack Hawksworth 7, Charlie Kimball 7, Takuma Sato 7 and Bourdais 6).
• Hunter-Reay has finished on the podium in every Iowa Speedway race since 2012... Newgarden has finished second in the last two races...Kanaan has finished on the podium in five of the last six races at Iowa Speedway... Andretti has finished on the podium in four of his nine starts at Iowa Speedway...Dixon has started on pole three times (two earned) and has seven top-10 finishes at Iowa in nine starts, but he has never finished better than third.
• Three rookies - Max Chilton, Conor Daly and Rossi - are entered. Rossi leads the Sunoco Rookie of the Year standings by 71 points over Daly with Chilton, who won at Iowa Speedway in Indy Lights in 2015, 112 points behind.
• Kanaan seeks to start his 259th consecutive race this weekend, which would extend his Indy car record streak that began in June 2001 at Portland. Teammate Scott Dixon has made 200 consecutive starts heading into the weekend, which is the third-longest streak in Indy car racing.
• Castroneves will attempt to make his 321st career Indy car start, which would break a tie with Al Unser for fourth on the all-time list. Kanaan would tie Unser for fifth all-time with his 320th start.
• The 2016 season is the second in which aerodynamic bodywork component kits are used. The aero kits, produced by engine manufacturers Chevrolet and Honda for their respective supplied teams, are the latest technical innovation to enhance on-track performance through competitive aerodynamic development. Each manufacturer produces two kits for teams - one for short ovals/road courses/street courses and another for superspeedway ovals - but within each kit, teams have multiple component options available.
• The second season of aero kit competition complements the fifth year of engine manufacturer competition between Chevrolet and Honda with their 2.2-liter, twin-turbocharged V-6 engines. It will be another season testing speed and durability to determine the manufacturer champion.