What a difference a year can make.
This time a year ago, IndyCar enjoyed one of its most entertaining race weekends at Iowa Speedway – even if both races were won by Josef Newgarden.
In 2023, there were more than 2600 passes across the two races. In 2024, there were just under 400.
Although 2023 was something of an outlier, this year had the fewest passes for position of any Iowa race in the past five years.
Both of the 250-lappers in the double-header were decided by pit lane strategy in what Pato O’Ward labelled a “snoozefest”.
In Sunday’s race, Scott McLaughlin passed Colton Herta during the first round of pit stops and held off a brief attack on the restart.
On Monday morning, Will Power over-cut Alex Palou after saving fuel in the second stanza to take the lead.
Despite keeping pace with Power, Palou couldn’t find a way through – even with a ton of traffic at the end in conditions that would have otherwise promoted overtaking.
What a charge into the lead for @12WillPower!
Will it be the pass for the win?
📺: #INDYCARatIowa on NBC and Peacock pic.twitter.com/NfCBxBJhkc
— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) July 14, 2024
A partial repave of the speedway has been blamed in part for the huge passing falloff.
IndyCar also mandated aerodynamic restrictions, reducing downforce by 10 percent.
According to Tino Belli, the series’ director of aerodynamics, that was done in an effort to reduce loads.
Speaking post-race, runner-up Alex Palou said he couldn’t identify a single source for the lack of passing but pointed towards the recent repave as a possible source of pain.
“Bit of a shame that we couldn’t really do anything to pass or to do anything,” said the IndyCar Series leader.
“Bit of a boring race for everybody — drivers, media. It’s the most boring thing I’ve ever done. It was yesterday as well.
“It’s a shame that we couldn’t really put on a better show. I think everybody will agree that it was a very boring race to drive.
“Even when leading, being in the middle of the pack yesterday, I don’t know…
“The IndyCar we had, the package of IndyCar tyre, aero, engine, whatever we had on track this weekend, it was impossible to make it run, so I don’t know.”
By contrast, the NASCAR Cup Series enjoyed one of its most entertaining race weekends at the 7/8-mile oval earlier this year.
“It was never an issue before,” said Palou.
“It was a repave for our cars, but having said that, we’ve seen other series here run well.
“I mean, we cannot compare. It’s like putting a MotoGP on dirt. It’s a cool track, but you cannot put it on the same and expect a very nice race.
“It was a shame because it used to be a really cool race I think for the fans with tons of overtaking and tons of tyre deg and things to do.
“I don’t know. I don’t have the answers.”
Amid fears a higher racing line would not rubber in, IndyCar mandated a high line session in which all cars had to run on the second lane.
There was some optimism after the Indy NXT cars were able to run a higher line. However, the same did not hold true for IndyCar in either race.
“The outside lane can work in the first five or 10 [laps],” said McLaughlin.
“I saw [Marcus] Ericsson using it to get a pass on Will [Power] and a few other things behind these two.
“Firestone do an amazing job for us. We need to somehow work a way to get the second lane to work. That’s after 30, 40 laps.
“Whether that’s a compound that goes on the racetrack or something that acts with our tyre and allows us to continue running that second lane.
“That thing worked. I passed three cars today on the outside of the restart. It does work. I think it will work through the race if you can just eliminate some of the excess rubber that goes on there.”
McLaughlin said a better overall package with better tyres and more downforce could make a difference.
“IndyCar could go to work with downforce levels, working with Firestone on a few other things,” he said.
“But you just can’t blame the track because at the end of the day they have to repave this at some time. That’s just how it is.
“If we can somehow get our cars working when a repave happens and know what we need to do to make it work, we won’t run into these issues.
“I feel like we go into it and not do the right amount of study or whatnot to get it done and to get it to work.
“That’s not a shot at the sport, not a shot at anything. It’s working together with the amazing people and the geniuses we have up and down pit lane. It’s just a matter of making it work.”
IndyCar continues its season on the streets of Toronto on July 22.
Passing at Iowa Speedway 2019-2024 (data per IndyCar):
2024 Race 1: 192 total / 100 for position (250 laps)
2024 Race 2: 204 total / 95 for position (250 laps
2023 Race 1: 1502 total / 319 for position (250 laps)
2023 Race 2: 1168 total / 379 for position (250 laps)
2022 Race 1: 772 total / 372 for position (250 laps)
2022 Race 2: 812 total / 262 for position (300 laps)
2021 Race: (Not held)
2020 Race 1 : 645 total / 203 for position (250 laps)
2020 Race 2: 458 total / 205 for position (250 laps)
2019 Race: 579 total passes / 263 position passes (300 laps)
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