Today’s question: Which driver most needs a big haul of points at the Hy-Vee INDYCAR Race Weekend doubleheader Saturday and Sunday at Iowa Speedway?

Curt Cavin: Who needs the most out of this weekend? Can we say anyone not named Alex Palou? Given where this championship pursuit stands, I’m going with Josef Newgarden as most in need of a great Iowa Speedway weekend. He ranks third in points, a staggering 126 from Palou’s total. Yes, Scott Dixon is actually ahead of Newgarden (by nine points), but Dixon doesn’t have as many of his winning tracks to come. In my opinion, that makes Newgarden, who has won four of the remaining seven events a combined nine times, the most likely to catch Palou, if anyone can. But to have any chance, the Team Penske ace needs to sweep this weekend, take the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 presented by Axalta and Valvoline on Aug. 27 at World Wide Technology Raceway as he did last year and then post top-five finishes at the three non-oval events. Plus, he’ll need Palou to at least wobble, which we know hasn’t happened this season. So, the pressure is on for Newgarden. It’s time for the Indy 500 winner to make more oval magic.

Joey Barnes: That’s a fair take by Curt, but I’ll go a different direction away from the championship because the pieces are beginning to move for 2024. David Malukas has already remarked to multiple outlets about his imminent departure from Dale Coyne Racing at the end of the season, and stringing together some good performances to make people forget about his seven finishes of 19th or worse would possibly go a long way toward his next ride. That said, though, the driver in need of a good weekend is Romain Grosjean. The Swiss-born Frenchman has suffered six consecutive finishes outside the top 10, with four of those being 22nd or worse. Those results simply are not to the standard he holds himself to or what Andretti Autosport has shown to be capable. The pace has been there, proof with his two runner-up results, but those also stand as his only top-10s through 10 races. Grosjean was respectable at Iowa last year with finishes of seventh and ninth. If he can replicate that, it would go a long way in helping build confidence for a late-season push to get into the top 10 of the championship standings and could prove vital entering the offseason.

Paul Kelly: For me, it’s more than just one driver. Take a look at the teams that have won a race this season in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES – Chip Ganassi Racing, Team Penske, Andretti Autosport and now Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. What team is most conspicuous by its absence from that list? You guessed it: Arrow McLaren. If someone told me last winter a team comprised of Pato O’Ward, Felix Rosenqvist and Alexander Rossi would be 0-for-12 at this point of the season, I would have laughed out loud in howls of frozen disbelief. But that’s where we are, and that’s why Arrow McLaren needs a big weekend at Iowa to get on track. Pato O’Ward won the second race last year at the “Fastest Short Track on the Planet” and probably is the No. 2 favorite among the field for both races this weekend, behind ovalmeister Josef Newgarden of Team Penske. The Papaya People aren’t having a bad season, as O’Ward is fifth in points, Rossi 10th and Rosenqvist 12th. But I think the team had legitimate aspirations of multiple victories and contending for a championship in 2023, and so far it hasn’t happened. Arrow McLaren needs to find a way to win at least once this weekend, as the sands of the season are pouring into the bottom of the hourglass.