Power Keeps Team Penske Atop Chart in Iowa Warmup

By INDYCAR | Published: Jul 23, 2023

Will Power

Team Penske continued its dominance of the Hy-Vee INDYCAR Race Weekend on Sunday morning at Iowa Speedway, as Will Power led the warmup for the Hy-Vee One Step 250 presented by Gatorade.

Two-time and reigning NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Power was fastest at 171.488 mph in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet. Power will start from the pole today for the 250-lap race, with live coverage starting at 2 p.m. on NBC, Peacock and the INDYCAR Radio Network. Power won the NTT P1 Award for both races this weekend at the .894-mile oval, the record-extending 69th and 70th poles of his career.

SEE: Warmup Results | Starting Lineup

Team Penske has led every session this weekend at Iowa. Josef Newgarden was fastest in practice Friday and won the Hy-Vee Homefront 250 presented by Instacart race Saturday, leading 129 laps. Power led 119 laps in that race, as Team Penske drivers were out front for 248 of the 250 laps. Power also led qualifying to win the NTT P1 Award for both races.

Two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Takuma Sato was second this morning in practice at 170.865 in the No. 11 Deloitte Honda fielded by Chip Ganassi Racing. Rookie Agustin Canapino clocked in third at 169.106 in the No. 78 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet.

Four-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves ended up fourth at 168.199 in the No. 06 AutoNation/SiriusXM Honda of Meyer Shank Racing. Conor Daly, substituting for the injured Simon Pagenaud, rounded out the top five in the No. 60 AutoNation/SiriusXM Honda in a strong session for Meyer Shank Racing.

Newgarden, who has won all three oval races so far this season, was a surprising 24th in the warmup at 161.581 in the No. 2 Hitachi Team Penske Chevrolet. He has won five of the last six oval races in the series in the last 12 months.

Kyle Kirkwood didn’t participate in the warmup in the No. 27 AutoNation Honda of Andretti Autosport due to being assessed a 10-minute practice penalty for missing driver weigh-in for this event Friday. Each of the two groups received just 10 minutes of track time during the warmup, so Kirkwood was unable to turn any laps.