Newgarden completes IndyCar Series weekend sweep at Iowa Speedway
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NEWTON, Iowa (AP) — Josef Newgarden completed the weekend sweep he wanted at a track where he has had plenty of success, winning the IndyCar Series race Sunday at Iowa Speedway.
Newgarden held onto the lead on a restart with three laps to go, winning by less than a second over Team Penske teammate Will Power.
It was the sixth victory of Newgarden’s career at the .875-mile oval and came a day after he led for 129 laps in another win. Newgarden needed a little extra work in this race after starting seventh — he started third on Saturday — but he was able to move into the lead by Lap 31 and maintained control the rest of the way.
Newgarden left the weekend in second place in the series standings, only 80 points behind leader Alex Palou. Palou, who finished third, came into the weekend with a 117-point lead over Scott Dixon, with Newgarden 126 points back in third place.
Newgarden continued his dominance on the series’ ovals this season. He won at Texas Motor Speedway on April 2, then won the Indianapolis 500. It was his fifth consecutive win on ovals dating back to last season.
Power, on the pole for both weekend races, led the first 30 laps before Newgarden used a lower line to pass Power and fellow Penske teammate Scott McLaughlin as they encountered slower traffic.
Newgarden was among several drivers involved in one of the tense moments of the race, when Sting Ray Robb lost the left wheel of his car on Lap 158, seconds after Robb left pit road.
The wheel rolled into oncoming traffic between Turns 3 and 4, with Newgarden, Conor Daly and Graham Rahal among others having to swerve to avoid it. IndyCar officials disqualified Robb for the rest of the race for not having the wheel tightened before leaving pit road.
Felix Rosenqvist, who started 16th, finished fourth. McLaughlin was fifth, the last driver on the lead lap.