# 2020 Iowa IndyCar 250s

The 2020 Iowa IndyCar 250s was an IndyCar Series event that took place from July 17–18, 2020. It made up the fifth and sixth rounds of the series' 2020 season. The race was originally scheduled as a single race for July 18 for 300 laps, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic an additional race had to be added due to cancellations of other races so IndyCar officials made the weekend a doubleheader & shortened each race to 250 laps. The race was also the second event of the 2020 season to allow spectators at the track, however there were restrictions regarding attendance.

## Entry list

The entry list for both races were released by IndyCar on July 15 with separate entry lists for both races. The only difference between the two was the main sponsor for Graham Rahal.
| Car No. | Driver Name | Owner/Team | Engine |
| 1 | Josef Newgarden W | Team Penske | Chevrolet |
| 4 | Charlie Kimball | A. J. Foyt Enterprises | Chevrolet |
| 5 | Patricio O'Ward | Arrow McLaren SP | Chevrolet |
| 7 | Oliver Askew R | Arrow McLaren SP | Chevrolet |
| 8 | Marcus Ericsson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Honda |
| 9 | Scott Dixon | Chip Ganassi Racing | Honda |
| 10 | Felix Rosenqvist | Chip Ganassi Racing | Honda |
| 12 | Will Power | Team Penske | Chevrolet |
| 14 | Tony Kanaan W | A. J. Foyt Enterprises | Chevrolet |
| 15 | Graham Rahal | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing | Honda |
| 18 | Santino Ferrucci | Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser-Sullivan | Honda |
| 20 | Ed Carpenter | Ed Carpenter Racing | Chevrolet |
| 21 | Rinus VeeKay R | Ed Carpenter Racing | Chevrolet |
| 22 | Simon Pagenaud | Team Penske | Chevrolet |
| 26 | Zach Veach | Andretti Autosport | Honda |
| 27 | Alexander Rossi | Andretti Autosport | Honda |
| 28 | Ryan Hunter-Reay W | Andretti Autosport | Honda |
| 30 | Takuma Sato | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing | Honda |
| 55 | Álex Palou R | Dale Coyne Racing with Team Goh | Honda |
| 59 | Conor Daly | Carlin | Chevrolet |
| 60 | Jack Harvey | Meyer Shank Racing | Honda |
| 88 | Colton Herta | Andretti Harding Steinbrenner Autosport | Honda |
| 98 | Marco Andretti W | Andretti Herta Autosport with Marco Andretti & Curb-Agajanian | Honda |
| Sources: ||||
All cars run a Dallara safety tub utilizing the IndyCar mandated Universal Aero Kit 18. All cars also will utilized Firestone tires.
| Key | Meaning |
| R | Rookie |
| W | Past winner |

## Pre-qualifying notes

Racer.com's Robin Miller reported on July 15 that after speaking with IndyCar officials that the qualifying procedure for Iowa would be modified. There would be 1 session of qualifying on July 17, however it would not be a 2 lap average to set the field as was usually done on short ovals, rather lap 1 would set the cars starting position for race 1 and lap 2 would set the cars starting position for race 2.

## Combined Qualifying Session, July 17

| Key | Meaning |
| R | Rookie |
| W | Past winner |
| Pos Race 1 | Pos Race 2 | No. | Name | Lap 1 | Lap 2 |
| 1 | 3 | 59 | Conor Daly | 18.3711 | 18.3951 |
| 2 | 1 | 1 | Josef Newgarden W | 18.3796 | 18.3559 |
| 3 | 2 | 12 | Will Power | 18.4112 | 18.3883 |
| 4 | 5 | 88 | Colton Herta | 18.4120 | 18.5566 |
| 5 | 21 | 27 | Alexander Rossi | 18.6831 | 19.0846 |
| 6 | 20 | 30 | Takuma Sato | 18.6975 | 19.0242 |
| 7 | 10 | 10 | Felix Rosenqvist | 18.7048 | 18.7841 |
| 8 | 12 | 5 | Patricio O'Ward | 18.7534 | 18.8102 |
| 9 | 6 | 60 | Jack Harvey | 18.7540 | 18.6549 |
| 10 | 9 | 8 | Marcus Ericsson | 18.7666 | 18.7495 |
| 11 | 16 | 18 | Santino Ferrucci | 18.7837 | 18.8818 |
| 12 | 4 | 28 | Ryan Hunter-Reay W | 18.7905 | 18.4705 |
| 13 | 15 | 21 | Rinus VeeKay R | 18.8205 | 18.8681 |
| 14 | 13 | 7 | Oliver Askew R | 18.8344 | 18.8244 |
| 15 | 11 | 4 | Charlie Kimball | 18.8412 | 18.7888 |
| 16 | 14 | 20 | Ed Carpenter | 18.8584 | 18.8434 |
| 17 | 18 | 9 | Scott Dixon | 18.8631 | 18.9841 |
| 18 | 7 | 55 | Álex Palou R | 18.8768 | 18.6702 |
| 19 | 8 | 14 | Tony Kanaan W | 18.8782 | 18.7297 |
| 20 | 17 | 98 | Marco Andretti W | 18.9951 | 18.8970 |
| 21 | 19 | 15 | Graham Rahal | 19.1109 | 19.0136 |
| 22 | 22 | 26 | Zach Veach | 19.4520 | 19.9487 |
| 23 | 23 | 22 | Simon Pagenaud | No Time | No Time |

## Race 1 – July 17

All sessions for race 1 took place on Friday, July 17.
The aeroscreen had its first major test when during an aborted restart on lap 157, Ed Carpenter Racing's Rinus VeeKay appeared to slow behind eventual race winner Simon Pagenaud and move to the right, and behind the Dutch rookie, Andretti Harding Steinbrenner Racing's Colton Herta was caught in an accordion affect, launching the No. 88 Honda over the left-rear tire of VeeKay's No. 21 Chevy. Prior to getting significantly airborne, Herta's unimpeded nose – minus its wings – attempted to spear into the left side of VeeKay's cockpit, level with his helmet. With the aeroscreen acting as a vertical barrier, Herta's nose was forced upward, sliding skyward on the screen before hitting the top of the aeroscreen frame and flying over VeeKay's Dallara DW12 chassis. This saved Veekay from apparent serious injury.

### Race

| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Engine | Laps | Time/Status | Pit Stops | Grid | Laps Led | Pts. |
| 1 | 22 | Simon Pagenaud | Team Penske | Chevrolet | 250 | 1:41:25.2939 | 12 | 23 | 83 | 53 |
| 2 | 9 | Scott Dixon | Chip Ganassi Racing | Honda | 250 | +0.495 | 12 | 17 | | 40 |
| 3 | 7 | Oliver Askew R | Arrow McLaren SP | Chevrolet | 250 | +7.212 | 13 | 14 | | 35 |
| 4 | 5 | Patricio O'Ward | Arrow McLaren SP | Chevrolet | 250 | +13.989 | 13 | 8 | 30 | 33 |
| 5 | 1 | Josef Newgarden W | Team Penske | Chevrolet | 250 | +16.735 | 12 | 2 | 68 | 31 |
| 6 | 27 | Alexander Rossi | Andretti Autosport | Honda | 250 | +19.600 | 13 | 5 | | 28 |
| 7 | 60 | Jack Harvey | Meyer Shank Racing | Honda | 250 | +20.048 | 13 | 9 | | 26 |
| 8 | 59 | Conor Daly | Carlin | Chevrolet | 250 | +20.534 | 13 | 1 | 13 | 26 |
| 9 | 8 | Marcus Ericsson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Honda | 250 | +20.738 | 14 | 10 | | 22 |
| 10 | 30 | Takuma Sato | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing | Honda | 249 | +1 Lap | 13 | 6 | 49 | 21 |
| 11 | 55 | Álex Palou R | Dale Coyne Racing w/Team Goh | Honda | 249 | +1 Lap | 12 | 18 | | 19 |
| 12 | 15 | Graham Rahal | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing | Honda | 248 | +2 Laps | 14 | 21 | | 18 |
| 13 | 18 | Santino Ferrucci | Dale Coyne Racing w/Vasser-Sullivan | Honda | 247 | +3 Laps | 14 | 11 | | 17 |
| 14 | 10 | Felix Rosenqvist | Chip Ganassi Racing | Honda | 247 | +3 Laps | 14 | 7 | 7 | 17 |
| 15 | 20 | Ed Carpenter | Ed Carpenter Racing | Chevrolet | 247 | +3 Laps | 14 | 16 | | 15 |
| 16 | 28 | Ryan Hunter-Reay W | Andretti Autosport | Honda | 247 | +3 Laps | 13 | 12 | | 14 |
| 17 | 4 | Charlie Kimball | A. J. Foyt Enterprises | Chevrolet | 245 | +5 Laps | 13 | 15 | | 13 |
| 18 | 14 | Tony Kanaan W | A. J. Foyt Enterprises | Chevrolet | 213 | In Pits | 13 | 19 | | 12 |
| 19 | 21 | Rinus VeeKay R | Ed Carpenter Racing | Chevrolet | 156 | Contact | 3 | 13 | | 11 |
| 20 | 88 | Colton Herta | Andretti Harding Steinbrenner Autosport | Honda | 156 | Contact | 2 | 4 | | 10 |
| 21 | 12 | Will Power | Team Penske | Chevrolet | 142 | Contact | 3 | 3 | | 9 |
| 22 | 98 | Marco Andretti W | Andretti Herta Autosport w/Marco Andretti and Curb-Agajanian | Honda | 128 | Mechanical | 2 | 20 | | 8 |
| 23 | 26 | Zach Veach | Andretti Autosport | Honda | 95 | Mechanical | 2 | 22 | | 7 |
| Official Box Score |||||||||||
Notes: Points include 1 point for leading at least 1 lap during a race, an additional 2 points for leading the most race laps, and 1 point for Pole Position.

### Race statistics

Lap leader breakdown :
| From lap | To lap | Total laps | Driver |
| 1 | 13 | 13 | Conor Daly |
| 14 | 70 | 57 | Josef Newgarden |
| 71 | 77 | 7 | Felix Rosenqvist |
| 78 | 126 | 49 | Takuma Sato |
| 127 | 137 | 11 | Josef Newgarden |
| 138 | 147 | 10 | Simon Pagenaud |
| 148 | 177 | 30 | Patricio O'Ward |
| 178 | 250 | 73 | Simon Pagenaud |
Cautions:1 for 26 laps :
| From lap | To lap | Total laps | Reason |
| 144 | 169 | 26 | Accident car #12 (Power) turn 4; then during aborted restart contact cars #21 (VeeKay) and #88 (Herta) front straight |
Average speed: 132.220 mph (212.787 km/h)

### Championship standings after the race

| | Pos | Driver | Points |
| | 1 | Scott Dixon | 213 |
| 1 | 2 | Simon Pagenaud | 163 |
| 1 | 3 | Patricio O'Ward | 143 |
| 1 | 4 | Josef Newgarden | 137 |
| 3 | 5 | Colton Herta | 130 |
| Pos | Manufacturer | Points |
| 1 | Honda | 430 |
| 2 | Chevrolet | 361 |
* Note: Only the top five positions are included.

## Race 2 – July 18

All sessions for race 2 (except qualifying) took place on Saturday, July 18.

### Race

| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Engine | Laps | Time/Status | Pit Stops | Grid | Laps Led | Pts. |
| 1 | 1 | Josef Newgarden W | Team Penske | Chevrolet | 250 | 1:38:40.5189 | 3 | 1 | 214 | 54 |
| 2 | 12 | Will Power | Team Penske | Chevrolet | 250 | +2.786 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 41 |
| 3 | 15 | Graham Rahal | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing | Honda | 250 | +3.564 | 3 | 19 | 13 | 36 |
| 4 | 22 | Simon Pagenaud W | Team Penske | Chevrolet | 250 | +6.124 | 4 | 23 | | 32 |
| 5 | 9 | Scott Dixon | Chip Ganassi Racing | Honda | 250 | +6.575 | 4 | 18 | 2 | 31 |
| 6 | 7 | Oliver Askew R | Arrow McLaren SP | Chevrolet | 250 | +16.000 | 3 | 13 | 10 | 29 |
| 7 | 60 | Jack Harvey | Meyer Shank Racing | Honda | 250 | +16.618 | 4 | 6 | | 26 |
| 8 | 27 | Alexander Rossi | Andretti Autosport | Honda | 250 | +17.886 | 3 | 21 | | 24 |
| 9 | 8 | Marcus Ericsson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Honda | 250 | +18.520 | 4 | 9 | | 22 |
| 10 | 98 | Marco Andretti W | Andretti Herta Autosport w/Marco Andretti and Curb-Agajanian | Honda | 250 | +20.017 | 4 | 17 | | 20 |
| 11 | 14 | Tony Kanaan W | A. J. Foyt Enterprises | Chevrolet | 250 | +20.742 | 4 | 8 | | 19 |
| 12 | 5 | Patricio O'Ward | Arrow McLaren SP | Chevrolet | 249 | +1 Lap | 3 | 12 | 1 | 19 |
| 13 | 59 | Conor Daly | Carlin | Chevrolet | 249 | +1 Lap | 4 | 3 | 4 | 18 |
| 14 | 55 | Álex Palou R | Dale Coyne Racing w/Team Goh | Honda | 249 | +1 Lap | 3 | 7 | | 16 |
| 15 | 10 | Felix Rosenqvist | Chip Ganassi Racing | Honda | 248 | +2 Laps | 3 | 10 | | 15 |
| 16 | 4 | Charlie Kimball | A. J. Foyt Enterprises | Chevrolet | 248 | +2 Laps | 4 | 11 | | 14 |
| 17 | 21 | Rinus VeeKay R | Ed Carpenter Racing | Chevrolet | 248 | +2 Laps | 3 | 15 | | 13 |
| 18 | 18 | Santino Ferrucci | Dale Coyne Racing w/Vasser-Sullivan | Honda | 247 | +3 Laps | 5 | 16 | | 12 |
| 19 | 88 | Colton Herta | Andretti Harding Steinbrenner Autosport | Honda | 247 | +3 Laps | 6 | 5 | | 11 |
| 20 | 26 | Zach Veach | Andretti Autosport | Honda | 247 | +3 Laps | 3 | 22 | | 10 |
| 21 | 30 | Takuma Sato | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing | Honda | 247 | +3 Laps | 5 | 20 | | 9 |
| 22 | 28 | Ryan Hunter-Reay W | Andretti Autosport | Honda | 178 | Contact | 4 | 4 | 4 | 9 |
| 23 | 20 | Ed Carpenter | Ed Carpenter Racing | Chevrolet | 112 | Contact | 2 | 14 | | 7 |
| Official Box Score |||||||||||
Notes: Points include 1 point for leading at least 1 lap during a race, an additional 2 points for leading the most race laps, and 1 point for Pole Position.

### Race statistics

Lap leader breakdown :
| From lap | To lap | Total laps | Driver |
| 1 | 56 | 56 | Josef Newgarden |
| 57 | 58 | 2 | Will Power |
| 59 | 60 | 2 | Scott Dixon |
| 61 | 62 | 2 | Graham Rahal |
| 63 | 106 | 44 | Josef Newgarden |
| 107 | 107 | 1 | Patricio O'Ward |
| 108 | 111 | 4 | Conor Daly |
| 112 | 119 | 8 | Graham Rahal |
| 120 | 171 | 52 | Josef Newgarden |
| 172 | 174 | 3 | Graham Rahal |
| 175 | 178 | 4 | Ryan Hunter-Reay |
| 179 | 188 | 10 | Oliver Askew |
| 189 | 250 | 62 | Josef Newgarden |
Cautions:2 for 24 laps :
| From lap | To lap | Total laps | Reason |
| 114 | 125 | 12 | Accident car #20 (Carpenter) turn 2 |
| 180 | 191 | 12 | Accident car #28 (Hunter-Reay) turn 2 |
Average speed: 135.900 mph (218.710 km/h)

### Championship standings after the race

| | Pos | Driver | Points |
| | 1 | Scott Dixon | 244 |
| | 2 | Simon Pagenaud | 195 |
| 1 | 3 | Josef Newgarden | 191 |
| 1 | 4 | Patricio O'Ward | 162 |
| 5 | 5 | Will Power | 142 |
| Pos | Manufacturer | Points |
| 1 | Honda | 495 |
| 2 | Chevrolet | 457 |
* Note: Only the top five positions are included.