By: Spencer Neff
July 12, 2025
Following a day filled with storms, the lone practice session for the Sukup IndyCar Race Weekend at Iowa was delayed until Saturday morning.
On Saturday morning, Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin led the 45-minute session, notching a best lap of 183.514 mph (17.5376 seconds) on the .894-mile Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa. Mclaughlin won Race 1 and started on the pole in Race 2 of last year’s doubleheader.
Just .0835 of a second back of McLaughlin was Arrow McLaren’s Nolan Siegel with Alexander Rossi of Ed Carpenter Racing, Siegel’s teammate Pato O’Ward, McLaughlin’s teammate Josef Newgarden and Rossi’s teammate Christian Rasmussen leading a Top Six sweep by Chevrolet. Its teams look to bring the engine manufacturer its first win of 2025.
Despite being in his second NTT INDYCAR SERIES season, Rasmussen did not race in the 2024 Iowa doubleheader. Points leader Alex Palou of Chip Ganassi Racing was the fastest Honda in seventh.
Chevrolet has won the last nine races at Iowa Speedway, with Honda’s last victory being in 2018.
PREMA Racing’s Robert Shwartzman was fastest among the Rookie of the Year contenders in 17th. Shwartzman won pole for the Indianapolis 500 and finished a career-best 10th at WWTR in his first oval appearances.
During the first of two “high-line” sessions, Kyle Kirkwood brushed the outside wall on the front stretch. Kirkwood, the winner of the series’ last oval race, did not return for the full-field session.
Following the delay of 11:35, Conor Daly of Juncos Hollinger Racing was fastest in the preliminary session, notching a best lap of 175.531 mph (18.3352 seconds), leading a 1-2-3 with fellow Chevrolet drivers Rasmussen and Power.
Aside from Kirkwood’s incident, the only disruptions were for a spin by O’Ward that was preceded by an off-track excursion for Kirkwood’s teammate Marcus Ericsson and followed by the slowed car of Dale Coyne Racing’s Jacob Abel. All three drivers were able to continue on without damage.
Up Next
Here is the remaining weekend schedule at Iowa Speedway. Stay with IndyCar1909.com for the latest on the NTT INDYCAR SERIES.
At-track schedule (all times Central):
SATURDAY, JULY 12
11 a.m. INDY NXT by Firestone at Iowa Speedway (75 laps/67.05 miles), FS1 (live)
12:30 a.m. Qualifying for the NTT P1 Award (Single car, two laps (Lap 1/Race 1; Lap 2/Race 2), FS1 (live)
4 p.m. FOX on air
4:15 p.m. Synk 275 powered by Sukup “Drivers, start your engines”
4:20 p.m. Synk 275 powered by Sukup (275 laps/245.85 miles), FOX (live)
SUNDAY, JULY 13
Noon FOX on air
12:15 p.m. Farm to Finish 275 powered by Sukup “Drivers, start your engines”
12:20 p.m. Farm to Finish 275 powered by Sukup (275 laps/245.85 miles), FOX (live)
Header Image By Chris Owens./INDYCAR
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