Penske’s Tough Weekend at Iowa: Misfortune Strikes Again
Iowa Speedway witnessed another challenging weekend for Team Penske, echoing the recent struggles at World Wide Technologies Raceway. The team’s three Chevy-powered drivers—Josef Newgarden, Will Power, and Scott McLaughlin—displayed competitive speed but ultimately faced significant mechanical issues, finishing 24th, 25th, and 27th in the second race of the Iowa doubleheader.
Newgarden stood out on Sunday as he was the only Penske driver to finish the race, achieving a season-best second place in race one before a lack of caution period strategy in race two cost him critical track position. Despite leading much of race one, he lost to Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward, who capitalized on late caution resets.
Power encountered an engine failure—his second in just seven days—which significantly impacted his championship standing. Having started the weekend ranked seventh, he has now dropped to eighth, 271 points behind championship leader Alex Palou. “It was an engine issue during the race, and we made the decision to retire the car as a precaution to avoid further damage,” stated Andrew Schutter, Chevrolet Motorsports IndyCar program manager.
McLaughlin, who had shown promise by advancing from 27th to fourth on Saturday, was involved in a collision early in race two when teammate Devlin DeFrancesco experienced a spin. This incident led to a 26th-place finish, causing McLaughlin to fall to 12th in the standings after previously ranking as high as eighth.
Despite the team’s overall misfortunes, Newgarden managed to collect valuable points, improving his championship position from 19th to 14th. “We just have to keep doing what we’re doing," Newgarden remarked. "Team Penske is working incredibly hard. They brought a fast car here again today.”
In total, the Penske trio has struggled with 12 instances of finishing 24th or worse across the last 12 races, underscoring a season riddled with unforeseen challenges. Moving forward, the team will look to capitalize on the positives from Newgarden’s solid performances to enhance their fortunes in upcoming races.
