CHEVROLET RACING IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES
HY-VEE DOUBLE HEADER
IOWA SPEEDWAY
NEWTON, IOWA
TEAM CHEVY PRACTICE RECAP
WILL POWER LEADS ONLY PRACTICE AT IOWA SPEEDWAY
FOUR TEAM CHEVY DRIVERS IN TOP-FIVE IN INCIDENT-FREE 90 MINUTE SESSION
NEWTON, IOWA (July 22, 2022) – Will Power set a blistering lap of 173.285 mph in an incident-free 90-minute practice at Iowa Speedway. The driver of the No. 12 Verizon 5G Team Penske Chevrolet led four Chevrolet-powered drivers in the top-five in preparation for the only doubleheader on the 2022 NTT INDYCAR Series season.
Despite the temperature hovering over 90 degrees, Power’s lap was almost two miles an hour faster than when the Series’ last raced at the 7/8-mile oval east of Des Moines in 2020. Conor Daly, No. 20 BitNile Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet and Scott McLaughlin, No. 3 Freightliner Team Penske Chevrolet were second and third in the final practice order and the only other drivers to exceed the 173-mph mark.
Pato O’Ward, No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet, was fifth quickest and three-time Iowa winner Josef Newgarden, No. 2 Hitachi Team Penske Chevrolet was seventh when the session concluded.
Qualifying for both the Hy-VeeDeals.com 250 and the Hi-Vee Salute to Farmers 300 is Saturday morning at 9:30 am CT and will be broadcast on Peacock and INDY CAR Radio.
Team Chevy fans on-site at Iowa Speedway can enjoy all that the Chevrolet Motorsports display has to offer in the Fan Midway. The Chevrolet Motorsports Display opens at 2 p.m. Friday, 8 a.m. Saturday, and 9 a.m. Sunday. Numerous Chevrolet vehicles and other highlights include:
· •2023 Corvette Z06
· Additional Chevrolet products such as Silverado ZR2, Tahoe Z71, Blazer RS, Equinox RS, Trailblazer Activ and Camaro ZL1
· A Chevrolet IndyCar showcar
· An opportunity to receive a 2022 Chevrolet Racing t-shirt
Chevrolet also will serve as the official pace car with a Corvette Stingray Coupe leading the field to green.
Chevrolet and the NTT INDYCAR Series return to Iowa Speedway with two races: the Hy-VeeDeals.com 250 at 4 p.m. ET on Saturday and the Hy-Vee Salute to Farmers 300 at 3 p.m. ET on Sunday. Each event will air live on NBC, Peacock and the INDYCAR Radio Network. Live timing and scoring will be available at racecontrol.indycar.com.
Will Power
Press Conference
THE MODERATOR: We are joined by three-time pole winner here, Will Power, driving the Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet, quickest today. Were you happy with what happened today, Will?
WILL POWER: Yeah, definitely. Happy with the test. Tried a few things. I think we’re in theindow. Obviously a lot of good cars and drivers, so you’re never going to predict who is going to be where. I’m hoping to finally have a good qualifying, at least start at the front.
But, yeah, I feel good about the car.
THE MODERATOR: Let’s go ahead and take questions.
Q. Do you really feel the sense of speed on the oval rather than some of the road and street circuits?
WILL POWER: Yeah, I think it’s a great track because it has multiple lanes, a lot of tire degradation, bumps. Tricky. It’s my favorite oval. I really, really enjoy it here.
Q. Will, saw you run the second lane a little bit. Is that something you’re going to have to be able to do tomorrow to hang on to the tires for a tire stint?
WILL POWER: I just think you’re going to be wherever a car in front of you is not. It’s not even a tire deg thing. It’s where can I get clean air. There’s probably three sort of lanes in a way that you can find places. Hopefully it creates a good race.
Q. Will, you’ve qualified really well in Iowa in the past. Your entire career your best finish here is second. Are you set up pretty well to get a win this weekend?
WILL POWER: Yeah, if you start at the front, it certainly helps. It’s difficult to make a lot of ground, so you want to definitely start in that top 10.
It’s a difficult race to win when Josef Newgarden is in the game. He’s had a very strong career at this track (smiling). Yeah, I think he’ll always be in the mix. But I’ve got the same car. Hopefully I can make it work.
Q. Will, the consensus it seemed like coming out of the test was that Penske was in a different league. Did you still feel that way today?
WILL POWER: Man, I had cars at the test I thought were pretty strong as well. McLaren looked good. When teams have our setup… We know McLaren has got it, because an engineer went there. Andretti has it because Pagenaud brought it over.
Maybe that I run that. We’ve certainly changed since ’19. Tires changed, so it is a different car. I get the sort of philosophy.
Q. You weren’t looking at this race as a huge opportunity to gain major points in the championship?
WILL POWER: You just can’t tell in this series. You can’t. You don’t know when a yellow will fall. You can’t say, Okay, I’m going to have this race that I’m going to get points. It may just not be the case. You’ve got to take every race, put everything into, because you never know.
Q. What do you think of the format?
WILL POWER: That’s a tough one. I was thinking about the same thing. I’m like, Man, how do you get out of bed then try to go as fast as you can around Iowa for two laps?
Q. Will, you’ve been coming here since 2008. Does it look like a different track to you?
WILL POWER: Yeah, I mean, it’s amazing what Hy-Vee has done. Like Romain was saying, it’s what we’ve got to aim for. It’s the sponsor. Hearing the CEO speak from Hy-Vee, I mean, he has the right idea. He understands it. Doesn’t need to be a race, it’s got to be an event. That’s exactly what they’re doing.
It’s amazing. Our racing is a pure racing sort of series. Formula 1, it’s hard to compare, it really is. You come here, we’re all in the same garage. Kind of almost tradition. I like INDYCAR, it’s so pure. Everyone has the same car, same opportunity for racing.
Q. We didn’t do the doubleheader in Detroit. We’re doing it here in Iowa. What will be the challenges?
WILL POWER: Two bumpy tracks, similar. Yeah, I mean, same amount of points. It’s similar, except it’s an oval. You can’t really predict who is going to win. You can put your money on someone that has a good probability, but really you don’t know.
Q. Do you think the heat is going to affect you more here?
WILL POWER: Yeah. Man, it’s tough. It’s hot. Since the grip level has gone down, it’s not as physical. The wheel is a little lighter. You’re not like just holding on for two hours dying.
Q. Will, you took pole here in 2010. Can you compare the method it took to get fastest lap today compared with that pole lap? Are the differences down to completely different car formula or how the bumps has evolved or your driving style?
WILL POWER: It’s completely different. Back in ’10, we actually tried to run the white line. You could run the short line for speed. I think it was wide open. Must have been close to wide open. I think in ’08, wide open for sure. Yeah, you’re just doing a short line. Now you’re more to the wall, down the apex, and you’re lifting. Yeah, quite different.
THE MODERATOR: Thank you for coming in, Will.
WILL POWER: Thank you.
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