Palou rolls dice to win IndyCar Iowa Race 2 amid more Newgarden misfortune
- Archie O’Reilly
- 10 hours ago
- 8 min read
Álex Palou has taken a first career short oval victory and seventh of his record-breaking 2025 IndyCar season in a frenetic Race 2 at Iowa Speedway.
The Spaniard led home Chip Ganassi Racing (CGR) teammate Scott Dixon and Meyer Shank Racing (MSR)’s Marcus Armstrong, who secured a first oval podium. Josef Newgarden again appeared the dominant force but was twice set back by cautions falling at the wrong time.
Only 26 cars took the green flag, with Arrow McLaren’s Nolan Siegel not cleared to race after a crash on Lap 248 of the opening race. The young American was set to start from an impressive fifth but was determined to have suffered a mild concussion.
“There’s no place I’d rather be than out there driving, especially from P5, one of my best starting positions of the season,” Siegel said. “I know I’m in good hands with the IndyCar Medical Team and thank them for the great care they provide us drivers.
“Most of all, I feel for the No.6 car crew. They gave me a rocket this weekend and put in a tonne of work last night with hopes we’d be racing today. They deserve to be out there fighting for the podium and we’ll be back soon to do just that.”
Palou led the field to green for CGR, getting the jump on MSR’s Felix Rosenqvist. Newgarden, having led 232 laps on Saturday for Team Penske, managed to find his way around AJ Foyt Racing’s David Malukas up to third at the start.
But racing was short-lived as Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (RLL)’s Devlin DeFrancesco, much like at Gateway last month, lost his car in Turn 4 at the end of Lap 1. Having already made up multiple positions from the rear after his qualifying crash - attempting to repeat Saturday’s 23-position gain - Penske’s Scott McLaughlin was innocently collected.
It was status quo among the leaders on the Lap 12 restart as Penske’s Will Power looked to pressure Malukas, eventually completing the pass on Lap 18 after a lap side by side. In behind, Juncos Hollinger Racing (JHR)’s Conor Daly was again working the high line, all the while fending off Saturday’s Arrow McLaren race winner Pato O’Ward.
Newgarden continued to show his authority as he carved past Rosenqvist on Lap 20. But almost simultaneously, after his pass on Malukas, much like at Mid-Ohio, Power slowed with an issue, exiting his car amid another wretched race start of misfortune for Penske.
By Lap 30, traffic became a factor as race-leading Palou caught Dale Coyne Racing’s Jacob Abel at the rear of the field, allowing Newgarden to have a half-look at the lead. But the pair both ultimately dispatched of the initial backmarkers with assurance.
On Lap 40, there was a change for the final podium position as Rosenqvist, who tumbled from third to 17th on Saturday, found himself passed by Malukas. Passing remained possible in the early exchanges, with O’Ward jumping into the top five ahead of Daly before the 50-lap mark.
The move was in the nick of time for O’Ward, who made the overtake a mere lap before JHR’s Sting Ray Robb heavily collected the Turn 1 wall after losing the car down low.
The caution was brandished and the field pitted, with O’Ward making a further gain to fourth ahead of Rosenqvist as the top three of Palou, Newgarden and Malukas held position. Daly lost two spots to eighth, falling behind Armstrong and Dixon.
PREMA Racing’s Robert Shwartzman, running inside the top 10, was caught speeding in pit lane and ordered to drop to the rear of the field. Both Newgarden and Malukas avoided penalties for possible unsafe releases.
Newgarden then hit the front on the Lap 65 restart, working the high side to pass Palou. Daly was also on the front foot, regaining the positions he lost to Dixon and Armstrong.
Palou managed to remain in Newgarden’s wheel tracks with Malukas following suit behind as the race settled into a rhythm in its second stint. By Lap 90, lapped traffic was a factor again as the leaders made swift work of Abel.
It was at this point that Newgarden started to forge more of a gap and Palou dropped further into Malukas’ clutches - the lead trio having streaked away from O’Ward in fourth. The six-time Iowa winner was the most decisive of all in his navigation of traffic, working high and low on the track to put cars between himself and his challengers with authority.
The challenge for second intensified on Lap 117, with Palou holding on up high and running alongside Malukas. The battle lasted for almost five laps before Palou was able to navigate the backmarker of Andretti Global’s Marcus Ericsson, with the championship leader encouragingly holding on up at the top of the track.
The battle resumed again a number of laps later, with Palou again defending expertly on the high line to fend off the young Foyt charger. As those behind scrapped, Newgarden continued to stretch his lead to over four seconds as the race’s midpoint approached.
But at the end of Lap 129, disaster struck. Just as Newgarden entered the pit lane for his second stop amid a fuel shortage, Ericsson hit the Turn 4 wall directly behind him with a seeming right-front tyre failure. The caution came out and the race leader was trapped a lap down.
As the field pitted under caution, Newgarden was able to cycle back onto the lead lap and into 13th for the restart. But it was a disaster for the driver who was again dominating the race.
Palou led away from the restart ahead of Malukas and O’Ward, with Daly finding his way past Rosenqvist. A further caution was narrowly avoided as Andretti’s Colton Herta struck the wall and ran into Ed Carpenter Racing (ECR)’s Alexander Rossi - both able to continue inside the top 10 without issue.
Running in 12th, PREMA were awarded a second penalty of the day on the restart as Callum Ilott was adjudged to have been out of line. A drive-through was ruinous to his race and snatched another result on a strong weekend for the Briton.
Newgarden was quickly back into the top 10 but found himself hemmed in behind the ECR pair of Rossi and the ultra-aggressive Christian Rasmussen, who came close to contact with his teammate with Newgarden in pursuit.
Ilott’s day then quickly got worse while running laps down, losing the car and backing into Turn 3 on Lap 176 for the fourth caution of the race. It compounded a difficult weekend after his accident late on Saturday.
With little under 100 laps remaining, it was a conundrum whether drivers would pit under the caution. But the majority of the field did streak down pit lane, with Andretti’s Kyle Kirkwood the only driver remaining on track and assuming the race lead.
Palou remained ahead of Malukas, with Daly’s JHR team producing the goods to jump ahead of O’Ward, who fell between Armstrong and Dixon. Newgarden jumped to eighth - up three positions to seventh on the Palou strategy.
The restart was frenetic, with Palou, Malukas and Daly eventually making their way around Kirkwood on his older tyres. And in behind, Newgarden had made his way into the top five on the restart until finding himself checked up behind Kirkwood, allowing O’Ward back past.
Also on the restart, Dixon suffered minor front wing damage after contact with Armstrong, who appeared to cut in front of his countryman and former teammate before being entirely clear. Armstrong fell from fifth to eight and Dixon seventh to 11th.
Further back, Foyt’s Santino Ferrucci and Herta also made some contact, sending Herta up high and dropping him down into the mid-teens. It had been a tough start to the race for Ferrucci but he made progress into the top 10 by the 200-lap mark.
Further up, Malukas continued to place Palou under duress in his pursuit of a maiden IndyCar win and the leaders once again caught traffic. And on Lap 219, Newgarden found his way back onto the podium, passing both O’Ward and then Daly.
With just shy of 50 laps remaining on the short oval, Newgarden had over five seconds to make up to the lead. But the early-race dominant force was quickly cutting into the advantage of Palou and Malukas, building five seconds over Daly and O’Ward behind within a matter of laps before O’Ward finally made his way around the JHR driver.
By Lap 235, Newgarden was astonishing back within one second of the lead as Palou and Malukas found themselves trapped in traffic. And one lap later, he had dispatched of Malukas and was back on the rear of Palou within a matter of tenths as Palou found himself jammed behind countless battling backmarkers.
Just inside 35 laps remaining, Newgarden pounced. No matter the ill-timed caution, he was persistent and scythed back through the field. It was an aggressive move on Palou, who washed up high and fell to third behind Malukas.
As Lap 250 approached though, pit stops came for Daly and Malukas and, one lap later, Newgarden and O’Ward as tyres wore. And diving in the lap earlier, it was Malukas who found himself jumping Newgarden - the second time in as many days that Newgarden has lost a position on the final pit cycle.
But disaster struck for the early stoppers, with Herta finding the wall - another right-front tyre failure for Andretti after Kirkwood’s on Saturday and Ericsson’s earlier on Sunday - and a fifth caution brandished.
For the second time in the race, Newgarden was scuppered by a yellow caused by an Andretti tyre failure and his progress was undone in a continuation of his season of astonishing bad luck. And ahead of him at that point, it was a cruel blow for Malukas as he chased his first career victory.
Palou stayed out and was able to pit and keep the lead, with CGR affiliate Armstrong second for MSR and Dixon third - also for CGR. Recovering from his earlier penalty, rookie Shwartzman found himself fourth and Arrow McLaren’s Christian Lundgaard, who has had a challenging weekend, rounding out the top five.
Malukas found himself eighth, Newgarden ninth and O’Ward 10th on the restart, rueing stopping early for their final stop as those who stayed out tried to protect against the caution, which ultimately came out, for as long as possible.
Dixon was able to get around Armstrong on the restart as Palou streaked away, with Shwartzman passed by Lundgaard but promptly getting his own back. Malukas and O’Ward quickly fought back into top five but Newgarden’s fortune was quite the contrast, falling to 10th and finding himself dropped by Rasmussen ahead.
Palou caught the backmarker of RLL’s Graham Rahal on the final lap but was able to fend off Dixon to seal his maiden short oval victory. A strategic masterstroke again paid off for CGR, with their partnered driver Armstrong securing a second career podium - and first on an oval - for MSR to secure a CGR podium-lockout-of-sorts.
Malukas and O’Ward recovered to fourth and fifth, followed by Lundgaard, Rosenqvist, Ramussen and Lundgaard. Newgarden was confined to 10th after once again appearing the dominant force, with Daly ending up 16th owing to the late yellow.
Jacob Abel was a career-best 11th, ahead of Dale Coyne Racing teammate Rinus VeeKay in 12th, in a further headline result.
