The 2016 Iowa Corn 300 was the 10th Round of the 2016 Verizon IndyCar Series season and the 10th consecutive year the Verizon IndyCar Series visited the Newton, Iowa short oval. The race was broadcast on NBCSN with Brian Till as the Lap-By-Lap Announcer. Ryan Hunter-Reay of Andretti Autosport entered as the defending winner of the race.
Race Summary The race was moved to a Sunday afternoon due to the Saturday Night slot on NBCSN taken up by the Quaker State 400 of the 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Qualifying saw Simon Pagenaud take his fifth pole of the season while also giving Team Penske its 500th pole position across all series. Ryan Hunter-Reay started 20th, and would have to climb through the field to repeat his victory. The race started on schedule with Josef Newgarden taking the lead from Pagenaud and leading the first 50 laps. As pit stops began to cycle through, the lead would shuffle to Pagenaud, then to Max Chilton, and then Alexander Rossi, before Newgarden returned to the lead. The race saw its first yellow flag when defending winner Ryan Hunter-Reay suffered an engine failure on lap 108 and came to a halt on track. The caution flag ended Newgarden's chance to lap the field, as many previously lapped cars were waved around to the tail end of the lead lap. The race restarted on lap 128, where Newgarden once again began to pull away from the field. Caution flew once more on lap 179, when Juan Pablo Montoya suffered an engine failure and, like Hunter-Reay, came to a stop on course. The race returned to green flag racing on lap 188. The third and final caution came for a spin by Max Chilton in turn 2 on lap 246, which bunched the field up for a 40 lap sprint to the end. Newgarden, however, was still untouchable and cruised away to win by over four seconds over Will Power, despite suffering a broken wrist the previous weekend at Texas Motor Speedway. Only five cars remained on the lead lap by the time the checkered flag fell.
Newgarden's 282 laps led set a record for most laps led in a Verizon IndyCar Series race. His victory also moved him up to second place in the championship, making him a serious contender to take victory. Chevrolet was dominant again, as they had been for much of the season, with the top four positions all going to Chevrolet powered cars. Mikhail Aleshin's fifth-place finish made him the highest placed Honda driver. Alexander Rossi was the highest placed rookie in the field, coming in sixth. It was his best finish since his Indianapolis 500 victory. Only three drivers retired during the race; Juan Pablo Montoya, Conor Daly, and Ryan Hunter-Reay, all with engine related issues.
Results
Key Meaning R Rookie W Past winner
Qualifying
Pos No. Name Lap 1 Time Lap 2 Time Total Time Avg. Speed (mph)122 Simon Pagenaud17.308917.324534.6334185.855221 Josef Newgarden17.331417.342434.6738185.63933 Hélio Castroneves17.360517.351734.7122185.43348 Max Chilton R17.376817.338034.7148185.419583 Charlie Kimball17.443817.446134.8899184.489610 Tony Kanaan W17.472017.429134.9011184.430720 Ed Carpenter17.450117.468134.9182184.339812 Will Power17.536617.449034.9856183.98497 Mikhail Aleshin17.607617.613535.2211182.754109 Scott Dixon17.670117.571635.2417182.647112 Juan Pablo Montoya17.559017.684035.2430182.6411215 Graham Rahal17.681617.636435.3180182.2531314 Takuma Sato17.721317.655635.3769181.9491441 Jack Hawksworth17.713817.707235.4255181.7001526 Carlos Muñoz17.802417.746935.5493181.0671611 Sébastien Bourdais17.888717.688435.5771180.9251798 Alexander Rossi R17.785317.792935.5782180.9201819 Gabby Chaves17.834617.848135.6827180.3901927 Marco Andretti W17.783717.919635.7033180.2862028 Ryan Hunter-Reay W17.978817.800435.7792179.9032118 Conor Daly R18.067017.964136.0311178.646225 James Hinchcliffe W18.333018.443036.7760175.027OFFICIAL BOX SCORE
Source
Race results
Driver Team Engine Laps Time/Retired Pit Stops Grid Laps Led 121 Josef NewgardenEd Carpenter RacingChevrolet3001:52:16.36134228253212 Will PowerTeam PenskeChevrolet300 +4.2828484039 Scott DixonChip Ganassi RacingChevrolet300 +5.5085410136422 Simon PagenaudTeam PenskeChevrolet300 +6.182741113457 Mikhail AleshinSchmidt Peterson MotorsportsHonda300 +7.03864930698 Alexander Rossi RAndretti Herta AutosportHonda299 +1 Lap417429710 Tony Kanaan WChip Ganassi RacingChevrolet299 +1 Lap4626811 Sébastien BourdaisKVSH RacingChevrolet299 +1 Lap5162495 James Hinchcliffe WSchmidt Peterson MotorsportsHonda299 +1 Lap422221083 Charlie KimballChip Ganassi RacingChevrolet299 +1 Lap45201114 Takuma SatoA. J. Foyt EnterprisesHonda298 +2 Laps413191226 Carlos MuñozAndretti AutosportHonda298 +2 Laps51518133 Hélio CastronevesTeam PenskeChevrolet298 +2 Laps43171427 Marco Andretti WAndretti AutosportHonda298 +2 Laps419161541 Jack HawksworthA. J. Foyt EnterprisesHonda298 +2 Laps414151615 Graham RahalRahal Letterman Lanigan RacingHonda297 +3 Laps412141719 Gabby ChavesDale Coyne RacingHonda293 +7 Laps518131820 Ed CarpenterEd Carpenter RacingChevrolet284 +16 Laps4712198 Max Chilton RChip Ganassi RacingChevrolet274 +26 Laps34212202 Juan Pablo MontoyaTeam PenskeChevrolet179Engine311102118 Conor Daly RDale Coyne RacingHonda141Mechanical42192228 Ryan Hunter-Reay WAndretti AutosportHonda105Engine1208OFFICIAL 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.
Source for time gaps:
Championship standings after the race
Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Simon Pagenaud 409 3 2 Josef Newgarden 336 3 Will Power 334 4 Scott Dixon 321 3 5 Hélio Castroneves 318
Note: Only the top five positions are included.
References
External links Official Pit Stop Data Official Race Broadcast