Josef Newgarden continued his dominance of Iowa Speedway on Saturday, leading 129 of 250 laps to win the IndyCar Homefront 250 ahead of Penske teammate Scott McLaughlin, his fifth triumph on the short oval circuit.
Newgarden, the Indianapolis 500 winner in May, was dissatisfied with a qualifying performance that left him seventh on the grid.
And with just five drivers on the lead lap when he took the chequered flag he was irked by late traffic that saw his margin over McLaughlin dwindle.
Josef Newgarden wins for the fifth time at Iowa! pic.twitter.com/osiV9tCnYv
— Mr Matthew CFB (@MrMatthewCFB) July 22, 2023
"In IndyCar, these guys that are about to go a lap down they always run the leader really hard, and that's the name of the game," Newgarden said. "It's legal, but, man, it's a little frustrating at times."
Nevertheless, once he'd seized control -- pushing his lead to almost seven seconds with 100 laps remaining -- Newgarden wasn't seriously in jeopardy.He averaged 145.311 mph (233.86 Km/h) and beat McLaughlin by 3.3755 seconds.
One down! Let’s reload and get after it again tomorrow! ??#INDYCAR pic.twitter.com/mfO6FxEuMT
— Josef Newgarden (@josefnewgarden) July 22, 2023
Penske's Will Power of Australia had started from pole and led more than 100 laps before brushing the wall and falling back.
Mexico's Pato O'Ward was third for Arrow-McLaren with Marcus Ericsson and Power rounding out the top five.
Series leader Alex Palou of Spain finished eighth to keep his bid for a second championship on track with six races remaining.
The next is on Sunday, when Newgarden targets yet another victory in the second race of a weekend double-header at the track that measures .894 miles.
This time, he said, he'll be ready for whatever comes up at the end.
"I'm going to study the tape," he said of his tussles with the backmarkers on Saturday. "If that's the way it's going to be I'm gong to elevate my game."