Race Notes:

• Rookie Alexander Rossi started from the 17th position and came out on top for the Andretti quartet in Iowa, leading four laps on his way to a 6th-place finish in his first race at the short oval.
• It was a night of frustration for Colombian Carlos Munoz. Struggling with handling issues in the No. 26 car, he was unable to make large gains and finished 12th after a 15th-place start.
• Former Iowa champion Marco Andretti rolled off 19th and made up ground for a 14th-place finish with the Snapple machine. Andretti will take on new colors for next weekend’s Toronto race as the No. 27 will be rebranded for a Dr Pepper outing.
• Reigning Iowa Corn 300 champion Ryan Hunter-Reay was not meant for a fourth win in America’s corn belt this weekend. After battling handling, the No. 28 suffered engine issues with 105 of 300 laps complete, ending the day early for the DHL team.

Alexander Rossi
No. 98 Castrol EDGE / Curb Honda

“Starting 17th made our life hard. I think we were unlucky in terms of the yellows when they came out because our strength today was in the second half of our tire life. We had really, really good tire life and everyone else was struggling. We were able to stay out but we were never able to take advantage of that. None-the-less a good result from where we started and we’re looking forward to Toronto.”

Carlos Muñoz
No. 26 Andretti Autosport Honda
“Man, that was the longest race of my career in IndyCar. We struggled a lot for grip – I didn’t have any confidence in the car. We were just chasing the car the whole race, changing and never could get the balance in the car. We have to now think about Toronto. This was a tough race for the whole team.”
Marco Andretti
No. 27 United Fiber & Data / Snapple Honda
“Another disappointing result. I had to come from the back and it was hard to pass. We gave it all we had. We took a risk on strategy, which of course didn’t pay off – so here we are with a 14th-place finish.”

Ryan Hunter-Reay
No. 28 DHL Honda
“It [the engine] just popped without warning but that was the least of our problems today. That was the most out of shape I think we have ever been. I’m not really sure. We’re going to have to look at it. I couldn’t get out on my own way out there on a track that I absolutely love and that this team has historically been so good at. It just goes to show you that you can never get ahead of yourself. You always have to keep working. You always have to find a way to be faster. We came here for a test and it was a pretty productive test and had some hard times there but wow this was really bad today. It was something I just couldn’t find a solution to. We tried some significant changes. Not huge but significant ones trying to settle the rear. My big problem was I could not get around a car at all. If I got around a car it felt like I lost two thousand pounds of downforce. On mid to late tires I was just skating around on top of the track like I had no wings on the car. It was amazing. I had never felt anything like that.”