Honda Racing Talking Points for Iowa Speedway

Iowa Speedway 300
Race 1: 8:30 p.m. Friday, July 17
Race 2: 8:30 p.m. Saturday, July 18
Race Broadcast on NBC Sports Network and IndyCar Radio Network
Practice, Qualifying on NBCSN and NBC Sports Gold

HONDA AT IOWA SPEEDWAY
• The NTT INDYCAR SERIES wraps up a hectic run of five races over a 15-day period this Friday and Saturday at Iowa Speedway with a second consecutive doubleheader race weekend. With a lap distance of just 0.89 miles, the banked Iowa track is the shortest circuit on the 2020 schedule.

• Honda drivers have scored eight wins in 13 previous races at Iowa Speedway.

• Honda’s most recent Iowa Speedway victory came in 2018, when James Hinchcliffe came from mid-field to dominate the final 50 laps and score Honda’s sixth (of an eventual 11) 2018 race wins. The win also marked the sixth career IndyCar Series victory for Hinchcliffe.

• In 2015, Honda’s Ryan Hunter-Reay won for the second consecutive year, successfully battling Josef Newgarden as the pair repeated its 1-2 finish from the previous season.

• As the engine supplier to the IndyCar Series from 2006-2011, Honda powered the winner of the first five races at Iowa Speedway, beginning with Dario Franchitti at the inaugural 2007 event. Franchitti won again in 2009.

• Other Honda-powered race winners at Iowa include Dan Wheldon (2008), Tony Kanaan (2010) and Marco Andretti (2011).

MANUFACTURER COMPETITION
• On the strength of four consecutive race wins to open the season, Honda has a 92-point lead in the 2020 NTT INDYCAR SERIES Manufacturers’ Championship, with 362 points to 270 for Chevrolet.

• The 2020 season marks the ninth season of manufacturer competition in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, following six years of Honda serving as single engine supplier from 2006-11.

• Honda is undefeated in four races to date this season, with Scott Dixon winning the first three races: at Texas Motor Speedway, the road course at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Saturday’s race in the doubleheader weekend at Road America. Dixon now has 49 career Indy car victories as the veteran Chip Ganassi Racing driver seeks his sixth championship.
• Dixon’s teammate Felix Rosenqvist won last Sunday’s “closer” in the Road America weekend to score his first Indy car victory and extend the winning streak for Honda and Chip Ganassi Racing.

• Dixon currently holds a 54-point lead in the Drivers’ Championship, with 173 points to 119 for fellow Honda driver Colton Herta, in second.

• Other Honda drivers in the top-10 include Marcus Ericsson, sixth; Rosenqvist in eighth; Graham Rahal in ninth and Santino Ferrucci in 10th.

• Honda’s Indy car win total of 249 in 26 years of North American open-wheel racing – including 12 Indianapolis 500 victories since 2004 – is unmatched by any other manufacturer in the same period.

• Eleven wins from 17 races in 2018 brought Honda the company’s seventh IndyCar Manufacturers’ Championship, highlighted by a 1-2 finish in the Drivers’ Championship for Honda-powered Scott Dixon and Alexander Rossi. Another eight victories for Honda highlighted the company’s second consecutive manufacturers’ title, and eighth overall, in 2019.

WHERE TO WATCH
• Television coverage from Iowa Speedway on the NBC Gold App begins with the opening practice Saturday at 2 p.m. EDT, and continues through all practice and qualifying sessions of the race weekend.

• Live race coverage of the Iowa Speedway doubleheader can be viewed on the NBC Sports Network at 8:30 p.m. EDT both Friday and Saturday. Additional coverage can be found on the INDYCAR Radio Network, with live timing and scoring information available at INDYCAR.com.

• Complete, flag-to-flag race coverage also will be available on the NBC Sports App with NBCSN authentication.

• Honda Racing social media content and videos from Iowa Speedway will be available on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/HondaRacingHPD) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/HondaRacing_HPD). Produced by the CoForce Digital Media, YouTube video packages can be found at: https://www.youtube.com/HondaRacingHPDTV.