Palou Secures 7th Win, O’Ward Takes Iowa Opener in IndyCar Doubleheader

Mexican driver Pato O’Ward opened the Iowa Speedway doubleheader with a hard-fought victory on Saturday, outpacing Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden over 275 laps on the 0.894-mile oval. The Arrow McLaren driver, competing in his 100th IndyCar start, registered his eighth career win and first of the 2025 season, lifting him to second in the series standings behind Alex Palou. Palou, the three-time champion and current points leader, answered a day later by winning Sunday’s return race—his maiden triumph on a short oval and seventh victory of the year. The Chip Ganassi Racing driver is now three wins short of IndyCar’s single-season record. Dale Coyne Racing’s Marcus Armstrong finished second, with six-time champion Scott Dixon third, while O’Ward salvaged a fifth place to round out the weekend. Both races were punctuated by cautions, including separate crashes for Sting Ray Robb and Marcus Ericsson in Sunday’s event that reshuffled strategies and allowed Palou to maintain track position after a late pit stop. Newgarden briefly challenged for the lead again before stalling during his final stop and slipping to ninth. The series moves next to Mid-Ohio, where Palou’s margin at the top now faces renewed pressure from an in-form O’Ward.