NEWTON, Iowa  – Simon Pagenaud has been setting the standard in the Verizon IndyCar Series this season and he helped take Team Penske to another level today.

Simon Pagenaud starts preparing for his qualification attempt for the Iowa Corn 300 at Iowa Speedway — Photo by: Chris Owens

Pagenaud, a three-time winner in 2016 and the championship leader after nine of 16 completed races, won the Verizon P1 Award for the Iowa Corn 300, earning the 500th pole position in all racing disciplines in the illustrious history of Team Penske in the process. The driver of the No. 22 Menards Team Penske Chevrolet circled the 0.894-mile Iowa Speedway oval twice at 185.855 mph (34.6334 seconds) to capture his fifth pole position this season, seventh of his Indy car career and coveted No. 500 for boss Roger Penske.

CLICK HERE: Iowa Corn 300 qualifying results

“Five hundred, how cool is that?” the 32-year-old Frenchman asked while wearing a cap with “500” embroidered across the front. “It is just qualifying – we have a lot of work to do this weekend – but it certainly puts a great stamp on the work the No. 22 team has been doing as well as the whole Penske organization.”

All four Team Penske drivers qualified in succession following the blind draw for the order. Pagenaud benefited from being the last of the Penske quartet to make his attempt, receiving information relayed from his teammates about track and car handling conditions.

Simon Pagenaud adjusts his balaclava along pit lane prior to the final practice for the Iowa Corn 300 at Iowa Speedway — Photo by: Shawn Gritzmacher

“It is such a gamble for the engineers in this situation,” he said. “You only get two laps. Conditions from this morning to the afternoon changed. It is fun when you get the car right like this on an oval.

“Chevy has been incredible giving us so much power and such a good aero kit. It’s been comfortable and a lot more to my driving style.”

Pagenaud led a Chevrolet sweep of the top eight qualifying positions. Josef Newgarden, in the No. 21 Fuzzy’s Ultra Premium Vodka/ECR Chevrolet, was second fastest with a two-lap average of 185.639 mph (34.6738 seconds). Newgarden is four weeks removed from sustaining a fractured right clavicle and bone in his right hand in a crash during the Firestone 600 at Texas Motor Speedway that was suspended by rain after 71 laps.

“It’s always tough when you qualify second, you think, ‘Arrrgh!'” said Newgarden, who has finished second in the past two Iowa races. “It’s just really hard to qualify second. You almost wish you qualified fifth or something. That sounds really stupid, but it’s always tough.

“We needed that last little bit, but it’s nothing to complain about. I think we have fast cars. We’ve had fast cars here for the last couple years with Ed Carpenter Racing and I feel really good about our race car.”

Helio Castroneves qualified third in the No. 3 Hitachi Team Penske Chevrolet (185.433 mph, 34.7122 seconds) and will be joined in Row 2 by rookie Max Chilton, who qualified a career-best fourth. Chilton’s two-lap average speed was 185.419 mph (34.7148 seconds) in the No. 8 Gallagher Chip Ganassi Racing Chevy.

“Great job by the Ganassi guys,” said Chilton, who won the 2015 Indy Lights race at Iowa. “It was nice to be the fastest (of the four Ganassi drivers), no easy feat. Really happy with that and tomorrow is what counts. I hear no one’s won from pole here, so I’m obviously in the right sort of area to have a good result.”

Defending race winner Ryan Hunter-Reay, who has won three of the past four Iowa races, was uninjured in a morning practice crash in which his Andretti Autosport No. 28 DHL Honda sustained minor rear-end damage. He qualified 20th in the 22-car field. The Andretti team, which has won six straight Iowa Speedway races and seven of the nine to date, struggled as a whole, with Carlos Munoz qualifying 15th, Indianapolis 500 winner Alexander Rossi 17th and Marco Andretti 19th.

INDYCAR, Iowa Speedway announce extension through 2018

INDYCAR and Iowa Speedway announced a two-year extension today that will see the Verizon IndyCar Series return to the 0.894-mile oval through the 2018 season. The race dates for the next two Iowa Corn 300 races, both on Sundays, are July 9, 2017, and July 8, 2018.

The Verizon IndyCar Series has raced at Iowa Speedway each year since the facility hosted its first event in 2007, with this year marking the series’ 10th race. Iowa Corn has been a sponsor of the event since its inception, making it the second-longest entitlement sponsorship in INDYCAR.

“The success of our partnership with INDYCAR is a testament to our partnership with Iowa Corn and our loyal race fans in Iowa,” said Jimmy Small, Iowa Speedway president. “The Iowa Corn 300 has become a bucket-list item for race fans and we’re thrilled to make the announcement now so our fans can start planning ahead for the next two epic seven-eighths-mile showdowns.

“We love everything that the Iowa Corn 300 has grown into and I’m proud to have them on board for two more years.”

The Iowa race has become an anchor of the Verizon IndyCar Series’ mid-season schedule, settling into its July date the past three years. Jay Frye, INDYCAR president of competition and operations, noted the stability of the “Fastest Short Track on the Planet” as important to the overall schedule’s continuity.

“Iowa Speedway has become a staple of the Verizon IndyCar Series schedule and we’re happy to confirm we’ll be returning here in 2017 and 2018,” Frye said. “The level of competition at this track is incredible and showcases some of the best Indy car racing you’ll see all year.

“We’re thankful for the continued support from Iowa Corn and Iowa Speedway track president Jimmy Small. Both of their teams have been instrumental in making this such a strong event.”

In a historic early offering, Iowa Speedway season-ticket holders will have the opportunity to renew beginning July 29-30, ahead of when season tickets go on sale Aug. 2 at the track box office and on IowaSpeedway.com.

Announcement of the 2017 Iowa race brings the number of dates that have been confirmed for next season to seven. Previously announced 2017 races are St. Petersburg (March 12), Long Beach (April 9), the 101st Indianapolis 500 (May 28), the doubleheader weekend at Detroit’s Belle Isle (June 3-4) and Road America (June 25).

Lightz wheel hub LED system to debut in Sunday’s race

Lightz, a revolutionary advertising display system located in the wheel hubs of an Indy car, will debut in race conditions during Sunday’s Iowa Corn 300 on the No. 11 Team Hydroxycut-KVSH Racing Chevrolet driven by Sebastien Bourdais.

Lightz technology, using light-emitting diode (LED) displays, illuminates sponsor logos and real-time race information within the wheel hubs. It also contains the ability to be updated remotely throughout the race.

Speed of Light Media, which developed the technology, tested its capabilities on Bourdais’ car during practice for the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama at Barber Motorsports Park in April, but Sunday’s application will be its first race use.

“This technology is truly a game-changer in racing advertising,” said Guy Margetson, Speed of Light Media founder. “Images can be pre-programmed and even changed during the race. The display is triggered automatically when the car is in motion. Illumination is bright, static and remains upright regardless of speed, resulting in highly visible advertising to both trackside and TV spectators.

“Motorsport media is ideal for product launches and brand awareness campaigns because it is targeted and measurable.”

The technology was developed in conjunction with Verizon IndyCar Series and Formula One teams. Sunday’s race launch at the Iowa Corn 300 follows months of extensive testing. Sponsors Firestone and Cosworth will be displayed on Bourdais’ car.

Speed of Light’s long-term goal is to supply the entire field so that each entry can run individualized sponsorship messages. The capability also exists to display competition information messages directly from INDYCAR.

Veach rides to rescue for children’s hospital visit

Zach Veach, driver in Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires, is a veteran of children’s hospital visits organized by Racing For Kids, so the 21-year-old Ohioan knows how important they are. When the Belardi Auto Racing driver learned that the annual stop by Blank Children’s Hospital in Des Moines was in jeopardy due to changing schedules of other drivers slated to attend, Veach didn’t hesitate to volunteer.

Veach made the nearly 500-mile drive from Indianapolis earlier than planned Friday so he could spend time with the young patients at the hospital – many facing painful medical procedures. Blank Children’s Hospital has been a regular stop for Racing For Kids since INDYCAR began racing at Iowa Speedway in 2007.

“Zach did an awesome job,” said Lori De Vries, child life specialist at Blank. “He did a great job of talking to the patients and answering all of their questions about racing and how fast he went. They really enjoyed his visit and learning about Indy racing.”

What They’re Saying at the Iowa Corn 300

JUAN PABLO MONTOYA (No. 2 DeVilbiss Team Penske Chevrolet): “During qualifying there was too much understeer in the car and we were a little bit loose, but it’s okay. We did a lot of work today and we prepared really well for the race. So, we feel pretty confident. The DeVilbiss Chevy should do well in tomorrow’s race.”

HELIO CASTRONEVES (No. 3 Hitachi Team Penske Chevrolet): “The Hitachi Chevrolet is really good. We’re talking about a few hundredths of a second and when you have incredible teammates and we’re all going out right in a row, whoever goes last is probably going to get the best end of it. Simon did a good job. The 500th pole for Team Penske. I’m proud to be part of this team. I’m happy for him getting the pole position. Now tomorrow I’m going to go for the race win.”

JAMES HINCHCLIFFE (No. 5 Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda): “It was definitely a less-than-ideal day at the office in the Arrow Electronics car. We had some sort of issue in qualifying and I’m not entirely sure what caused it but for the gap in pace that we saw, there’s definitely a major issue. We’ll take a look at it and try to diagnose the problem. It’s just unfortunate to start from the back here, especially during a day race, and another bad pit selection for my home race in Toronto. With that said, we can bounce back, it’s something we’ve done before. It’s just going to be about being smart tomorrow and staying out of trouble.”

MIKHAEL ALESHIN (No. 7 SMP Racing Schmidt Peterson Honda): “I think we had a decent qualifying run and I’m happy to be the fastest Honda. Top ten is a good position to start tomorrow in the SMP Racing car and the race is very long. It’s going to be very difficult and it’s hard to say what to expect but I think we’ll be okay.”

MAX CHILTON (No. 8 Gallagher Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet): “The Gallagher car was really strong today. It was loose, probably too loose, but when I qualified here last year on the pole in Indy Lights I was too loose. I think that’s the just the way it is around here. You have to be on the limit, especially in qualifying. I think in the race you need a car that you’re confident with, but in qualifying you just have to go for it.”

SCOTT DIXON (No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet): “Going to the green flag lap I had a bit of a moment and nearly lost it. I had to downshift and that really hurt our momentum. I was a little bit timid after that, but we have a good Target car and will be ready for the race come tomorrow here at Iowa.”

TONY KANAAN (No. 10 NTT Data Chevrolet): “It’s safe to say that I left everything I had out on the track for that qualifying run. The car felt really loose and honestly it felt like I was close to crashing a few times, but we’ll take a sixth-place starting spot for the race tomorrow. This track really suits me and I came from much further back when I won here in 2010. The No. 10 NTT DATA Chevrolet’s race setup is really strong and I’m feeling confident in the race car.”

SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS (No. 11 Team Hydroxycut – KVSH Racing Chevrolet): “We were too optimistic with the downforce level given the track conditions with the track temp going up. I was sliding all over the place. The balance was good on the Hydroxycut Chevy machine. I just had no grip. We trimmed a little more than where we were this morning, we went for it, but it was not a smart move. It is what it is.”

WILL POWER (No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet): “For qualifying, we wanted to be a little conservative and the goal was to just be up in the front.  We didn’t qualify quite where we would have liked.  The track can be quite slippery here and that can have an effect. But I’m feeling good about the Verizon Chevy and we’ll just work on what we need for tomorrow’s race to finish out strong.”

TAKUMA SATO (No. 14 ABC Supply AJ Foyt Racing Honda): “Iowa qualifying is always exciting especially the bumps in Turn 3. We didn’t have a good practice session today but the testing we had last week helped us to understand where the car needs to be for qualifying. At the time when I had attacked we were fifth out-it felt pretty good. I was happy with the balance and the speed and it all looked pretty strong at the time. In the end, the field is pretty tight and I’m not super happy with our position but we have a better car in race trim so we’ll see in the final warmup.”

GRAHAM RAHAL (No. 15 Mi-Jack/RLL Honda): “This Mi-Jack team is going to continue to work hard. We wanted to be the fastest Honda but ended up second fastest. For whatever reason we struggled in a little in Turns 3 and 4 but overall that was a decent qualifying run. We got a little conservative maybe on downforce. I told our guys that I thought if we were a little more trim (on aerodynamic setup) and the balance was right, we could go quicker. We didn’t have a good practice this morning and didn’t get a good read on our qualifying simulation. It’s hard as a single car team; we’re kind of guessing. Race day is a whole different animal. We’re going to do our best to get this car to the front.”

CONOR DALY (No. 18 Jonathan Byrd’s Hospitality Honda): “For us we were just taking a big swing at it to be honest. We had a lot of downforce in practice but for qualifying we trimmed it out. We definitely took a chance. I think we were a little bit forward on the front grip so it was a little sketchy on the way in which was keeping us from being flat. That said, overall I think we’re much better than when we tested here and that was our goal in the end.”

GABBY CHAVES (No. 19 Boy Scouts of America Honda): “I think we had a really good balance at the end of our run in practice. Obviously, we had a little too much drag on the car so we took that off for qualifying and the balance was a little different and I think that’s what kept us from being higher up. We had pretty good pace, if we were just able to keep the car flat all around the lap, I think we would have been right up there with the fastest of Hondas. That’s how we learn I guess. It’s definitely encouraging for tomorrow. We took some big steps here.”

ED CARPENTER (No. 20 Fuzzy’s Vodka Chevrolet): “I’m a little disappointed, to be honest! I thought we were going to be a little bit better than that. We had a little too much balance in there. I was hoping for a top-five starting spot, but we’ve just had a rough year. We had a great car this morning in our long runs, which is really good. I just came out here thinking we were going to be a little better than 7th.”

JOSEF NEWGARDEN (No. 21 Fuzzy’s Ultra Premium Vodka/ECR Chevrolet): “You always wish you had a little more when you’re sitting second! That’s the beauty of hindsight. We did everything we could with our information. It was tough because I didn’t get to test, but J.R.(Hildebrand) did such a great job for us last week at the test. He got the car in an awesome place, we just missed it by a whisker there. We have a great racecar and we really have an opportunity to make something happen. We’ve had two good races here over the past couple of years, I think we’ve got another shot to get a win this time.”

SIMON PAGENAUD (No. 22 Menards Team Penske Chevrolet): “That’s pretty cool isn’t it. 500 [poles for Penske Racing]- how cool is that.  It is just qualifying and we still have a lot of work to do this weekend but it certainly is a great stamp on the work the No. 22 team has been doing, as well as the whole Penske organization. We work, all four of us together, with Helio (Castroneves), Juan (Pablo Montoya) and Will (Power) makes it really nice to go to work in the morning. We manage to make the car better together and it shows on the race track.  Super proud of everyone with the Menards team. It is fantastic to accomplish success this year. But again, this is qualifying and the big prize is tomorrow when the points come. It is such a gamble for the engineers in this situation. You only get two laps. Conditions from this morning to the afternoon changed. It is fun. When you get the car right like this on an oval. This Menards car is beautiful. It has been super close all weekend. Super proud of the No. 22 team. Chevy has been incredible giving us so much power and such a good aero kit it’s been comfortable and a lot more to my driving style. The biggest statement we want to show is we are strong on ovals as well and want to win. I’m super happy about that. I’m super happy we can show some speed. We were fast at Indy as well, but a mechanical took us out of that.  It’s great to be here. It is great to show so much strength. I’m the lucky one who got to win the 500th pole for Team Penske; a Frenchman and on an oval.”

CARLOS MUNOZ (No. 26 Andretti Autosport Honda): “That was a really hard qualifying for sure. We’re missing a little bit of balance in general. We have to work hard tonight. That wasn’t the qualifying we were hoping for. We were hoping for a little bit better. You know, last year we started similar to this place and we finished fifth, so we will see where it goes tomorrow.”

MARCO ANDRETTI (No. 27 Snapple Honda): “I think if I would’ve turned down in the bumps in (Turns) 3 and 4 during qualifying, it would’ve been a repeat of this morning (when the No. 27 car spun). We can’t get a handle on the back end right now, we’re just so loose. It has definitely been a trying few days here – both the test and today.”

RYAN HUNTER-REAY (No. 28 DHL Honda): “This morning we were doing a simulation run for qualifying, and had a car come out in front of me in the middle of the corner. I just lost it, the rear end came around and we couldn’t keep it off the wall. Luckily the DHL crew got us back out before the end of the session, but we lost a little time. We were hoping for more in qualifying. The car just got loose on me out there, a big push, everything. I was doing everything I could to keep off the wall. It’s something we just have to keep working hard at.”

JACK HAWKSWORTH (No. 41 ABC Supply AJ Foyt Racing Honda): “Interesting qualifying. I thought we were ok this afternoon compared to this morning when we were a bit weak in qualifying trim. They changed some bits and pieces and it was where we were at the test in terms of feeling which I liked. We had too much understeer in the car and too much scrub in our run, which probably hurt us a little bit but the good thing is we got the feeling back with the rear which I had at the test. Hopefully we can put that into the race car and do some more work tonight.”

CHARLIE KIMBALL (No. 83 Tresiba Chevrolet): “It was reasonably slippery out there. I was surprised at how low grip it actually was, but the No. 83 Tresiba Chevrolet felt pretty good regardless. The first couple of laps it was pretty free and I was sliding a lot, but I made some adjustments to my tools and took a really big swing at it and had to pedal it a bit. The Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing guys started this morning with a good car after learning a lot from Max after his test here last week and Scott’s tire test early in the year. I haven’t seen this place since last year, but it’s probably a good thing with how the bumps have changed. We’re happy with the fifth-place starting spot and ready to do some work on the race car in tonight’s practice.”

ALEXANDER ROSSI (No. 98 Castrol Edge/Curb Honda): “That was tough. The track warmed up quite a bit from practice where I was happy with the car and that penalized us. We need to go back and make sure that’s the reason because tomorrow afternoon will be just as hot. We have some thinking to do.”

Story and photos provided courtesy of the Verizon IndyCar Series