Ericsson Leads Honda Effort at Iowa Speedway

July 24, 2023 by Honda

• Marcus Ericsson runs fourth for Honda in first round of NTT INDYCAR SERIES doubleheader race weekend at Iowa Speedway
• Scott Dixon runs sixth, Kyle Kirkwood seventh; while Alex Palou maintains large championship points lead with eighth-place finish
• Second 250-lap race set for Sunday

Marcus Ericsson continues to shine on the oval tracks of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, leading the way for Honda with a fourth-place finish today in the first 250-lap race of a doubleheader weekend at Iowa Speedway.

Ericsson's Chip Ganassi Racing teammate, Scott Dixon, recovered from handling issues early in the contest to finish sixth, just ahead of Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach race winner Kyle Kirkwood in his Andretti Autosport Honda.

Championship leader Alex Palou now holds a 98-point advantage over today's race winner Josef Newgarden with an eighth-place finish in his Chip Ganassi Racing Honda.

HY-VEE Homefront 250 Honda Race Results

•   4th Marcus Ericsson                 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
•   6th Scott Dixon                         Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
•   7th Kyle Kirkwood                    Andretti Autosport Honda
•   8th Alex Palou                          Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
•   9th Takuma Sato                      Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
• 11th Romain Grosjean                Andretti Autosport Honda
• 12th David Malukas                    Dale Coyne Racing with HMD Honda
• 14th Helio Castroneves              Meyer Shank Racing Honda
• 18th Jack Harvey                       Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda    
• 19th Colton Herta                       Andretti Autosport Honda
• 20th Christian Lundgaard            Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda   
• 21st Conor Daly                         Meyer Shank Racing Honda
• 22nd Devlin DeFrancesco           Andretti Autosport Honda
• 25th Sting Ray Robb-R               Dale Coyne Racing with RWR Honda
• 28th Graham Rahal                    Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda Did not finish – contact

R – Rookie

NTT INDYCAR SERIES Manufacturers' Championship (unofficial, after 11 of 17 rounds)

Honda                  915 points

Chevrolet             847 points

NTT INDYCAR SERIES Drivers' Championship Standings (unofficial, after 11 of 17 rounds)

1. Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing Honda                 442 points

2. Josef Newgarden, Team Penske                             -  98

3. Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing Honda                -114

4. Pato O'Ward, Arrow McLaren                                  -133

5. Marcus Ericsson, Chip Ganassi Racing Honda        -135

Quotes

Marcus Ericsson (#8 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda) finished fourth: 'This track is always so much fun. It feels like you're constantly either overtaking or running side-by-side with someone. When you have a good car, like I did in the #8 Huski Honda, it's fun. We had a strong day, starting 10th and finishing fourth.  That's a good day's work.'

Kyle Kirkwood (#27 Andretti Autosport Honda) finished seventh: 'We learned a lot today. It felt like we had really good pace at the end of each stint, which was very encouraging for us.  We ran a little bit different setup from our teammates, and I think we'll be able to build on that tomorrow based on our pace today.  Our third stint in particular, the #27 Honda was just on rails.  We need to take that, tune on it, and keep the car in that window tomorrow.'

Mark Crawford (Large Project Leader, Honda Performance Development) on today's race at Iowa Speedway: 'Today wasn't our day, but we've got tonight to review our data, work on our issues and hopefully come back stronger in tomorrow's race to run at the front.'

Fast Facts

• Honda continues to lead the 2023 NTT INDYCAR SERIES Manufacturers' Championship, with seven victories and nine poles in 11 races this season. Honda currently has an unofficial 68-point advantage (915-847) over rival Chevrolet. The company is seeking its fifth NTT INDYCAR SERIES Manufacturers' Championship in the last six years in 2023.
• The NTT INDYCAR SERIES completes a hectic run of five races over a six-week period this Saturday and Sunday at Iowa Speedway with a doubleheader race weekend, the only twin-race weekend on the 2023 NTT INDYCAR SERIES schedule. 

Next

The 2023 NTT INDYCAR SERIES remains at Iowa Speedway for Sunday's second round in the double-header HY-VEE race weekend. Coverages of the 250-lap HY-VEE One Step 250 starts on NBC tomorrow at 3 p.m. EDT.