» IndyCars: 2013 Iowa Corn Indy 250 Preview

After running in some form every single weekend since Indy 500 qualifying on the 20th of May, the final stop in the post-Indy schedule marathon of consecutive events occurs this weekend with the Iowa Corn Indy 250 – Race 10 of the 2013 IZOD Indycar Series.

Date:	22-23 June 2013
Lap Length:	0.875 miles / 1.408km

Event Schedule:	Free Practice Session 1	Sat 10:45-12:00
	Qualifying	Sat 15:00-15:45
	Heat Races	Sat 17:45-19:15
	Race (250 laps, 218.75 miles)	Sun 14:05-16:00
Past IndyCar Winners:	Ryan Hunter-Reay (Andretti Autosport DW12 Chevrolet)	2012
	Marco Andretti (Andretti Autosport Dallara Honda)	2011
	Tony Kanaan (Andretti Autosport Dallara Honda)	2010
	Dario Franchitti (Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara Honda)	2009
	Dan Wheldon (Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara Honda)	2008
	Dario Franchitti (Andretti Green Racing Dallara Honda)	2007

Through Indy, two races in Detroit, then Texas and Milwaukee, it has been a gruelling succession of events for the teams and drivers. Based on the succession of results, it would probably be easier to predict the exact date and time of the second coming of Jesus than the winner this weekend.

Iowa is always a fun circuit to watch from a fan’s perspective but fun must be the furthest thing from the minds of the drivers. The oval is the shortest visited by the series this season at only .875 of a mile, or 1.4kms for those abiding by the metric system. A minimum of 10-degrees of banking runs from Turn 2 through the front-stretch and all the way to the back straight, and at less than 20 seconds per lap, it is an intense workout by anybody’s standards.

As if Andretti Autosports needed any further motivation at the moment, their record at this circuit in the six-year history of the Iowa Indy speaks for itself, with four wins taken by Andretti’s army of cars. Having four in the field – more than any other team – probably helps though.

Dale Coyne, KV Racing and AJ Foyt Enterprises are all experiencing a run of strong competitiveness at the moment also, pushing perennial front-runners Team Penske and Chip Ganassi Racing a little bit into the shade. Both teams have a combined tally of only one victory all season l-term fans, it’s an unfamiliar concept many are trying to understand and come to terms with. It will be interesting to see how competitive both are this weekend, as I’m sure Iowa is one trophy Roger Penske would love to claim, as he has never won here before in open-wheel racing.

Tune in for a very fast-paced event this weekend, kick back and enjoy.