FRIDAY, JULY 21 – SUNDAY, JULY 23, 2023

TRACK: Iowa Speedway
LOCATION: Newton, Iowa, USA
TRACK LAYOUT: .875-mile tri-oval
PRACTICE: Friday – 3:30-5 p.m. CT (Peacock Premium)
QUALIFYING: Saturday – 8:30-9:30 a.m. CT (Peacock Premium)

RACE 1: Saturday, July 22
RACE LENGTH: 250 laps / 223.5 miles
BROADCAST: 2 p.m. CT (NBC)

RACE 2: Sunday, July 23
RACE LENGTH: 250 laps / 223.5 miles
BROADCAST: 1 p.m. CT (NBC)

RYAN HUNTER-REAY, NO. 20 BITNILE.COM CHEVROLET

RYAN HUNTER-REAY, No. 20 BITNILE.COM Chevrolet: “Iowa Speedway has always been one of my favorite races on the schedule, I just love short track racing! We had a very productive test here a few weeks ago. With that said, this track is very challenging and can be extremely difficult to nail a balanced setup over a long run on tires. It seems its always changing year to year.”

OF NOTE: 

• Ryan Hunter-Reay returns to Iowa Speedway this weekend as not only one of the most experienced drivers in the field, but one of the most accomplished. Hunter-Reay competed in every NTT INDYCAR SERIES race at the track from 2008-2020 for a total of 14 starts. Not only did he earn a podium finish five times in six years, he won three races in four years. In a recent test at Iowa Speedway that featured 20 cars, Hunter-Reay set the second-fastest lap of the day.

• Hunter-Reay joined Ed Carpenter Racing as driver of the No. 20 BITNILE.COM Chevrolet prior to the Road America event last month. Hunter-Reay, recognized as one of the most successful American open wheel racing drivers, has brought a wealth of knowledge to the team with an INDYCAR career that spans two decades. 

• The Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based driver is an NTT INDYCAR SERIES Champion (2012) with 18 career wins, including a victory in the 2014 Indianapolis 500. Hunter-Reay also has multiple overall IMSA sportscar wins, the 12 Hours of Sebring and Petit Le Mans among them, has been invited to the Race of Champions five times and has won two ESPY ‘Driver of the Year’ awards (2013 and 2014). 

RINUS VEEKAY, NO. 21 BITNILE.COM CHEVROLET

RINUS VEEKAY, No. 21 BITNILE.COM Chevrolet: “Two races this weekend! That’s going to be very exciting. I’ve done well at Iowa Speedway in the past and had a pretty nice race there last year, 4th place. We can do very well, this is one of those tracks that will provide a lot of opportunities for us. The Hy-Vee INDYCAR Race Weekend is always so fun with the concerts and everything else going on in addition to our races, it’s going to be a nice couple of days!”

OF NOTE: 

• Rinus VeeKay has competed in two doubleheader weekends at Iowa Speedway to date, 2020 and 2022. He narrowly missed out on a podium finish in Race 1 last year, crossing the finish line side-by-side with another driver and ultimately placing 4th. Iowa Speedway is the site of VeeKay’s very first oval track experience. In 2017, while competing in USF2000, he finished 2nd in his oval debut.

• VeeKay has spent his entire NTT INDYCAR SERIES career with Ed Carpenter Racing and is the team’s longest-tenured full-time driver, now in his fourth season behind the wheel the No. 21 BITNILE.COM Chevrolet. Earlier this year, the 22-year-old made his 50th career start and qualified on the front row of the Indianapolis 500 for the third consecutive time.

• Born in Hoofddorp, Netherlands, Rinus van Kalmthout began karting in 2009 at the age of 8. With sights set firmly on the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, he transitioned to the Road to Indy in 2017 and launched his U.S. career driving as Rinus VeeKay. Just four years into his time in the United States, he not only reached the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, but earned 2020 Rookie of the Year honors. He became an NTT INDYCAR SERIES race winner in May of 2021 with a victory at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.

ED CARPENTER, NO. 33 BITNILE.COM CHEVROLET

ED CARPENTER, No. 33 BITNILE.COM Chevrolet: “I always get excited to race at Iowa Speedway. I actually enjoy the doubleheader format and Hy-Vee has done a great job with the whole event. We have been strong at Iowa in the past and had a good test there recently. It is an important event for us as a team to create strong results for all three BITNILE.COM Chevrolets.”

OF NOTE: 

• Ed Carpenter will reach a career milestone this weekend as he makes his 200th NTT INDYCAR SERIES start on Sunday. Carpenter made his debut at Chicagoland Speedway in 2003 and is now in the midst of his 21st season as an Indy car driver. He drives the No. 33 BITNILE.COM during the oval events, which total five this season. Earlier this year, he competed in his 20th Indianapolis 500.

•  Carpenter has led his own team since ECR was formed prior to the 2012 season and is the only active owner/driver in the field. Since 2014, he has focused exclusively on driving the oval events. The 42-year-old has 24 Top 10 finishes since starting his own team and has led at least one race for 14 of the past 15 seasons. In addition to the Indianapolis 500, Carpenter also competed at Texas Motor Speedway this year. The fifth and final oval race of 2023 will take place at WWT Raceway outside of St. Louis in late August. 

• With the exception of 2010, Carpenter has competed in every NTT INDYCAR SERIES race at Iowa Speedway since the series began racing there in 2007. This weekend’s doubleheader event will add to his tally of 16 starts at the .875-mile oval. He has finished in the Top 10 at Iowa five times while both an owner and a driver.