The first race at Iowa Speedway did not disappoint as Josef Newgarden held off Pato O’Ward to win the hyveedeals.com 250. This is also his fourth win of the season, but he still is behind Marcus Ericsson in the championship fight. He led 208 laps.

“I was surprised how hard these guys were pushing the restarts,” Newgarden said at the finish. “I was disappointed after qualifying, but I knew we had a car today that could win this race.”

“They’ve delivered this year on all accounts,” Newgarden said of Chevy. “You know, this was a long-game day. I was disappointed after qualifying [P2]; I just hate losing. I felt like we had enough to get the job done; it did motivate me. I knew we had a car here today to win this race, and in front of this great crowd — unbelievable job that Hy-Vee has done all weekend. So to be able to win here again. It’s always very special.”

Jimmie Johnson had a day of highs and lows, spinning out, but not hitting the wall, early in the race, but quickly moved his way up into 5th. It was looking good for Johnson, being able to stretch his tyres out twenty more laps than the leaders. The caution near the end kind of screwed him though, as everyon went into “trying to win” mode, he ended up in 11th place.

McLaren driver Pato O’Ward had a relatively quiet race, but found himself running in P2, but Newgarden was able to manage traffic better, so that’s where he finished.

“I knew they were playing games on the restarts, but then I found a way to do things and not lose ground,” O’Ward said. “It’s all about having a good race car here.”

The next Iowa race is tomorrow at 3:30 ET