Myles Rowe Makes History with First INDY NXT Win at Iowa
"We've been working, a minute, for this," Rowe told Fox Sports. "We knew we had the pace it was just about waiting until the last lap of the race and seeing that we could do it. I'm so ecstatic, it's really good. Abel Motorsports, they work so hard, my family, my support system, is amazing. I finally did it for them, we don't stop here, we're looking for a lot more than this."
Rowe's second year in INDY NXT is make or break as the sophomore driver looks to impress the IndyCar teams and find a seat in this upcoming silly season or the next. Rowe joined INDY NXT following his 2023 championship-winning season in the USF Pro 2000, becoming the first Black driver to win in an IndyCar-sanctioned event in 2021, and following it up with the championship in his third year.
With qualifying cancelled Friday, as the track was placed under a tornado warning, Rowe started fourth and played the waiting game. With Iowa's repave, the track is flat and the inside line is highly favored, with drivers only going high in passing attempts and to deal with traffic. Rowe waited until Hauger was stuck behind a lapped car and used his oval experience to make the pass coming to the start/finish line with 13 laps to go. He would lead the remaining laps.
"I knew that with the nature of the track being basically flat, especially starting on new tires, passing at the beginning wasn't going to be realistic, trying to wrap it around the outside," Rowe told Fox Sports Georgia Henneberry. "I knew I would have to come to traffic and be a little bit strategic and patient."
Hauger settled for second in just his second oval race of his career, coming to Indy NXT for his rookie season from the European Formula ladder. Hauger has been the runaway star of the Indy NXT season with five wins, but the learning curve is steep on ovals. Hanging on to second showed a better understanding at Iowa than in St. Louis at WWT Raceway last month, where Hauger faded from pole to fifth.
Hauger's Andretti teammate Salvador De Alba took the final spot on the podium after starting sixth. This is De Alba's first career podium in the series.
You Might Also Like
You Need a Torque Wrench in Your Toolbox
Tested: Best Car Interior Cleaners
The Man Who Signs Every Car
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
8 minutes ago
- USA Today
ESPN NFL survey is latest illustration that Iowa football is TEU
Many others have tried to claim the title, yet few have the evidence and data backing it that the Iowa Hawkeyes do. That title is the one and only "Tight End U," and it belongs to the Hawkeyes with their pipeline of tight ends making the jump to the NFL. The flow of tight ends to wear black and gold only to find success at the next level is as good as it has ever been right now, and the proof comes from a recent NFL survey, which saw Iowa dominate tight end rankings. In a survey from ESPN that polled NFL executives, coaches, and scouts, three former Iowa tight ends appear on the list for the top 10 tight ends in the league. Coming in at No. 2 on the list is one of Iowa's favorite sons, George Kittle. The San Francisco 49ers star tight end has proven that he has both the ability to block and catch, plus the longevity factor of continuing his high level of play for so long. Kittle is aging well. He's coming off back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons with a combined 14 touchdowns during that two-year span. Fifty of his 78 catches last season went for a first down. His premier blocking remains unmatched, and he's still tough to bring down, leading all tight ends with 14.2 yards per catch. Kittle and quarterback Brock Purdy signed massive contract extensions in tandem this offseason, so they have several years to build upon their chemistry. Kittle caught 83% of Purdy's targets last year. "He's shown that when he's healthy he's the most complete player at the position," an AFC scout said. "Durability is the only thing that's really affected that. He embodies San Francisco's culture and that's why they keep paying him." - Jeremy Fowler, ESPN Right on Kittle's heels is a younger tight end talent who has taken over the league and continues to take defenses by storm. At No. 3 of the best tight ends in the NFL is the Detroit Lions' budding star, Sam LaPorta. After bursting onto the scene in his rookie year, his sophomore NFL season saw some bumps that slowed him down but showed no signs of having a lasting effect on his output and production. LaPorta's production dipped in Year 2, when he finished with 60 catches for 726 yards and seven scores. He fought through a knee issue -- a hyperextension and bone bruise -- that slowed momentum. But he's every bit as valuable as he was in 2023, and Detroit had several additional playmakers for whom to find targets. LaPorta is considered a complete tight end with elite feet, niftiness in the red zone and strength to compete every play. "[Lack of production is] not really a factor because Detroit has so many players they need to get the ball to," an NFC executive said. "He's a stud. Will be a cornerstone player for a long time." - Jeremy Fowler, ESPN Rounding out the trio of Hawkeye tight ends dominating in the NFL is the Minnesota Vikings' star tight end T.J. Hockenson. After recovering from injuries, Hockenson has responded without missing a beat. He gained more confidence last year, and it showed with his production down the stretch. Hockenson's status within the Vikings' offense was growing before a torn ACL and MCL suffered on a late hit in Week 16 of 2023 stalled that progress. Up to that point, Hockenson's 95 receptions were the 18th most in NFL history among tight ends. Returning close to midseason last year, Hockenson still produced three games of at least 68 yards from November to December. But, overall, he wasn't quite at full tilt. "He was OK -- didn't appear to trust the knee, especially in blocking, which is common for that injury," an NFL coordinator said. "But I expect him to have a strong year. He will trust it more a year removed and that offense is set up nicely for him. And he's got such a good feel for the game that he'll find ways to get catches." - Jeremy Fowler, ESPN With Iowa owning the tight end position in the NFL, they are the standalone owners of "TEU" with their proven successes. Up next, Addison Ostrenga gets his chance to be the main tight end for the Hawkeyes in an offense that should see some more wrinkles and targets with new QB Mark Gronowski and second-year offensive coordinator Tim Lester. Contact/Follow us @HawkeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Iowa news, notes and opinions. Follow Riley on X: @rileydonald7
Bloomberg
28 minutes ago
- Bloomberg
GM Presses Ahead With New Battery Investment as EV Market Slumps
General Motors Co. and LG Energy Solution plan to add more battery production lines at their joint venture plant in Tennessee to make lower-cost cells starting in late 2027, the companies said in a statement Monday. The amount of the investment was not disclosed. The Ultium Cells LLC plant in Spring Hill, Tennessee, will begin to make lower-cost lithium iron phosphate batteries, or LFP, in addition to more-expensive and longer-range nickel-based batteries. The new LFP batteries will enable GM to make more lower-priced electric vehicles.
New York Times
30 minutes ago
- New York Times
How Joao Pedro's clever movement set Palmer free and helped Chelsea beat PSG
From enjoying his holidays to being put straight into the action, Joao Pedro has instantly made his impact. After joining Chelsea this month, the Brazil forward played an important role in their triumph at the Club World Cup. His two goals in the semi-final against Fluminense set up a clash against Paris Saint-Germain in the final, where the 23-year-old scored another goal in Chelsea's 3-0 victory against the Champions League winners. Advertisement Yet, it wasn't only about what Joao Pedro did on the ball, but what he did off it, too. Spearheading Chelsea's 3-2-4-1 shape when in possession, the Joao Pedro's positioning and movement constantly caused problems for PSG's defence in the first half. He knew which spaces to attack and perfectly timed his runs to have an advantage against PSG's centre-backs. Here, he is initially behind Lucas Beraldo as Robert Sanchez chips the ball to Marc Cucurella down the left side. When Chelsea's left-back plays the ball to Enzo Fernandez, Joao Pedro takes a couple of steps forward to be in a position to either link the play or attack the gap between Beraldo and Marquinhos. This movement readies him for the pass when Fernandez plays the ball into the space between PSG's centre-backs. In another example, he is near the penalty spot as Pedro Neto and Fernandez are combining down the left side. When Neto plays the ball to Fernandez, Joao Pedro takes a couple of steps towards the space behind Marquinhos to present himself as a passing option. Fernandez finds him and the forward immediately backheels the ball to Cole Palmer, whose shot narrowly misses the target. Joao Pedro's smart positioning and off-ball movement were vital to Chelsea's plan, which focused on attacking PSG's left side. 'They have three midfielders: two of them were in charge of Reece James and Moises Caicedo, and Vitinha was in charge of Enzo Fernandez,' said head coach Enzo Maresca in his post-match press conference. 'Analysing them, we saw that was a good opportunity to exploit that space, and we used Cole Palmer and Malo Gusto on that side to create a bit of an overload.' While Palmer and Gusto tried to outnumber PSG's left-back, Nuno Mendes, Joao Pedro made sure he occupied the left centre-back, Beraldo, to prevent him from supporting his team-mate. Joao Pedro constantly positioned himself on Beraldo's right side when Chelsea were attacking the right wing. This way, he is attacking the space away from the ball, which forces Beraldo to be in a more central area and isolates Gusto against Mendes. It was a similar situation in the lead-up to Chelsea's opener. Here, Joao Pedro is initially positioned towards Beraldo's left side as Cucurella plays the ball back to Robert Sanchez… … but he adjusts his position to pin PSG's left centre-back and isolate Mendes against Gusto when Chelsea's goalkeeper plays the ball. Mendes fails to properly head the long ball and Gusto recovers it, before the right-back's effort on target is blocked, and the attack ends with Palmer slotting the ball into the bottom corner. For the third goal, Joao Pedro was the beneficiary of his own movement. First, he positions himself in front of Beraldo (out of shot) to prevent the centre-back from moving up towards Palmer as Trevoh Chalobah plays the ball to the England playmaker. Meanwhile, Gusto advances down the right wing to put Mendes in a one-versus-two situation, forcing PSG's left-back to defend him and leave Palmer free. Joao Pedro then moves towards Beraldo's blindside… … which allows him to attack the space behind the centre-back when Palmer threads the ball through PSG's defence. The Brazilian then completes the move by chipping Gianluigi Donnarumma and making it 3-0. 'We attacked more to the left side (of PSG) because Cole was there and he can decide the game like he did,' said Joao Pedro after the match. 'I tried to fix the left side of them, and in the end it happened and we won.' Joao Pedro's fingerprints were all over Chelsea's goals. The second was on an attacking transition where the Brazilian's off-ball run created space for Palmer to attack. In this example, Palmer is facing Vitinha with Beraldo in support. Behind him, Joao Pedro is dashing forward to offer a passing option… … and his run forces Vitinha and Beraldo to react, creating a bigger space for Palmer to dribble into… … and the England midfielder can curl the ball into the bottom corner. Considering Joao Pedro has had limited training time with the squad, his understanding of what he needs to do in and out of possession has been impressive. After winning the Club World Cup, Chelsea fans will be hoping he puts in similar performances in the coming season.
