After the Iowa Speedway was left off the schedule for the 2021 season, drivers are happy to be back in Newton.

The Hy-Vee IndyCar Race Weekend at Iowa Speedway commenced on Friday with both IndyCar and Indy Lights holding practice sessions.

Marcus Ericsson, IndyCar points leader, and 2022 Indianapolis 500 winner, said the event adds a lot to the IndyCar calendar and he’s excited that it’s a double-header this year.

“I love coming back here,” he said. “I think it’s a really fun race. It’s quite a unique event on the calendar.”

Ericsson said the fact that Iowa is a short oval, combined with the track’s bumpiness makes it a unique challenge. Ericsson, who grew up racing in Europe, said it took some time to get acclimated to oval tracks when he first came to IndyCar in 2019. In his fourth season on the circuit, he feels he’s starting to click on the ovals.

“It was definitely quite a big challenge to get used to. But I put a lot of work into trying to understand the racing and learn,” Ericsson said.

Ericsson said he’s in a good position to learn from some of the best in the sport on ovals being in the Ganassi team. Between Scott Dixon, Tony Kanaan, and Jimmie Johnson, he’s surrounded by three drivers with a combined 120 wins on ovals across IndyCar, CART, and the NASCAR Cup Series.

Pato O’Ward, Arrow McLaren SP driver currently sitting sixth in the points, said Iowa is one of the most fun tracks to race on. O’Ward said what sets Iowa apart from the other ovals in the IndyCar series is the craziness of the racing.

“You can be having a great race up until 50 laps to go. And that could just switch around with one yellow,” O’Ward said. I think that’s what keeps you on your toes. You don’t know if you’re having a good race up until pretty much everybody’s done their last pitstop.”

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Jimmie Johnson, driver of the number 48 car on Chip Ganassi Racing and seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, said the double-header will allow him to learn as the weekend goes on, as he can take what he learns from the Saturday race and apply it to Sunday.

“We were in the sim yesterday, not sure how much that will really cross over. We always seem to question it until after the race weekend, and we can look back at the data to see if it really correlates or not,” Johnson said, “But I feel pretty well prepared … It’s really about just getting to it.”

Will Power, the 2014 IndyCar champion, said the multiple lanes and tire degradation make Iowa a great track.

“It’s my favorite oval. I really, really enjoy it here,” Power said.

Romain Grosjean, an Andretti Autosport driver who spent the majority of the 2010s racing in Formula One, said the fact that there are multiple racing lines makes the track really fun.

“There’s nothing worse than sitting in one lane and following the guy in front of you for 60, 70 plus laps,” Grosjean said.

Rinus Veekay, an Ed Carpenter Racing driver, said the Iowa Speedway is a fun track because of the way drivers can stay two or three wide for laps at a time.

“I think it’s really a good track for IndyCar. Very high speeds, different grooves — that’s what IndyCar racing needs to be on ovals,” Veekay said.

James Hinchcliffe, IndyCar driver from 2011 through 2021, and commentator for NBC, said he thinks everyone is excited to be back at Iowa.

“Compared to any other place that we run right now, as far as ovals in IndyCar, this is the truest kind of two lane racetrack that we go to. So racecraft is going to be a big deal,” Hinchcliffe said.