Taking advantage of a much-needed break on the schedule, nearly every IndyCar team headed out to Iowa Speedway for a private test session on the short oval.
The test took place under sweltering conditions, but was necessary for those that wanted to prepare for the double-header races scheduled for late next month.
Scott McLaughlin put in the fastest time around the short oval despite it being his first time around the track, followed closely by his team-mate Will Power.
The Team Penske duo logged the most laps out of the 19 drivers at the event, with Power completing the most with 282 circuits to his name alone.
Christian Lundgaard was the fastest rookie at the test, putting in the fourth fastest time of the day for RLL.
David Malukas, Jimmie Johnson, Callum Ilott, and Kyle Kirkwood also took their first laps around Iowa, with the rest of the field using the day to recall their previous experiences.
With five consecutive race weekends filling the schedule through May and much of June, this is the first time teams have had an opportunity to run a test since the early part of the season.
The test at Iowa Speedway was so popular on account of it being a unique track, and also because the series has not visited the short oval since 2020.
After taking a year off the calendar in 2021, the seven-eighths mile oval is set to return for a double-header on the 23rd and 24th of July thanks to support from the grocery chain Hy-Vee, which is sponsoring the entire weekend.
The last time the series visited, Rinus VeeKay and Colton Herta came together at a restart, with the former dramatically launching over the top of the Dutchman.
Both drivers were uninjured in the spectacular crash that highlighted the effectiveness of the new at the time Aeroscreen.
A large portion of the field that did not take part in the test at Iowa will instead run a test around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course on Thursday.
