NEWTON, Iowa -- You dont often see a superior performance like the one Josef Newgarden and Ed Carpenter Racing put on in the Iowa Corn 300.?Whether you were sitting in the grandstands on a beautiful afternoon at Iowa Speedway or following the action on television or the internet from home, Newgardens dominance over the Verizon IndyCar Series field was obvious.?The No. 21 ECR Chevrolet led an IndyCar record 282 of 300 laps, losing the top spot only during green-flag pit stops. At one point before halfway, Newgarden and pole winner Simon Pagenaud had lapped the rest of the 23-car field.?The combined might of Team Penske and Chip Ganassi Racing was unable to overcome the flying 25-year-old from Nashville, who won by 4.28 seconds over Penskes Will Power and Ganassis Scott Dixon, with IndyCar Series championship leader Pagenaud dropping to fourth.?It was Newgardens first win of the 2016 season and the third of his IndyCar career. More importantly, it moves him up to second place in the season standings, 73 points behind Pagenaud.?His accomplishment Sunday was made even more impressive when you realize that, just four weeks ago, Newgarden broke his clavicle and right wrist in a jarring accident at Texas Motor Speedway.?It was a lot of fun; the car was amazing, Newgarden remarked after his latest win. Some stints it was like a video game. You put on new tires, catch people at the right point, and you could just slice and dice. Thats a lot of credit for what weve built at this team with Ed Carpenter Racing.?We had a good car here last year, he added. We had a good shot at winning it then. We had a great race, but we were disappointed we couldnt get it done last year. We really wanted to get it done this year, and we finally got it done.?Newgarden led more than 100 laps at Iowa in 2015 but had to settle for second place in the race.?This year, with a helping hand from part-time IndyCar driver J.R. Hildebrand, Newgarden and ECR were able to be in front at the finish after running pretty much unchallenged all day.?Newgarden gave credit to Hildebrand, who stepped in after Newgardens Texas crash to run the No. 21 car in tests at Road America and Iowa. At Road America, less than two weeks after screws and plates were installed to repair the fractured clavicle, Newgarden drove from the back of the grid to an eighth-place finish.?At Iowa, he was in a league of his own.?I dont think we realize how lucky we are to have someone like him at our disposal whenever we need it, Newgarden said of Hildebrand. He put some extra spice in the setup, and we took what I think was a race-winning car last year; he made it better with his input.?Weve got a great crew and great people, he added. Im happy to get my first oval win for the team.?Remarkably, he did it while driving injured at what most drivers believe is the most physical oval on the IndyCar Series schedule. The 0.875-mile Iowa track gives drivers almost no time to rest because there really isnt much of a straight to speak of.?Newgarden admitted that he knew before the start that he might not last the 300-lap distance. Instead, he stayed in front for more than 90 percent of the laps and rarely had to extend himself.?I was really nervous coming into the race, but I didnt want to tell anybody that, he said. I cant express to you how physical this place is.?Having a great car made it easier, he continued. Man, I was surprised I could hold on. But in the first stint, I was like, This car is so good, we can clearly win it with this car. Im going to feel like an idiot if I dont get to the end. That was enough motivation for me just to get through it.?The car was so good that I couldnt let my guys down. I just tried to focus on gritting it out and getting the most out of the thing.?Dixon and Power, with five IndyCar Series championships between them, were impressed with what they saw Sunday.?I dont think anybody really had anything for Josef today, Dixon said. Huge credit to that team. They did a hell of a job. Josef deserved that big-time. Good to see him get a win.?He was on his own on another planet, Power added. They just nailed it absolutely.?Theyre a top-class team. They generally do a really good job with their resources, so full credit to them, and when you have a shunt like he had, to come back from injuries, to a physical place like this and win, full credit. He didnt test here, either.?Questions about Newgardens future have been whirling around for the past couple of years, and it seems inevitable that, at some point, Penske or Ganassi will come calling for his services.?Whether he actually will be or not, Newgarden also should be given strong consideration for a role with the Haas F1 team. Although Indianapolis 500 winner Alexander Rossi already has some limited F1 experience, Newgarden -- who also spent time racing junior formula cars in Europe -- looks like a better bet for the long term.?Jumping to a superteam such as Penske or Ganassi seems like a logical career move, but Newgarden has shown that he is capable of winning races with the tight-knit team run by owner-driver Carpenter. Newgardens belief in whether ECR can carry him to IndyCar championships likely will be a key factor in deciding his future.?Although he is well placed in the title contest this year, Newgarden knows he is likely to lose significant ground when the IndyCar Series returns to Texas on Aug. 27 to complete the race he crashed out of.?Im kind of bummed about Texas, he said. We know its coming. Thats going to push us down, and its going to be tough to swallow when we get there because thats really the only one that Im prepared that were going to lose a lot of points.?Im not too concerned about it yet, he added. Its all about making hay when you can. You have to win races. Thats the only way were going to challenge Simon, and at the end of the day well see where were at. Hopefully were close enough at Sonoma that we can challenge for a championship. Joe Kelly Jersey . Marincin has played in two NHL games so far this season with two penalty minutes. 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Meanwhile, there were huge victories for Sunderland and West Ham over fellow relegation rivals, leaving the battle to avoid the drop up for grabs with the bottom 11 teams separated by just six points. Eden Hazard and Fernando Torres scored second-half goals to seal a fourth straight victory for Chelsea, which climbed above Arsenal and Manchester City in the standings ahead of their games on Monday and Sunday respectively. Twin spin, batting big and being wary of how a deteriorating pitch can dictate the pace of play. Australias coach Darren Lehmann highlighted these areas as key battlegrounds in the series against Sri Lanka, as the touring team moved out of their initial Colombo base to prepare for the first Test match in Kandy.Steve OKeefes 10-wicket haul opposite Nathan Lyon has more than likely vaulted him back into the Test XI after he missed the tour of New Zealand, particularly as Lehmann and the selection chairman Rod Marsh are expecting a sparsely grassed surface when the series begins on July 26. They also expect pitches that will start out flat before deteriorating rapidly at the back end of each match, and can foresee Sri Lanka trying to test the patience of an aggressive batting line-up by blocking the boundaries. To lose patience is to lose the battle.You play the conditions on each game, so for us it did start to turn a lot [at P Sara Oval], which is pleasing, our spinners exploited that very well, so the conditions theyre learning to bowl in is pretty important as the Test matches wear on here in Sri Lanka, Lehmann said. Theyre pretty good wickets to start with, and thats the challenge for us, going big and making big runs.We know that Sri Lanka will defend a lot once batters are in, so its going to take a lot longer to get your runs if that makes sense. Weve spoken about the need to bat long periods of time is going to be key, which weve done pretty well to be fair over the last little while, but the challenge is to do it here. Knowing the game is going to speed up as the wickets deteriorate, thats going to be important to be ahead of the game in the Test series, but really happy with where everyones at. Our batters have a big role to play and our bowlers were probably a little bit rusty in the first innings but pleased we got through, theres no injury concerns and away we go.Lehmann spoke warmly of OKeefe and also Lyon, who was recovering from illness over the course of the tour match, and is set to play a central role in the same country he made a memorable Test debut back in 2011. Significantly, Lehmann pointed to the use of tandem spin, turning the ball in opposite directions, as something that would be vital not only in Sri Lanka, but alsso India next year.ddddddddddddHes been excellent for NSW, had a lot of success in Shield cricket, his 200th first-class wicket today so pleased for him, Lehmann said of OKeefe. Hes worked really hard, hes a really lively, buzzy character for us and played exactly the role we want him to play over here in this game. Bats really well, fields really well and complements Nathan really well, spinning the other way.We think that [twin spin] is the way to go. India do it there with Jadeja and Ashwin and most teams have a spinner going both ways, so for us thats important.A conclusion drawn by Lehmann and the team performance manager Pat Howard from unsuccessful recent tours to India and the UAE to play Pakistan was that touring sides needed to spend as much time as possible in unfamiliar climes before walking out on day one of the series proper. To that end, the Australians have followed an internal practice fixture with the match in Colombo, and will now have five days in Kandy before Angelo Mathews tosses the coin next week.Weve come over here a little bit earlier than we normally would, we think thats a helpful thing in future, we havent done that in the past, Lehmann said. So to come a little bit earlier here and go a bit earlier to India to get acclimatised for an extra few days and hopefully an extra game in most places.Having entered the final week of their preparation, all Lehmann is looking for now is the announcement of Sri Lankas tour squad, the better to plan individual opponents. I wouldnt mind the side at some stage, he said. Thats the challenge, I dont think anyone knows what squad theyve got. Once they name their squad well work through that. We know a bit about them. Theyll be a lot better side at home, and thats going to be a challenge for us, but end of the day we just worry about what were doing. Once we get their squad away we go.The only Australian player under any sort of fitness cloud is David Warner, in the latter stages of recovery from a broken thumb, but Lehmann gave no hint of thinking the vice-captain might be in any doubt to open the innings with Joe Burns: Were preparing for him to play. ' ' '