Picking my team for the NTT IndyCar Series Fantasy Challenge driven by Firestone wasn’t as tough as I thought it would be this week. We shall see if that is a good or bad omen at the end of the Iowa 300, but I was pretty happy that my first two choices were easy to lock this time.

Based on his previous record here, James Hinchcliffe was my first pick. He’s got a pair of wins at Iowa Speedway in 2013 and 2018, and all but one of his seven previous starts have resulted in a Top 10 finish. Plus, he qualified 5th, which should keep him toward the front and in cleaner air – that’ll help his chances at another good weekend here. And at just $25.00 in salary, he seemed like a good purchase.

Also coming in at a good price was Will Power at $27.00. He is starting the race in second and is bracketed by teammates Simon Pagenaud and Josef Newgarden. Hoping that helps him stay clean early in the race – until they hit traffic at least when things will get messy. Power hasn’t won at Iowa, though he does have four poles. He also hasn’t won yet this season, and he’s coming off a disappointing race in Toronto where he had a pair of incidents ruin his race. So, basically what I’m saying is he is due for a good result.

My next two picks are were my real gambles happened – as its designed to do in this Fantasy League. Ed Carpenter in 17th is starting a little farther back than I like, but something just tells me Ed will do what it takes to survive the early part of this race and then work his way forward as the race runs. It’s totally just a hunch – no scientific data involved.

Similar thought on Felix Rosenqvist. I almost went with the other Swedish driver, Marcus Ericsson, but decided to go with the 15th starting Rosenqvist purely based on his Ganassi Racing team. I’ve already got an Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports driver in Hinchcliffe, so I took Felix Rosenqvist to diversity my race teams. This was based on drivers sharing set-ups. And if teammates are sharing set-ups (or close to it), someone is likely to have gotten it really right, and someone really wrong.

So, let’s call my Rosenqvist choice a hedge. Plus, the rookie did get to test at Iowa, and I think that might be an advantage in the race.

Anyway, those are my four for this week, who are yours? (Side note: Hydrate people, hydrate! It is hot out there!)