Big Ten primer — Iowa’s greatest football moment

Iowa was elite in the late 1950s.

USC goes to Big Ten media days this week in Indianapolis. Let’s get to know our new Big Ten football neighbors. Next up: the Iowa Hawkeyes.

Iowa has been a solid and nationally relevant program for most of the past 40 years. Hayden Fry revived the program in the early 1980s after two decades of irrelevance. Kirk Ferentz took the baton from Fry and has kept Iowa relevant the past 25 years, with a BCS bowl win nearly 15 years ago and a few other BCS/New Year’s Six bowl appearances. However, what matters most at Iowa and other Big Ten schools is a Rose Bowl win. Iowa won twice. One was in 1959 against Cal, but the first Granddaddy victory came in the 1957 game versus Oregon State. Iowa capped a one-loss season in the top two of the Associated Press Poll. Coach Forest Evashevski guided the Hawkeyes to the top tier of college football. The late 1950s was the historical high point for Iowa, even though Fry and Ferentz delivered the Hawkeyes a few elite seasons.

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Robb released from hospital after massive Iowa crash

Following the biggest crash of his career on the last lap of Sunday’s NTT IndyCar Series race at Iowa Speedway, the A.J. Foyt Racing driver from Idaho was sent to a local hospital for imaging after he got airborne and rolled multiple times before …

Following the biggest crash of his career on the last lap of Sunday’s NTT IndyCar Series race at Iowa Speedway, the A.J. Foyt Racing driver from Idaho was sent to a local hospital for imaging after he got airborne and rolled multiple times before grinding to a stop while upside down in the No. 41 Chevy.

“After further assessment at Mercy One Des Moines Medical Center, Sting Ray has been released,” the team wrote. “Sting Ray’s family and AJ Foyt Racing would like to extend our gratitude to the AMR Safety Team for their quick response, to IndyCar Medical staff for their thorough care and IndyCar for the high safety standards of our race cars that allowed Sting Ray to walk away from a horrific accident today. Thank you to everyone for your well wishes. We appreciate your support.”

McLaughlin takes commanding first oval win in Iowa Race 1

Between a few spins and crashes and pauses, Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin ruled the opening 250-lap NTT IndyCar Series race at Iowa Speedway and took the first oval win of his career with the No. 3 Chevy. Polesitter Colton Herta led the race until …

Between a few spins and crashes and pauses, Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin ruled the opening 250-lap NTT IndyCar Series race at Iowa Speedway and took the first oval win of his career with the No. 3 Chevy.

Polesitter Colton Herta led the race until the first round of pit stops on lap 84, but fine work by McLaughlin’s “Thirsty 3s” crew got him to the pit-exit line with a few inches to spare in front of Herta, and from there, the New Zealander dominated the remaining 166 laps to dominate the night ahead of Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward and teammate Josef Newgarden in an all-Chevy podium.

The Kiwi will start Sunday morning’s 250-lapper from the pole.

“Just checked off probably one of my biggest goals that I had this year,” McLaughlin said. “It was a team win. They put me out in front and got me the lead, and I was able to show how good our car was, just controlling the pace at the front. We’ll move forward and know that we’ve got a good car for tomorrow. We’re even better when the sun’s up. So hopefully we can carry it on.”

O’Ward’s strong week of work in the No. 5 Chevy has netted a win and a second, which vaulted him to second in the championship. The predicted lack of passing outside of the start and restarts meant challenging for the win wasn’t an option.

“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t bummed about the race and how it raced,” he said. “Really tough to get that second lane working. Compared to I don’t know how many on-track passes we had last year, probably not even a tenth of that [tonight]. That was a bit frustrating because I thought we had a very strong car, definitely a car that was capable of winning. Just no way to get around a car.”

Newgarden was the biggest mover of the race, motoring from 22nd to third.

“Calculated risk tonight,” he said. “You were flirting with disaster. It wasn’t a given. There wasn’t the real estate to use, just second-hand. It’s not like a second nature-type thing you could use. You were risking the car every time you tried to move offline on somebody.”

Attrition was high as mistakes and desperate moves on restarts meant just 19 of the 27 cars finished. It was a rough day for the two championship leaders heading into race one as Alex Palou stalled his car while in the top three, then crashed on his own. He was credited with 23rd. Will Power speared Pietro Fittipaldi from behind, which wrecked Fittipaldi’s car and the following car of Ed Carpenter. Power pitted to repair his bent suspension and was later given a penalty, which left him in 18th.

Race 2 is right around the corner at 12:30pm ET. Race 1 wasn’t particularly clean or exciting, with drivers stuck in long pass-free stretches. We’ll see if the change from night to day will make a difference.

RACE 2 STARTING LINEUP

Phillip Abbott/Lumen

The first of the Hy-Vee doubleheader races at Iowa Speedway went green for a half-lap before the first caution flew as David Malukas dipped his left-front tire below the apron in Turns 1 and 2, spun, and collected Agustin Canapino and Romain Grosjean. Behind them, Christian Lundgaard, sporting the event sponsor’s name and colors, spun as well for the same reason that rotated Malukas and was towed to the pits. Grosjean was able to drive away from the scene of the accident, pitted, and the Juncos Hollinger Racing team took the car to the garage.

“A rookie mistake,” Malukas said of the incident.

Before the yellow, Herta got the jump on McLaughlin and led into the corner and, behind him, Palou drew alongside McLaughlin but was returned to third for the restart. Lundgaard was able to get his car refired, but 18 laps down.

The lap 20 restart had Herta leading McLaughlin and Palou. Starting P22, Newgarden was up to P14 by lap 25. Santino Ferrucci was up from P8 to P5 by lap 30 and chasing Scott Dixon.

Jack Harvey pitted on lap 30 and retired from the race as a result of the fearsome pain he was experiencing.

By lap 38, Herta’s lead over McLaughlin was resting at 0.5s. Palou wasn’t as close with a 2.3s gap to the leader, who was preparing to lap teammate Kyle Kirkwood. Santino Ferrucci received a stop-and-go penalty, which he served on lap 44, for being out of line on the restart.

Lap 50 had Herta holding 0.7s over McLaughlin and not much else was happening as passing was not happening, for the most part.

Ed Carpenter pitted on lap 70 after sliding up the track. Herta was down to 0.5s on McLaughlin and 1.8s on Palou. Newgarden was holding station in P13.

The second yellow flew on lap 81 when Graham Rahal slowed due to a broken right-front wheel, which had the inner spokes crack and lead the outer portion of the wheel to vibrate. He pitted and returned with fresh wheels and tires.

Lap 84 saw the whole field pit, and Palou was the big loser as his P3 turned into P19 when he got halfway out of the box when the car stalled after he left in second gear instead of first. It promoted Dixon to third behind McLaughlin and Herta, but after a review of the pit-exit camera, McLaughlin got to the line first and was placed ahead of Herta.

Ferrucci stayed out under caution and got back to the lead lap and P20 for the restart.

Lap 94’s return to green had Herta getting aggressive blocking Dixon and he tried to take the lead from McLaughlin, but it was unsuccessful. Will Power was sent to pit lane for a speeding violation and by lap 98, Palou was up to P14. Newgarden was up to P10.

Herta was down 0.8s to McLaughlin and Dixon was 1.4s back by lap 105. Pato O’Ward, in fourth, was 2.2s arrears, and Alexander Rossi was 3.1s behind. Marcus Ericsson, in P6, was 3.9s away from the leader.

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The second stint was much like the first, where no passing was happening.

Palou’s recovery halted in P14, behind Sting Ray Robb. Newgarden circulated in the same P10.

Linus Lundqvist served a penalty for being out of line on the restart at lapo 134.

Lap 140 and McLaughlin was up 1.1s on Herta and 1.6s on Dixon. Newgarden (P9) and Palou (P13) moved up one spot when Lundqvist was required to pit.

Palou got ahead of Robb for P12 on lap 150. Herta, complaining of a tire vibration, fell to 2.2s back. Herta continued to fade, and by lap 167 was 3.5s down. Dixon was only 0.3s behind him.

Lap 170 and Herta’s backing up brought O’Ward into the frame, who climbed to 0.3s behind Dixon.

Herta dove for the pits on lap 174. Dixon was 4.0s behind McLaughlin in P2.

The third caution was required for a spinning and crashing Palou on lap 177. Herta paid the price for the timing, having lost P2. He’d restart in P17.

Final stops for the field occurred on lap 181. O’Ward jumped Dixon and emerged in P4. Newgarden was the bigger mover to P4, with Marcus Armstrong in a surprising P5.

The lap 189 restart had Rinus VeeKay take P5 from Armstrong as Ferrucci made a number of passes. Ferrucci was up to P11 by lap 191.

A no-passing rhythm was established by lap 205 in the final stint. McLaughlin led O’Ward by 0.9s, Dixon by 2.0s, and Newgarden by 3.0s.

Lap 211 and Lundqvist coasted to a stop on the inside of Turn 1. No changes happened up front upon the lap 220 restart.

Another caution flew on lap 223 as Herta half-spun trying to pass Rossi. Armstrong was called to pit lane by the series, but he stayed out.

The lap 230 restart went straight back to caution as a crash by Ed Carpenter and Pietro Fittipaldi triggered another pause. Fittipaldi was hit from behind by Power, who bent his left-front suspension. Fittipaldi’s spinning car was collected by Carpenter, who did heavy damage to the back of his car.

Lap 235 and Power returned with suspension repairs, but ran last in P18.

The lap 239 restart saw Newgarden take P3 from Dixon; Ferrucci took P6 from Ericsson.

McLaughlin sealed his first oval win ahead of O’Ward and Newgarden for an all-Chevy podium on lap 250.

RESULTS

Foster continues string of Indy NXT success with victory in Iowa

Louis Foster couldn’t have asked for a better ending to Saturday’s Indy NXT by Firestone at Iowa Speedway. After patiently conserving his Firestone tires early in the 55-lap race, the series points leader swiped the lead from Andretti Global …

Louis Foster couldn’t have asked for a better ending to Saturday’s Indy NXT by Firestone at Iowa Speedway.

After patiently conserving his Firestone tires early in the 55-lap race, the series points leader swiped the lead from Andretti Global teammate James Roe with six-plus laps remaining and cruised to another victory in the No. 26 Copart/Novara Technologies car.

Foster won for the fifth time in the past seven races, and his other two results in this stretch are second-place finishes. To cap Saturday, the 20-year-old English driver saw his series lead swell to 77 points as his two closest competitors – Jacob Abel and Caio Collet – incurred contact.

Abel was fortunate to keep his No. 51 Abel Construction machine out of further harm’s way, but he lost three laps with the pit stop for repairs. Earlier in the race, Collet spun his No. 18 HMD Motorsports entry in front of fellow rookie Myles Rowe, and their wall contact ended both of their races. Abel finished 15th, Rowe 18th.

Meanwhile, Foster motored on without issue.

“We discussed prior to the race we were going to save tires throughout, so I wasn’t trying to [challenge] James – I was letting him get a gap so I could save my tires,” Foster said. “Towards the end, there was enough laps left where I knew if I killed my tires it wouldn’t be too much of a big deal.

“I just kept [the car] on the outside and he lifted [off the throttle] and I stayed through. He gave me really good racing room.”

The victory was Foster’s first on an oval track. It was his seventh series race win over the past two seasons.

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The race was shortened by 20 laps to help the drivers manage their tires on a hot afternoon at a track that recently had its corners repaved. Nearly the entire field eclipsed the series’ two-lap record in qualifying, and the pole was nearly 7mph quicker than the mark set by Colton Herta in 2017.

Roe, who earned his first series pole, led the first 49 laps of the race in the No. 29 Topcon entry and tied his career best with a second-place finish. Salvador de Alba Jr. finished third in the No. 2 Grupo Indi of Andretti Cape Indy NXT to give Michael Andretti’s organization contingent a sweep of the top-three finishers.

“Cool, sweet,” Foster said of the Andretti sweep. “Obviously, really good car, really good day for Andretti and really good for the championship. Super happy.”

Myles Rowe’s car was struck twice in the race’s first 13 laps. Coming to the green flag to begin the race, his No. 99 HMD Motorsports with Force Indy machine was struck from behind by the No. 40 Patterson Dental Haven Go by SAAM entry of Jack William Miller. Rowe spun to the inside without additional contact.

Rowe mounted a hard charge, advancing from the back of the 18-car field to grab the 10th position. But then, while following Collet, he didn’t have space to maneuver around Collet’s spinning car in Turn 1, and their contact took both cars to the outside wall. The damage to both machines was significant enough to end their days, although neither driver was injured.

With two laps remaining, Miller lost control of his machine in Turn 3 and hit the outside wall, causing the race to finish under caution. He also was not injured.

A pair of rookie drivers for HMD Motorsports rounded out the top five. Callum Hedge finished fourth, Christian Brooks fifth.

Four races remain in the season. Next up is the Aug. 17 race at World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Illinois.

RESULTS

Heat management is the next test for IndyCar’s hybrid at Iowa

After delivering a nearly flawless introduction of its Chevy- and Honda-built energy recovery systems (ERS) last weekend at Mid-Ohio, the next big test for the NTT IndyCar Series’ hybrid powertrains happens this weekend at Iowa Speedway where …

After delivering a nearly flawless introduction of its Chevy- and Honda-built energy recovery systems (ERS) last weekend at Mid-Ohio, the next big test for the NTT IndyCar Series’ hybrid powertrains happens this weekend at Iowa Speedway where another first—hybrid open-wheel cars on an oval—will take place.

The challenge posed to the ERS units will come from the unrelenting heat each of the 27 hybrids will face as most of the 250-lap nighttime race will start with ambient temperature close to 90F and taper off to the low 80s by the checkered flag. While the high midwestern heat and humidity are a significant factor, the compact track with short straights and near-constant action around the circuit means most drivers will be unable to run in clean air for long stretches to cool the ERS.

Friday’s 90-minute practice session, run in the mid-80s, provided encouraging results for heat management with the ERS units, but few drivers were able to complete full-stint distances to push the systems to their limits. According to three team managers or technical directors who spoke with RACER ahead of Saturday’s first race of the Hy-Vee Doubleheaders, confidence is high with the ERS package and its ability to function in significant heat Saturday night. The temperatures will rise again on Sunday when most of the 250-lap second race is expected to be held at over 90F, which will pose another test to the impressive reliability delivered by the units at their first outing.

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Where there’s a positive outlook on how the ERS units will fare in green racing conditions, the team leaders were also hopeful for the races to be completed without red flags. With air moving through the ERS unit’s radiator, the system should be OK, but there’s a fear of what might happen if the race is stopped and the cars are forced to sit on pit lane for a long period where heat soak could have a negative effect on the ERS.

Teams are allowed to place electric air blowers into the right sidepod to assist in cooling the radiator, but depending on the length of a red flag in high heat, ERS temperatures could become an item to actively monitor.

Of the key learnings by the series after Mid-Ohio, one technical revision was mandated for Iowa within the spec bellhousing that carries the ERS units. Some teams reported that at the back of the bellhousings, where the DC-DC converter is mounted, its coolant bleed line and its electrical looms were coming in contact with the bellhousing and chafing, which led to the series requiring new shielding to be placed over the line and looms.

Stalling was another issue that arose for some drivers—more than usual—at Mid-Ohio. Among those who’ve spoken to RACER about the matter, the majority pointed to a need to gain more familiarity with the different feel to the clutch release with the ERS’s motor generator unit spinning on the same input shaft.

Many drivers were seen leaving their pit boxes on Friday with more revs applied from the engine and a less aggressive release of the hand-clutch lever—almost a two-stage exit—to ensure they didn’t stall the engine.

Iowa used to have character, but now ‘it’s definitely changed’ – Dixon

Iowa Speedway’s effort to repave a significant portion of its 0.875-mile oval is providing the NTT IndyCar Series an exceptional amount of grip in the corners. It’s also proven to be a new complication for the series’ Firestone tires, which haven’t …

Iowa Speedway’s effort to repave a significant portion of its 0.875-mile oval is providing the NTT IndyCar Series an exceptional amount of grip in the corners. It’s also proven to be a new complication for the series’ Firestone tires, which haven’t shown the same kind of degradation that’s made many of Iowa’s recent races hard to forget.

“It’s definitely changed,” said six-time champion Scott Dixon. “From the first few races we had here, you just followed the white line, and it was a pack race. It was kind of chaotic for a short track.

“We went through a good period for the last 10 years, whether it’s multi-lane, high deg, and one of the best short track races that we have had. With the partial repave that they’ve done, it’s taken away a lot of race-ability that we had. Maybe it’s better for other categories.”

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Thanks to the spike in grip, the separation in performance between new and old tires that produces passing didn’t appear during Friday’s 90-minute practice session.

“Yeah, I miss last year’s track,” the Chip Ganassi Racing driver added. “I think drivers refer to it as ‘character.’ It had a lot of character. It had a lot of bumps. It was definitely hard work. Qualifying was very tough, then…you had the use of two, three, four lanes in the race, especially on restarts and things like that. We’ll see. I hope it gets back to that. Whether it’s this weekend…it’s going to be tough to get that second lane to come in.”

Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin echoed Dixon’s sentiments.

“It sucks a little bit that the repave is not great for us, but it is what it is,” he said. “Everyone’s got the same track to deal with, so let’s see how we go.”

Roe rockets to first Indy NXT pole at Iowa, at track-record speed

James Roe knew what he accomplished Friday at Iowa Speedway, but he didn’t immediately know the spoils that came with it. Not only did he grab his first career Indy NXT by Firestone pole, the Irishman also set a track record with a two-lap …

James Roe knew what he accomplished Friday at Iowa Speedway, but he didn’t immediately know the spoils that came with it.

Not only did he grab his first career Indy NXT by Firestone pole, the Irishman also set a track record with a two-lap qualifying average of 170.625mph.

If that wasn’t enough, Roe led a 1-2-3 sweep of qualifying for Andretti Global.

“I didn’t know [all] that. There you go,” Roe said.

The series’ track-record speed stood since 2017 when Colton Herta ran 163.835mph. Friday, 17 drivers eclipsed that with the help of repaved corners.

Driving the No. 29 Topcon machine, Roe will lead the Andretti Global contingent ahead of Louis Foster, whose second lap in the No. 26 Copart/Novara Technologies entry fell off just enough for him to settle for the No. 2 starting position. Jamie Chadwick qualified third in the No. 28 VEXT car.

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Michael Andretti’s three drivers will lead the 18-car pack to the green flag in Saturday’s Indy NXT by Firestone at Iowa Speedway (2 p.m. ET, Peacock, IndyCar Radio Network). They had the only cars to complete the two-lap qualifying runs with average speeds in excess of 170mph. Foster’s average was 170.601mph while Chadwick posted 170.387mph.

The only other pole of Roe’s professional career came in 2021 in the Indy Pro 2000 race at World Wide Technology Raceway driving for Turn 3 Motorsport.

“I can’t thank these guys enough,” Roe said of Andretti Global. “It’s been a hell of a few weeks. Yeah, here we are — we’ve got a rocket ship, so let’s get the job done tomorrow.”

Roe qualified fourth for last year’s Indy NXT by Firestone race at Iowa. He finished ninth. He’s also ninth in the current season standings, still searching for his first win.

“We were strong here last year,” Roe said. “We knew that our [qualifying] car was mega, so it was a matter of just putting it together. Honestly, we guessed a little bit on setup. I left the pits and said I’m holding it flat…to the checkers.”

RESULTS

Lack of tire degradation could make passing hard at Iowa

Team Penske’s Will Power experienced a right-front tire failure at the recent Iowa Speedway test where a buildup of heat in the hard carcass proved to be a problem on the new high-grip track surface. In reaction to the situation, Firestone brought …

Team Penske’s Will Power experienced a right-front tire failure at the recent Iowa Speedway test where a buildup of heat in the hard carcass proved to be a problem on the new high-grip track surface. In reaction to the situation, Firestone brought softer right-side tires for this weekend’s race and IndyCar took 450 pounds of downforce off the cars to reduce the load. After 90 minutes of running at Iowa for the Hy-Vee Doubleheader, no issues were reported.

“They’re quite forgiving. They’re nice tires. I like them,” Power told RACER. “I didn’t think there was any blistering. Taking downforce off helps that. I did 60 laps on one set. Bit of vibration, but I was going just as fast with them on the last lap. Zero deg[redation]; zero passing. It’s just going to be a day of pit stop sequences, in and out, and hoping for a lucky yellow situation.”

Arrow McLaren’s Alexander Rossi shared Power’s views on the tires and in his concern for what kind of racing the Firestone rubber might produce. The hope with the revised tire package was for higher degradation to occur, which would present passing opportunities for those on newer rubber. Alas, high durability was the primary attribute on display during Friday’s practice.

“There’s no deg,” Rossi said. “I think that’s what you would expect with a new surface. I don’t know if any tire is gonna deg. I do think the lighter downforce makes it a little bit more challenging on heavy fuel and behind cars, so the car is moving around more than at the test. But as the fuel comes off, any sort of tire wear you have is for the tire’s life.”

Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin, who was fastest on Friday, offered a bit of hope on the degradation topic, but also pointed to the new track surface as the main cause of the situation.

“There’s some tire deg,” he said. “Not as much as we’ve seen in the past. I think that’s more track specific than tires.”

McLaughlin paces sole IndyCar practice on Iowa’s new surface

Team Penske led the one and only practice session ahead of the Hy-Vee Doubleheader at Iowa Speedway as Scott McLaughlin was the best of the field of 27 cars at 185.891mph in the No. 3 Chevy. The 90-minute afternoon run had everything that Iowa’s …

Team Penske led the one and only practice session ahead of the Hy-Vee Doubleheader at Iowa Speedway as Scott McLaughlin was the best of the field of 27 cars at 185.891mph in the No. 3 Chevy.

The 90-minute afternoon run had everything that Iowa’s known for. High heat and humidity—85 degrees—sent the newly-paved track surface to over 120F, and with new and slightly softer right-side Firestone tires to try, most drivers like McLaughlin, who also led the pack with 112 laps turned, spend their time working on chassis setup changes. Damper and spring changes were rampant throughout the session, and with qualifying simulations performed, the fastest laps were produced.

Championship leader Alex Palou was close behind in second with a 185.536mph run in the No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, and the NTT IndyCar Series’ latest winner Pato O’Ward was third at 184.154mph in the No. 5 Chevy. Meyer Shank Racing’s David Malukas was fourth in the No. 66 Honda at 184.112mph, O’Ward’s teammate Alexander Rossi was fifth at 183.784mph in the No. 7 Chevy, and the top six was completed by Scott Dixon in the No. 9 Ganassi Honda at 183.620mph.

From the start, the car was pretty good off the truck even with the changes to the downforce and to the tire that we have for this race,” McLaughlin said. “Ultimately it felt pretty solid. I knew we had pace in it as I was building up to the run. I got a clean enough run so I made the most of it to put up a good lap. Hopefully we get a good place to start. We need to adjust a couple of things for turn four because it easy to get up there in the marbles, but I think is going to prove difficult for everyone. So far, so good.”

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Wind also played a factor on Friday, as did harmless spins. Cautions were called for Agustin Canapino’s clean spin in Turn 2, Katherine Legge’s contact-free spin out of Turn 4, and even McLaughlin got in on the game with 90 seconds left while coming out of Turn 4. Only Andretti Global’s Marcus Ericsson was unlucky as his No. 28 Honda spun early in Turn 4, rotated, and smashed the rear of the car and did some damage up front.

Ericsson was unharmed and he’ll be back in action on Saturday at the start of qualifying.

The timing of Ericsson’s crash is the one lingering problem. It happened just 10 minutes into the session, which means he’ll go straight into qualifying with limited mileage in the car on the new right-side tires, and needs to push hard in the repaired car.

McLaughlin’s teammate Josef Newgarden, who’s won three of the last four Iowa races, was a surprise in 15th as his 105 laps of running—more than all but three others—didn’t deliver the anticipated pace.

Prior to the session, IndyCar held a high-lane rubbering-in outing for 30 minutes. Graham Rahal was confident the application of rubber above the low lane will open passing opportunities in the races.

“It’s gonna be there, for sure,” he said. “This helps tremendously.”

UP NEXT: Qualifying, Saturday, 3:45 p.m. ET, on Peacock.

RESULTS

George Kittle shares hilarious story on welcoming Brock Purdy to 49ers

The 49ers tight end shared a hilarious story on how he welcomed Brock Purdy to team with a special shirt in his locker.

It’s clear to see the connection between George Kittle and his quarterback Brock Purdy.

Since Purdy took over under center for the San Francisco 49ers, the duo has thrived. In a recent appearance on the Rich Eisen Show, Kittle spoke about the 49ers’ signal caller and recalled a story about how they connected when Purdy was a rookie.

Along with praising Purdy’s physical traits and making a Pokemon connection to Purdy, Christian McCaffrey and Nick Bosa, Kittle revealed a funny moment from the past when he and his quarterback first met in the locker room.

When welcoming the rookie quarterback to the team in 2022, Kittle told Eisen that he left an Iowa Hawkeyes shirt in the former Iowa State star quarterback’s locker to see how he would react.

Via The Rich Eisen Show:

Whenever we have rookies come in — there is absolutely zero hazing, but I like to banter with them to see if they’re going to talk back to me or are they going to be shy because, ‘Hey, I’m George Kittle, and I’ve been in the league for eight years now.’

So Brock’s first day, I hung an Iowa football short in his locker, which was phenomenal, and he instantly takes it out  — he’s two lockers down from me and goes ‘You put this in here, get this s— out of my locker.’ and I’m just like, ‘I’m going to like you. I absolutely know that already.’ and he just tosses it on the ground — Respect I love that.

Via @RichEisenShow on Twitter:

In 25 games with Purdy under center, Kittle has caught 104 balls to go along with 1,564 yards and 16 touchdowns. Purdy and Kittle will have the chance to grow those numbers in the pivotal upcoming 2024-25 campaign.

This post originally appeared on Niners Wire! Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!

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