NEWTON, Iowa -- You don't 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, Newgarden's 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 Penske's Will Power and Ganassi's Scott Dixon, with IndyCar Series championship leader Pagenaud dropping to fourth.
It was Newgarden's 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. That's a lot of credit for what we've 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 couldn't 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 Newgarden's 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 don't 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.
"We've got a great crew and great people," he added. "I'm 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 isn't 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 didn't want to tell anybody that," he said. "I can't 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. I'm going to feel like an idiot if I don't get to the end.' That was enough motivation for me just to get through it.
"The car was so good that I couldn't 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 don't 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.
"They're 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 didn't test here, either."
Questions about Newgarden's 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. Newgarden's 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.
"I'm kind of bummed about Texas," he said. "We know it's coming. That's going to push us down, and it's going to be tough to swallow when we get there because that's really the only one that I'm prepared that we're going to lose a lot of points.
"I'm not too concerned about it yet," he added. "It's all about making hay when you can. You have to win races. That's the only way we're going to challenge Simon, and at the end of the day we'll see where we're at. Hopefully we're close enough at Sonoma that we can challenge for a championship."