Drivers want car changes for Iowa

The cars were running in their short track configuration for the first race at the 0.894-mile oval, but the layout of the circuit meant that the drivers were able to run flat out all the way round, which made overtaking difficult.

Franchitti won the race, and while he was impressed with the new circuit, he thinks that something will need to change for next year's race.

"It's a great track, but in my opinion we need to sit down," he said. "We obviously have a short oval specification, superspeedway, and some stuff in between, and I'd like to see some more in between.

"I'd like to see more in between, I think that would help us. I'm sure the IndyCar Series guys are going to make some changes to the specification of car we bring back here next year."

Franchitti's teammate Marco Andretti was battling him for the win in the closing stages but the American found it difficult to offer much of a challenge.

Franchitti added: "We've seen that in the one-and-a-half-miles that you can come out of the outside out of the last corner and get that sort of slingshot and it didn't appear to be working here for whatever reason.

So I knew if I stopped at the yellow line, Marco was going to have a hard time getting around me."

The championship leader likened the circuit to a big superspeedway, and Andretti added that he thinks the cars should run with less downforce in the future.

"All weekend, I haven't truly been passed and I haven't passed anybody," Andretti said. "It's tough.  If it was up to me, I would want less downforce, and that would make it not just easy flat out."