By David Morgan, Associate Editor
MADISON, Ill. – Josef Newgarden is back to his old self this weekend at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway.
The five-time winner on the 1.25-mile oval, and winner of all but one of the last six races at this track, posted the top time of 25.2465 seconds at 178.243 mph to jump to the top of the scoring sheet and would not be moved for the duration of the opening practice session for Sunday’s Bommarito Automotive Group 500.
“So far, so good,” Newgarden said after ending practice about 10 minutes early. “It’s going to get closer, it already is toward the end of the session with how tight it becomes. You’ll get the same thing in qualifying and in the race too. I think we’ll have a tight battle with a lot of people.
“Everyone says this, but it’s hard to win these days with how good the competition is. We’re working hard for it. Excited to be here with the PPG car. Team Chevy has done a great job. Let’s get through qualifying first and see what we have for tomorrow night.”
He would be followed by his Team Penske teammate Scott McLaughlin, who finished second to Newgarden in this race one year ago and holds the best average finish at Gateway among active drivers at 3.5.
David Malukas was third in his A.J. Foyt Racing Chevrolet, explaining how the weather was making things a bit more treacherous than normal during practice.
“It was definitely still uncomfortable,” Malukas said. “Definitely do have a lot of oversteer going on, but I think a lot of it is the wind direction and how aggressive it is. I mean, we’re just standing here and you can feel it. It’s just blowing.
“You can really feel it on the track, especially going through [Turn] 3 and 4. So, I think everybody is on edge. I think we have the bigger jump. We’re P3 on the board, so the car is definitely doing better than the rest.”
The remainder of the top-five went to Indy 500 champion and three-time and defending series champion Alex Palou in fourth after his team overcame some mechanical issues at the start of the session, along with Pato O’Ward in fifth.
Colton Herta, Marcus Ericsson, Conor Daly, Kyle Kirkwood, and Alexander Rossi rounded out the top-10.
Practice was delayed two and a half hours from its original start time at 10:30 this morning due to rain, with two additional stoppages once the session got underway. Once for a quick yellow for moisture and the second for debris.
Teams will have a quick turnaround to get their cars dialed in for qualifying, which is currently scheduled for 5:30 pm ET, followed by final practice at 8:15 pm ET. Both airing on FOX Sports 2.
Sunday’s 260 lap main event is scheduled for 8:00 pm ET Sunday on FOX.
Be the first to comment