Josef Newgarden Tag

By Aaron Bearden, Open Wheel Editor NEWTON, Iowa —  With Josef Newgarden out front and dominating, the Verizon IndyCar Series’ annual trip to Iowa Speedway looked like 2016 all over again through 250 laps. Newgarden looked poised to win his second-straight race, in similarly dominant fashion to June’s Road America romp. Instead he ended the race outside of the podium. Newgarden led a race-high 229 laps in Sunday’s Iowa Corn 300, lapping as high as fifth on the field through a caution-free opening 139 laps. The Tennessean trapped points rivals Scott Dixon and Alexander RossiRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer NEWTON, Iowa — Two practice sessions, qualifying and some Indy Lights track time detailed Saturday’s action ahead of Sunday’s Iowa Corn 300 for the Verizon IndyCar Series. In the opening practice session, Josef Newgarden was fastest over Will Power, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Alexander Rossi and Zach Veach. Team Penske and Andretti Autosport would be the dominant teams of the day. However, Matheus Leist was rather unlucky as he got loose coming through Turn 2 after completing 15 laps and spun, hitting the wall with the rear ofRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer NEWTON, Iowa — Ryan Hunter-Reay’s 2018 Verizon IndyCar Series season has been mostly under the radar but the three time Iowa Corn 300 winner put the rest of the field on notice as he qualified third quickest for Sunday afternoon’s race at Iowa Speedway. The 2012 series champion qualified with a two-lap average of 180.681 mph around the .875 mile short oval to place Hunter-Reay behind the Team Penske duo of Will Power and Josef Newgarden. “I was hoping we had a shot for pole todayRead More

By Aaron Bearden, Open Wheel Editor NEWTON, Iowa — Josef Newgarden entered this weekend’s trip to Iowa finish with a win and an average finish of 2.75 in his last four Iowa Speedway starts. If Saturday’s opening practice is any indication, the defending Verizon IndyCar Series champion is in a good position to keep that streak of success going. Newgarden laid down a 17.519-second circuit that averaged 183.711 mph to lead Saturday’s opening practice for the Iowa Corn 300. The Tennessean is searching for his second-straight victory after ending a streak of mediocrityRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer ELKHART LAKE, Wisconsin — Despite his best efforts, Ryan Hunter-Reay could not overcome Josef Newgarden’s pace and the Andretti Autosport racer had to settle for second place in Sunday’s Kohler Grand Prix at Road America. The 2012 Verizon IndyCar Series Champion started third which became second after front row starter Will Power had a mechanical issue that dropped him through the field. Never letting the defending series champion out of sight, Hunter-Reay only ran below second place for two laps when Scott Dixon took the lead.Read More

By Aaron Bearden, Open Wheel Editor ELKHART LAKE, Wisconsin — Josef Newgarden was forced to keep challengers at bay throughout a caution-free 55 laps at Road America. He did so with ease. Newgarden surged to the early lead from pole and held the top spot through varying pit strategies to win Sunday’s Kohler Grand Prix. The victory was Newgarden’s 10th-career Verizon IndyCar Series win, and his third triumph of 2018. It also served as a healthy dose of redemption for the Tennessean after falling just short of victory at Road America in 2017.Read More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer ELKHART LAKE, Wisconsin — Ryan Hunter-Reay was the fastest Honda during qualifying ahead of Sunday’s Kohler Grand Prix but that wasn’t good enough to get him on the front row at Road America for the tenth race in the 2018 Verizon IndyCar Series season. The No. 28 DHL Honda was second fastest in the first group of knockout qualifying, only bested by Andretti Autosport teammate Alexander Rossi. Rossi would set the fastest time in the second round of knockout qualifying while Hunter-Reay would be third fastestRead More

By Aaron Bearden, Open Wheel Editor Josef Newgarden will lead the Verizon IndyCar Series field to green in Sunday’s Kohler Grand Prix at Road America. Newgarden survived to the Fast Six and bested Team Penske teammate Will Power with a time of 1:42.2026 to claim the Verizon P1 Award in IndyCar qualifying from Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. The result was Newgarden’s third pole of 2018, giving him more poles this season than in his six prior years of IndyCar competition combined. “It’s nice when you have the car to do it,” Newgarden said afterward.Read More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer ELKHART LAKE, Wisconsin — Friday has come and gone for the Kohler Grand Prix and the Verizon IndyCar Series and its support ladder had many interesting tidbits coming out of Road America. Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden topped both practice sessions with an overall Friday best lap of 1 minute, 42.6279 seconds for an average speed of 140.804 mph. However, behind Newgarden in each session were a large amount of Hondas ready to pounce on the defending series champion. Honda had four of the top five positionsRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer ELKHART LAKE, WI — Alfonso Celis Jr. is making his Verizon IndyCar Series debut in Sunday’s Kohler Grand Prix at Road America but the Mexican racer found that the tire barriers are unforgiving. The No. 32 Juncos Racing Chevrolet found a new home against the Turn 13 tire barrier after Celis pushed hard to find extra time during his fourth lap of Friday’s second practice session. The resulting contact broke off the rear wing and damaged the car’s suspension. Celis had tested at the 4.048 mileRead More