Josef Newgarden Tag

By David Morgan, Associate Editor ELKHART LAKE, Wis. – Alex Palou picked up right where he left off last time at Road America – at the top of the board. The two-time NTT IndyCar Series champion and defending winner at the Wisconsin road course, surpassed Colton Herta late in the session to claim the top spot with a lap of one minute, 43.1709 seconds. “Great start so far,” said Palou. “It doesn’t mean anything. It just means the car is really good. Easy to drive. It’s really great to be backRead More

By INDYCAR DETROIT – Less than one week ago, Colton Herta’s Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge ended in 23rd place after he struggled following contact with the SAFER Barrier in the first half of the race. What a difference six days makes. Herta earned his first NTT P1 Award of the season by taking the top spot Saturday for the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear on the streets of Detroit. Herta drove to his 12th career pole with a lap of 1 minute, .5475 of a second in theRead More

By INDYCAR DETROIT – Alex Palou, one of the smoothest drivers in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, sure has taken a liking to the rough-and-tumble Streets of Detroit circuit since its debut in 2023. Palou opened his defense of his Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear victory last year by leading the first practice for this year’s event Friday with a top lap of 1 minute, 1.7210 seconds in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. SEE: Practice Results Two-time and reigning NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Palou will aim for hisRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor SPEEDWAY, Ind. – As Josef Newgarden celebrated his second straight win in the Indianapolis 500, runner-up finisher Pato O’Ward pulled into his pit box, started to climb from his car and laid his head on the top of the cockpit as he tried to gather his thoughts about coming so close to accomplishing a life-long dream. The 25-year-old Mexican has come close to winning at Indianapolis before, but this time, it just seemed to sting more. Starting the day in eighth-place, O’Ward held steady among theRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor SPEEDWAY, Ind. – For the second year in a row, Josef Newgarden took matters into his own hands in the final lap of the Indianapolis 500, passing Pato O’Ward to secure back-to-back wins in the biggest race of the NTT IndyCar Series. In a race delayed by rain for more than four hours, Newgarden and O’Ward were racing daylight as the laps wound down Sunday, with the two drivers trading the lead over the final seven laps of the race, with fan-favorite O’Ward taking the leadRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor SPEEDWAY, Ind. – In the past two Indianapolis 500s, “The Dragon” has been synonymous with the closing laps of the race with drivers weaving back and forth, especially off Turn 2 and Turn 4 in an effort to keep the driver in second place behind them. First with Marcus Ericsson pulling the move to keep Pato O’Ward behind him in 2022 and then last season when Josef Newgarden flipped the script and used the move against Ericsson to win the race. The rub came with theRead More

By Kirby Arnold, Special Contributor SPEEDWAY, Ind. — Dominant as Team Penske’s three drivers have been this month at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, they know it will take a perfect performance to win the Indianapolis 500.  Success in practice and qualifying doesn’t always carry into a race where anything can happen. And probably will.   They must hit the right race-day setup, their engines must run without a hiccup, and pit stops must be trouble-free just to get them into a late-race shootout for the lead, which has become common in recent years. Read More

By Kirby Arnold, Special Contributor SPEEDWAY, Ind. — Defending Indianapolis 500 winner Josef Newgarden of Team Penske led practice Monday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Chevrolet teams dominated the speed chart.  Again.  One day after Penske drivers swept the three front-row starting spots and Chevy-powered cars claimed the first eight positions for Sunday’s race, the story was much the same Monday in race trim.  Newgarden posted the fastest lap at 226.238 mph and, after Colton Herta was second in his Andretti Global Honda, the next five were Chevy cars – Will Power,Read More

By Kirby Arnold, Special Contributor SPEEDWAY, Ind. — Scott McLaughlin led a historic performance by Team Penske on Sunday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, winning the pole position for the Indianapolis 500 with an effort that hadn’t been accomplished in 36 years.  McLaughlin, Will Power and Josef Newgarden swept all three front-row spots for Team Penske, repeating what had only been done once in the history of the race, in 1988 when Penske drivers Rick Mears, Danny Sullivan and Al Unser Sr. qualified 1-2-3.  Running last among six drivers who advancedRead More

By Kirby Arnold, Special Contributor SPEEDWAY, Ind. – Team Penske continued its show of strength Saturday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, its three drivers recording the fastest speeds on the first day of qualifying for the Indianapolis 500. Will Power led the field with a four-lap average of 233.758 mph, followed by Scott McLaughlin (233.332 mph) and Josef Newgarden (233.293 mph) to comprise an all-Penske parade at the top of the speed chart. Alexander Rossi of Arrow McLaren was fourth-fastest at 233.069 mph and Kyle Kirkwood, 232.764 mph for Andretti Global,Read More