Josef Newgarden Tag

As the NFL is gearing up for the season, and NASCAR is ready for its Chase for the Championship, the Verizon Indycar Season is winding down, as planned, before Labor Day. The final race on the schedule, The Go Pro Grand Prix of Sonoma, will take place this weekend, with a season champion being crowned on Sunday afternoon. With any luck, we will have a longer season in 2016 and beyond, but, I’ll write about that on another day. It will undoubtedly be a subdued celebration on Sunday as theRead More

Among the two superteams fighting for the Verizon IndyCar Series championship are two small teams that have risen above the odds to become championship contenders. Graham Rahal of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing stands second in points with two wins (Auto Club Speedway, Mid-Ohio), 34 marks behind points leader Juan Pablo Montoya, and is in a rebirth of his career after finishing 18th and 19th in points the last two seasons. The reasons for Rahal’s quick rise range from father Bobby Rahal no longer calling the shots on his pitbox toRead More

It took 63 tries, but Josef Newgarden finally captured his first Verizon IndyCar Series pole position for the evening’s ABC Supply Wisconsin 250. Newgarden backed up setting the pace during the race’s two practice sessions to log a 170.223 mph 2 lap average on the 1 mile oval to take his first career pole. Starting on the outside of the front row was a surprising run for super sub Ryan Briscoe, who was 20th in this morning’s practice session and will start on front row at Milwaukee for the firstRead More

A perfectly timed pitstop before a full course caution put Josef Newgarden in position to become the first repeat winner of the Verizon IndyCar Series season. The race started in wet conditions and was dominated early by polesitter Will Power with teammate Simon Pagenaud holding steady in second place. The track dried out rather quickly and the field pitted for dry tires after just 11 laps of racing. Power re-assumed the lead once the queue cycled around but now had Pagenaud right on his tail and stalked his teammate overRead More

Simon Pagenaud was the top dog during on Thursday as he paced the time charts both with and without a tow. The Frenchman turned laps of 228.793 mph and 227.662 mph over Carlos Munoz, the fastest man of the month so far and the Chip Ganassi Racing trio of Sage Karam, Scott Dixon and Tony Kanaan. “Today was a really good day for the Avaya car,” Pagenaud said. “We’ve been focusing on understanding what the car does in qualifying runs. Very happy to see the preparation from Penske and howRead More

Josef Newgarden was the victim of the second blowover in two days during the final hour of practice on Thursday for the Indianapolis 500. The Tennessean spun upon exiting Turn 1 and slammed into the SAFER barrier with the left front of the car first. The car then lifted off the ground with the rear first before gently landing upside down and sliding down the South Chute. The Holmatro Safety Team righted the car and Newgarden climbed out under his own power and was taken to the IU Health InfieldRead More

The Verizon IndyCar Series had a rough start to its 2015 season. The first two races were forgettable, to put it kindly.  A nice, if somewhat uneventful, weekend at Long Beach gave a glimmer of hope. With the Month of May looming, the Series entered Barber Motorsports Park for the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama, needing to pull off a great event. Barber delivered in a big way. The storylines coming out of the beautiful circuit in suburban Birmingham are just what the doctor ordered. On this particular raceRead More

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (April 26, 2015) – Josef Newgarden wasn’t nervous with three-time Verizon IndyCar Series champion Scott Dixon and a hard-charging Graham Rahal within striking distance in the closing laps of the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama. The 24-year-old Tennessee native held off both competitors and pulled away for his first Verizon IndyCar Series victory in his 55th start. Newgarden, driving the No. 67 Hartman Oil CFH Racing Chevrolet, is the fourth different winner in as many races this season. This was the first victory since the merger ofRead More

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (April 25, 2015) – Helio Castroneves earned the Verizon P1 Award for the second consecutive race and extended a Team Penske streak of seven straight pole awards, a run that spans the last two Verizon IndyCar Series seasons. Castroneves, driving the No. 3 AAA Insurance Team Penske Chevrolet, recorded a quick lap of 1 minute, 7.1925 seconds on the 2.3-mile, 17-turn Barber Motorsports Park road course to claim the $10,000 pole award for the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama. The pole was the 43rd of Castroneves’ career,Read More

Fresh off of a successful weekend in Long Beach, where Scott Dixon took a popular win, the Verizon IndyCar Series has arrived in the deep South for the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama at Barber Motorsports Part. The Series returns to the purpose-built, natural terrain road course for the sixth consecutive year. The event has become a favorite of drivers and fans alike, and remains a popular off-season testing spot for the Series as well. As a race course, Barber Motorsports Park has a ton of personality. The facilityRead More