Josef Newgarden Tag

By INDYCAR INDIANAPOLIS – In a career full of success, winning the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge is one of the few boxes Josef Newgarden hasn’t checked. That could change this year, if the first day of the Indy 500 Open Test on Thursday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway is any indication. SEE: Test Results Two-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Newgarden was the fastest of 33 drivers on the 2.5-mile oval during the 8.5-hour test, turning a top lap of 227.686 mph in the No. 2 Shell Team Penske Chevrolet. Newgarden’s best finishRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor When it’s your day, it’s your day. The start of the 2023 NTT IndyCar Series season didn’t start the way Kyle Kirkwood and Andretti Autosport would have liked following two tumultuous races at St. Petersburg and Texas, but they can put all that behind them now as Kirkwood was victorious in Sunday’s Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach – his first career IndyCar win. Kirkwood streaked to his first career IndyCar pole on Saturday ahead of Marcus Ericsson and his Andretti teammate Romain Grosjean and thatRead More

By INDYCAR LONG BEACH, Calif. – Kyle Kirkwood earned his first career NTT INDYCAR SERIES pole Saturday, grabbing the NTT P1 Award for the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. Kirkwood, from Jupiter, Florida, won the top spot for the prestigious Southern California street race with a best time of 1 minute, 6.2878 seconds on his final lap in the Firestone Fast Six in the No. 27 AutoNation Honda. Kirkwood’s previous best starting spot in his NTT INDYCAR SERIES career was fifth in March at the season-opening Firestone Grand PrixRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer The Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach is one of INDYCAR’s most prestigious events of the season and for a valid reason. A former stop in the Formula One World Championship from 1976-1983, American Open Wheel Racing have since kept the Southern California street course alive and vibrant. More than any other street courses, Long Beach has had the luxury of having stability which has kept the venue on the calendar on an annual basis. Fans pack the venue to see various racing disciplines, ranging fromRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor FORT WORTH, Tex. – Thrice as nice. For the third time in his career, Josef Newgarden found himself in Victory Lane at Texas Motor Speedway, holding off a hard-charging Pato O’Ward down the stretch in Sunday’s PPG 375 to earn himself another cowboy hat. In what was one of the most hotly contested races at the 1.5-mile oval in recent years, deciding which driver would come away victorious was up in the air from the time the green flag dropped all the way to the checkered.Read More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor FORT WORTH, Tex. — A busy Saturday at Texas Motor Speedway ended with six-time NTT IndyCar Series champion Scott Dixon topping the board in final practice for Sunday’s running of the PPG 375. The Chip Ganassi Racing ace, who has won five times previously at the 1.5-mile track, put down his fast lap of 223.378 mph with less than 10 minutes left in the session to give him a boost of momentum heading into Sunday. Josef Newgarden, the defending winner at Texas, led the way forRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer The future of Texas Motor Speedway has become the focal point of the INDYCAR paddock, press and fans alike over the past few years. With the second round of the championship trail drawing near, there’s still such an unknown about the once revered 1.5-mile oval’s future. However, there’s some buzz going into this weekend’s PPG 375. Among the positives is a promising crowd showing up to support Pato O’Ward, who captured his maiden INDYCAR win in Texas two years ago. In fact, O’Ward bought an entireRead More

By INDYCAR MONTEREY, Calif. – It wasn’t easy for differing reasons, but Will Power and Alex Palou both ended up winners Sunday after the season-ending Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Power survived varying tire strategies and challenges from rivals to finish third in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet and clinch his second NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship, adding to his 2014 title. The championship came just one day after Power set the INDYCAR SERIES career record with his 68th pole, breaking a tie with fellowRead More

By INDYCAR MONTEREY, Calif. – Josef Newgarden was the first driver among the contenders for the NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship to move chips toward the center of the table in this high-stakes confrontation, leading practice Friday for the season-ending Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey. Two-time series champion Newgarden, who is second in points, 20 behind teammate Will Power, was quickest with a lap of 1 minute, 11.4103 seconds in the No. 2 Hitachi Team Penske Chevrolet. Scott Dixon (-20 points), Marcus Ericsson (-39) and Scott McLaughlin (-41) are the otherRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer After 16 grueling and intense months of competition, the championship trail ends in Monterey. Out of the 25 full-time drivers that accepted the season-long challenge at St. Petersburg in March, only five remain that have a shot of hoisting the Astor Cup this Sunday. Of those five racers, they come from two race teams in Team Penske and Chip Ganassi Racing. Between championship leader Will Power to fifth-place Scott McLaughlin, the gap is 41 points. It rivals the 2003 championship battle where it also had fiveRead More