STREETS OF ST. PETERSBURG

 RACE: FIRESTONE GRAND PRIX OF ST. PETERSBURG          DATE: MAR. 5, 2023

JOSEF NEWGARDEN No. 2 HITACHI DALLARA/CHEVROLET

START – 6TH     FINISH – 23RD     POINTS – 18TH (-38)

RACE RUNDOWN: Josef Newgarden and the No. 2 Hitachi Chevrolet team were on their way to a top-10 finish in Sunday’s Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg until a mechanical failure in the closing laps relegated the No. 2 to a 17th-place finish. Newgarden started Sunday’s event 14th, but was forced to pit lane within the opening laps of the race to refresh his tires. He rejoined the field 18th and benefited from an extended green-flag run that gave him an opportunity to steadily make his way through the field. An onslaught of green-flag pit stops from his competitors beginning lap 28 also opened the door for him to gain more position, and he was scored a race-high third before a seamless stop for four Firestone “alternate” guayule tires and fuel. His climb to the front continued, and by the halfway mark he had the most passes on track. Another scheduled stop on lap 69 aided his forward motions, and Newgarden was scored fifth. Although misfortune struck with only six laps remaining in the 100-lap event, with an engine fire forcing the No. 2 to retire to pit lane where he ended his day.

NEWGARDEN’S THOUGHTS: “Pretty tough day. Just terrible ending. We had something mechanically break unfortunately on the engine side. Had a small fire. Tried to come to pit lane and shut it off, get it back to pit lane and get the fire out. It’s unfortunate because I think we were on for a top-five. I made a mistake on the last restart unfortunately with about 25 to go. We were restarting fifth and I went back to either eighth or ninth. I just got wide. I think for sure a top-10. We were capable of producing a good day which would have been a good start. Unfortunately, we just had to stop early. A real good job by the team. We had a really solid race. Everything was executed just beautifully as always. The Hitachi Chevy felt racy. We made some moves there in the middle. I was proud of everybody. It was a good first race to work together; a lot of new people on the crew. Everyone performed incredibly with really good stops. So I feel really encouraged for the next round. We’ll just get back on it and get this thing tuned up and keep going.”

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SCOTT McLAUGHLIN No. 3 DEX IMAGING DALLARA/CHEVROLET

START – 6TH     FINISH – 13TH      POINTS – 11TH (-31)

RACE RUNDOWN: Scott McLaughlin and the No. 3 DEX Imaging Chevrolet team looked to be in position to score their second consecutive victory in the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on Sunday afternoon before a late-race incident left them with a 13th-place finish. McLaughlin was the only Team Penske driver to make the Firestone Fast Six during Saturday’s time trials, starting the race in the sixth position on the primary Firestone tires. Starting on the primary tires gave race strategist Kyle Moyer the ability to run McLaughlin a bit longer in the first stint to grab the lead when pit stops began. McLaughlin was able to keep the lead after his pit stop by narrowly beating the No. 28 of Romain Grosjean when blending at the end of pit lane. After holding the top spot until pitting again on lap 71, McLaughlin again came out just in front of Grosjean as the two raced hard for the lead after the final pit stops. Unfortunately, the two came together just before hitting the backstretch, with Grosjean receiving the worst end of the altercation and unable to continue. McLaughlin was penalized for avoidable contact and dropped to the rear of the field, but fought back to finish 13th. 

MCLAUGHLIN’S THOUGHTS: “Very sorry to Romain (Grosjean). He’s a friend of mine. I know we were both going for the win there. I just made a big mistake. I tried to push on cold tires. I just didn’t have the grip on the inside (on the primary) like I did on the greens (alternate). Locked the rears. Unfortunately, we made wheel contact that time and it took us both out. Look, I don’t race like that. I apologize. I feel I had plenty of good battles with many good drivers. I just got to thank my DEX Imaging Chevy crew. The car was great. My fuel mileage was great. You have your good days, you have your bad days.”

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WILL POWER No. 12 VERIZON 5G DALLARA/CHEVROLET

START – 10TH     FINISH – 7TH     POINTS – 7TH (-25)

RACE RUNDOWN: The 2022 NTT INDYCAR SERIES Champion, Will Power, and the No. 12 Verizon 5G Chevrolet team got their 2023 season off to a solid start with a seventh-place finish in Sunday’s Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. Power rolled off from the 10th position and gradually made his way through the field during the first stint of the 100-lap race, particularly late in the run when the Firestone primary tires began to overtake the guayule alternates that many of the competitors elected to use for the start. After moving up to the sixth position at the halfway point of the race, Power and the No. 26 of Colton Herta made contact in the same, tricky area as his teammates. Power was also given an avoidable contact penalty and forced to drop to the rear of the field on the subsequent restart. The Australian driving ace was able to use the ample time left in the event to work his way through the field for a top-10 finish. 

POWER’S THOUGHTS: “We (Colton Herta) banged all the way in, and I went up the inside, and I had as much luck as I could. I feel bad that it ruined his day, but I thought he for sure he knew I was there. I was up his inside, and I just understeered. It wasn’t like just a big divebomb. I was here, and he kind of hung on the outside. I hate to ruin anyone’s day, I do. I hate that. I like to race these guys clean, and he races me clean, so I feel really bad. He ended up out, and I was able to keep going. Still a very good day for us. I’m really happy to get the Verizon 5G car in the top-10. A very hectic day.”

WHAT’S NEXT: The next event for the NTT INDYCAR SERIES will take place at Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday, April 2.

Team Penske NTT INDYCAR SERIES Race Recap
Track:  WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca

Race:   Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey

Date:   September 11, 2022

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No. 2 Hitachi Dallara/Chevrolet – Josef Newgarden

Start: 25th

Finish: 2nd

Laps Led: 5

Point Standings: 2nd (-14 pts)

Race Rundown: In what was one of the most-impressive drives of his career, Josef Newgarden and the No. 2 Hitachi Chevrolet team charged from 25th to second in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES season finale at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Newgarden would waste no time driving up to 18th by the seventh lap of the 95-lap event. Newgarden would be fifth when the only full-course caution flag waived on Lap 39. He would pit for red tires on lap 61 and begin a charge to the front, eventually passing teammate Will Power for second place. Unfortunately, the two-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion would run out of time and come home second to race winner Alex Palou. Newgarden clinched second in the championship with the result, his fifth-career top-two finish in the series standings.

Newgarden’s Thoughts: ” You know, in a lot of ways, I’m proud. I think I’m overwhelmingly proud of our team. We came up short in the 2 car, but at the end of the day, the team excelled tremendously this year. Outside of Indianapolis, I don’t think there’s a team that was in touching distance to Team Penske.

I’m filled with a lot of pride because I think the world of everybody on this team, not just the 2 car, but everyone on the 12, everyone on the 3. We’re all very close. I’m sad for the 2 car crew, but I’m also elated for the 12 car crew because there’s a lot of really good people there, and really a win for one car is a win for all of us. Obviously, we’re all competitive, and we want to personally be the winners, but when we win as a team, it is big for everybody. I’m filled with a lot of pride.

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No. 3 XPEL Dallara/Chevrolet – Scott McLaughlin

Start: 8th

Finish: 6th

Laps Led: 0

Point Standings: 4th (-50 pts)

Race Rundown: Scott McLaughlin started eighth and finished sixth in Sunday’s Firestone Grand Prix of Monterrey at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca driving the No. 3 XPEL Chevrolet. McLaughlin would start eighth and the New Zealander dropped back to the 10th position early. As strategy began to come into play, McLaughlin would move up to sixth during the only full-course caution on Lap 39. The second-year NTT INDYCAR SERIES driver would put on a spirited drive over the last 25 laps to make it up to sixth position. With the result, McLaughlin locked up fourth in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES final standings.

McLaughlin’s Thoughts: “We were doing our best for the team there and just covering Dixon. Covering our bases just so we wouldn’t get jumped by Ganassi. Once we got clear of him for the last stop it was just all about passing cars and using our speed. The XPEL Chevy was so good, and the Chevy power was awesome. Great car — fantastic and we just picked them up one at a time and got to fourth in the points on the last lap. Really awesome!

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No. 12 Verizon 5G Dallara/Chevrolet – Will Power

Start: 1st – 68th NTT P1 Award (most all time)

Finish: 3rd

Laps Led: 17

Point Standings: 1st

Race Rundown: Will Power and the No. 12 Verizon 5G Chevrolet team wrapped up the 2022 NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship with a third-place finish in Sunday’s Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. One of the most-prolific racers in series history, Power now adds a second title to accompany his 2014 championship. It was a historic weekend for the Australian driving ace as he passed Mario Andretti as the leader in all-time pole positions with his 68th NTT P1 Award on Saturday afternoon. Needing a third-place victory to clinch the title, Power led 17 of the first 26 laps before giving way to eventual race winner Alex Palou. Teammate Josef Newgarden – who entered the race 20 markers back of Power – made it interesting as he powered his way from a 25th-place starting position to second during the 95-lap event. A calm, collected Power did not stress over the remaining laps of the race as he finished on the podium for the ninth time this season to give Team Penske its 17th NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship.

Power’s Thoughts: “It’s so surreal. In the offseason my wife said to me I believe you’re going to beat Mario’s record and you’re going to win the championship. It actually gave me confidence that I could do it. That’s how much confidence I have in her gut feel. I just couldn’t believe that they came true. I just knew I had to get the most out of those stints today and not lose any more positions. I had to drive the thing today. It was on the edge, very loose. What a relief to get that done. I can’t thank Verizon enough. They’ve been with me for close to 12 years now and without them I would never have had this career and obviously Roger Penske, the whole team and Chevrolet.”

Team Penske NTT INDYCAR SERIES Race Recap
Track:  Portland International Raceway
Race:   Grand Prix of Portland 
Date:   September 4, 2022

No. 2 Hitachi Dallara/Chevrolet – Josef Newgarden

Start: 8th
Finish: 8th
Laps Led: 0
Point Standings: 2nd (-20 pts)

Race Rundown: Josef Newgarden and the No. 2 Hitachi Chevrolet team finished eighth on a beautiful Sunday afternoon at Portland International Raceway. Newgarden qualified second but rolled off from the eighth position after a six-position grid penalty for an engine change entering the NTT INDYCAR SERIES race weekend. Starting the race on Firestone black primary tires, Newgarden fell out of the top 10 in the early laps. Working the undercut with a fast early pit stop, Newgarden slotted into the sixth position on Lap 32 after all first pit stops were completed. Newgarden cracked the top five on Lap 42 as he passed reigning series champion Alex Palou. At the halfway mark of the race, Newgarden worked his way to fourth place with one pit stop remaining on the day. The last pit stop of day came on Lap 79 with race strategist Tim Cindric calling for four tires and fuel. A late-race caution on Lap 85 bunched the field up for a sprint to the finish. On the ensuing restart, Newgarden lost a handful of positions as the Hitachi Chevrolet’s black sidewall tires struggled for grip coming to the finish. Newgarden and the No. 2 team will advance to the season finale at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca next weekend tied with Scott Dixon, 20 points behind teammate Will Power in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship standings.

Newgarden’s Thoughts: ” I think the obvious (thing) was that we didn’t predict the caution. There’s always the risk that a caution comes out in that final stint. I wasn’t thinking about that; we went green the entire race. I thought the primary tires would probably have better durability at the end. That argument holds up a little better with no caution. We just got hosed when we had to restart with all reds (around him). I was blown away at how much better everyone was on them, especially in the caution situations. That just did not play into our favor, unfortunately. It’s a hard day where we really gained nothing after a tough starting spot. We’ll regroup and take our Team Chevy car with Hitachi to Laguna and try to be fast.”

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No. 3 Freightliner Dallara/Chevrolet – Scott McLaughlin

Start: 1st – Third career NTT P1 Award, 62nd career Team Penske pole position (most all time)
Finish: 1st – Third career NTT INDYCAR SERIES victory                                    
Laps Led: 104
Point Standings: 5th (-41 pts)

Race Rundown: Scott McLaughlin and the No. 3 Freightliner Chevrolet team cruised to their third win of the 2022 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season in the Grand Prix of Portland at Portland International Raceway on Sunday afternoon. The New Zealander started from the pole position and was never seriously challenged throughout most of the race until the first caution flag of the day at Lap 85 bunched the field back together. Over the final 20 laps of the 110-lap event, McLaughlin could see teammate Will Power and third-place finisher Scott Dixon in his rear view mirror, but he was able to keep both former series champions at bay. McLaughlin will enter the season finale at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca next weekend with a shot at the 2022 championship in just his second, full season competing in the INDYCAR SERIES. McLaughlin will enter the race ranked fifth in the standings, 41 points behind teammate and series leader, Will Power.

McLaughlin’s Thoughts: “I don’t think the car really felt good in that first stint but as the race went on, it got a little bit worse. I just had to really concentrate on where I wanted the strengths of the car to be and work with those and make the best of the weaknesses. The Freightliner Chevy all weekend has been fast. It’s been right there where we needed. This team – the Thirsty Threes – got the job done in the pits, and I’m really proud of them. We did exactly what we needed to do this weekend, which was win and get max points to keep ourselves in the championship fight. Yeah we’re a longshot. I don’t care because we have a shot so I’m looking forward to it.”

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No. 12 Verizon 5G Dallara/Chevrolet – Will Power

Start: 2nd
Finish: 2nd
Laps Led: 2
Point Standings: 1st (+20 pts)

Race Rundown: Will Power and the No. 12 Verizon 5G Chevrolet team more than held serve in the push for the 2022 NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship by finishing second in Sunday’s Grand Prix of Portland at Portland International Raceway. The 2014 series champion increased his lead to 20 markers over teammate Josef Newgarden and Scott Dixon entering the season finale next weekend at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Power, along with the rest of the field, made it through the treacherous first corner at Portland without incident as the race ran caution-free for the first 85 laps. When the lone yellow flag flew, it gave Power his best shot of the day to get around teammate Scott McLaughlin on the ensuing race restart. Once the green flag flew to resume the race with 22 laps to go, McLaughlin was able to pull away from Power and the rest of the field. After collecting his eighth podium finish of the season, Power and the No. 12 Verizon 5G Chevy team put themselves in a good position to win their second series title with a good performance next weekend.

Power’s Thoughts: “The red (tires) were a lot better for us. The black tires  just never really came on and we never really had a good balance with it. It was a tough decision because those reds had a lot of laps on them, but I still feel like we would have been quicker over the stint. It was the right move and a good move. It would have been tough on the restart without it, so it was a good call by the guys. We had good strategy all day. If (Christian) Lundgaard hadn’t gotten us at the start, we could have had a shot at Scott (Dixon). It’s another day where we did everything we could. We had a little get-together with Pato (O’Ward) so luckily that came out alright. I just want to win this championship for the guys who have been with me for more than a decade, like my engineer Dave (Faustino) and my data acquisition guy Robbie (Atkinson) and the group. It’s a lot less selfish for me this time around because they deserve it. I feel their pain over the years of losing so many. I’d love to win it for them.”

Team Penske NTT INDYCAR SERIES Race Recap
Track:  World Wide Technology Raceway

Race:   Bommarito Automotive Group 500

Date:   August 20, 2022

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No. 2 PPG Dallara/Chevrolet – Josef Newgarden

Start: 3rd

Finish: 1st – 25th career NTT INDYCAR SERIES win

Laps Led: 78

Point Standings: 2nd (-3 pts)

Race Rundown: Josef Newgarden and the No. 2 PPG Chevrolet team continued their dominance at World Wide Technology Raceway with their fourth win in the last six NTT INDYCAR SERIES races at the St. Louis-area oval in Saturday’s Bommarito Automotive Group 500. This was Newgarden’s 25th career series victory, tying him with Gordon Johncock for 16th place on the all-time list. Newgarden started the 260-lap event from the fourth position, and he kept his PPG Chevy in the top five throughout the first half of the race. The turning point came courtesy of a Lap 146 caution flag that shuffled the field that, up until then, had been paying heavy attention to the fuel gauge in an attempt to make it to the end with only three trips to pit lane. Race strategist Tim Cindric called his driver in for four fresh Firestone tires and fuel, and Newgarden returned to the track in the seventh position. With new tires and his fuel strategy loosened, Newgarden powered his way to the lead in just a handful of laps before teammate Scott McLaughlin slipped past on the following pit cycle just before a rain shower halted the action for just over two hours at Lap 223. When the racing resumed, Newgarden quickly jumped around McLaughlin to retake the lead and raced to the checkered flag.

Newgarden’s Thoughts: “All I can say is that this 2 car crew has been very patient with me. I’ve lost my cool probably a couple of time in closed doors just out of frustration for us. I feel like we’ve had small miscues timing-wise. That’s not really anybody’s fault. Sometimes you’re wrong time, wrong place. I feel like it’s been happening a lot this year. It kind of happened again tonight. I felt like we were in position and it was time to close. There was a barrier that got in front of us again, but fortunately we were able to get back out. I was so happy we could finish this race. Scott McLaughlin, he wanted to win too and I love that about us. We have a good relationship obviously. Each of us want to win but we he drove me super-fair there at the end, and we had a good fight. I can’t thank PPG and Team Chevy enough. Team Chevy absolutely crushed it with fuel mileage, reliability, power… everything you want from an engine. It’s a big night for everyone at Team Penske.”

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No. 3 Odyssey Battery Dallara/Chevrolet – Scott McLaughlin

Start: 4th

Finish: 3rd

Laps Led: 12

Point Standings: 6th (-54 pts)

Race Rundown: Scott McLaughlin piloted the No. 3 Odyssey Battery Chevrolet to a 3rd-place finish on Saturday evening in the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 at World Wide Technology Raceway. He started the weekend strong, picking up his third top-five start on an oval this season by qualifying fourth on Friday afternoon. McLaughlin cracked the top three in the early going, and following a quick pit stop moved up to second after the first cycle of green flag pit stops. Following another cycle of green flag pit stops with the field using various fuel strategies, McLaughlin found himself in fourth position until the first yellow of the race. Pitting on Lap 149, McLaughlin fell to sixth using a strategy that anticipated rain that was threatening the area. McLaughlin made quick work of the field on the ensuing restart and throttled to fourth in the opening laps of the stint. A fantastic pit exchange during a Lap 206 pit stop under the green flag pushed McLaughlin to the lead before a two-hour rain delayed paused the race with 37 laps remaining. He fell into the clutches of teammate Josef Newgarden on the first lap back under the green flag and finished on the podium after a late race dropped him to third.

McLaughlin’s Thoughts: “That’s oval racing, and we love it. I want more of it. David’s (Malukas, runner-up) move on the last lap… credit to him. He’s a phenomenal young kid and I hope he goes far. The way he’s been coming up through the ranks and getting into the Fast Sixes, he’s been great all year. Full credit to him. The main aim for the team was a team win today. The Odyssey Battery Chevy was good. We all did our parts.”

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No. 12 Verizon 5G Dallara/Chevrolet – Will Power

Start: 1st – 67th career NTT INDYCAR SERIES P1 Award, tied for the most all time

Finish: 6th

Laps Led: 126 – race high

Point Standings: 1st

Race Rundown: Will Power and the No. 12 Verizon 5G Chevrolet team dominated the first half of Saturday’s Bommarito Automotive Group 500 at World Wide Technology Raceway before finishing in the sixth position. History was made on Friday afternoon as Power became the second driver in NTT INDYCAR SERIES history with 67 pole positions, tying Mario Andretti for the all-time lead. Power led the field for most of the first 130 laps, relinquishing it only during pit cycles. With most of the field on varying pit strategies – trying to make it to the checkered flag with only three trips to pit lane, along with the threat of rain – Power and race strategist Ron Ruzewski elected to continue with the strategy that bought them down pit lane less. He would drop to the back of the top five as those teams that elected to pit for tires were able to make their way past. A two-hour rain delay gave Power and the Verizon 5G Chevy team an opportunity to plan on making their way back to the front when racing resumed with 37 laps to go. Unfortunately, a battle with lapped traffic over the final laps caused him to drop to sixth at the checkered flag. Power maintains the lead in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship standings with only two races remaining at Portland International Raceway and WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.

Power’s Thoughts: “Once again, it was a good day with P6 in the Verizon 5G Chevy. Obviously, we wanted more. We made a mistake and didn’t take that yellow. That’s INDYCAR. It’s never straight-forward. You expect that in the championship. It might come back to us in the next two in a different way. That’s how it is. We’ve got some good tracks coming up. Like I predicted, it will be a tough battle all the way to the end. I’ve been around a long time and know how these things go. The best thing about today is that we finished in the top-six, so that’s still pretty good.”

Team Penske NTT INDYCAR SERIES Race Recap
Track:  Streets of Nashville

Race:   Music City Grand Prix

Date:   August 7, 2022

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No. 2 PPG Dallara/Chevrolet – Josef Newgarden

Start: 6th

Finish: 6th

Laps Led: 12

Point Standings: 4th (-22)

Race Rundown: Hometown favorite Josef Newgarden and the No. 2 PPG Chevrolet team battled through several chaotic laps around the Streets of Nashville course to nab a sixth-place finish on Sunday afternoon in the Music City Grand Prix. The race got off to a clean start following a lengthy weather delay for severe thunderstorms in the Nashville area. After dropping to 14th in the running order following his first pit stop of the day – along with dodging an incident on lap 27 – race strategist Tim Cindric called his driver down pit road on lap 39, which resulted in a different pit strategy from the rest of the field. The varying strategy got Newgarden into the lead on lap 65, and a caution soon after allowed the No. 2 Chevy team to make their final pit stop under the yellow flag. From there, the two-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion crossed the finish line in the sixth position.

Newgarden’s Thoughts: “I’m a little frustrated honestly. It felt like we got bullied around a couple of times and the strategy just didn’t go in our favor. It was a hard-fought day and I’m really proud of the team effort. Everyone with PPG and Team Chevy did a great job – we just can’t seem to get enough breaks this year. We’ve had a lot of success – we’ve had wins but we need a few more of these races to favor us a little bit on the strategy. We’ll move on from here. We’ve got great potential to keep fighting for the championship, along with our teammates, and hopefully we can get it done this year.”

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No. 3 DEX Imaging Dallara/Chevrolet – Scott McLaughlin

Start: 1st

Finish: 2nd

Laps Led: 22

Point Standings: 6th (-58)

Race Rundown: Scott McLaughlin consistently had one of the fastest cars all weekend at the Music City Grand Prix and he delivered a strong runner-up result in the No. 3 DEX Imaging Chevrolet on Sunday afternoon. After winning his second-career NTT INDYCAR SERIES pole position Saturday and establishing a new team record with his 61st career pole for Team Penske, McLaughlin continued to produce on Sunday. He led the first 22 laps of the race, only surrendering the lead when he made his first trip to pit lane. He continued to work his way back up front with different pit strategies playing out in a race that featured eight caution flags. On a lap 41 restart, McLaughlin advanced from fourth to second within four laps, with some impressive driving on the tight and technical street circuit. During the caution period on lap 52, McLaughlin made his second trip to pit lane and, after a challenging stop, the DEX Imaging Chevy took the race restart in 15th place. McLaughlin continued to work his way back up the running order, however, advancing to seventh by lap 60 and with 13 laps remaining in the 80-lap race, he had moved back inside the top five. McLaughlin continued to hunt down the cars in front of him and after the final incident of the day with four laps remaining, he was positioned in second place behind race leader Scott Dixon. After a red flag halted the action to set up a two-lap shootout to the finish, McLaughlin put pressure on Dixon over the final two laps before bringing home a runner-up result in the No. 2 DEX Imaging Chevy. The strong performance saw McLaughlin jump up to sixth in the series championship standings, now 58 points behind series leader and teammate Will Power.

McLaughlin’s Thoughts: “It is a bummer to come up one spot short, but I’m so proud of this No. 3 DEX Imaging Chevy team. This DEX car has been very good to us this year and we had a car that could have won this race. If this was an 81 or 82-lap race I think we would have made it past Dixon, but it was only 80 laps. We were alongside there across the finish line. But man, we were 16th on that last pit exchange and had an awesome restart, and then the car was fast. Just fell short at the end. Congrats to Scotty. Always dreamed of racing him to the finish. That was a proper duel.”

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No. 12 Verizon 5G Dallara/Chevrolet – Will Power

Start: 8th

Finish: 11th

Laps Led: 0

Point Standings: 1st (+6)

Race Rundown: Will Power and the No. 12 Verizon 5G Chevrolet team overcame an incident that damaged their gearbox to finish 11th in Sunday’s Music City Grand Prix on the Streets of Nashville. Power – the 2014 NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion – continues to lead the series standings by six points with three races remaining. Following a weather delay of nearly an hour-and-a half, Power was one of a handful of drivers that elected to start the race on the black Firestone primary tires before switching to the new, green alternate tire on the team’s first pit stop at Lap 24. Just after going green following the pit stop, Power was hit from the rear by the No. 5 of Pato O’Ward that damaged the gearbox slightly but allowed Power to continue. Unfortunately, the issue reared its head on the second pit stop of the day as Power was slow to launch from his pit stall, and it hampered him on restarts while going through the gears. However, he was able to soldier on and nearly grab a top-10 finish on the day.

Power’s Thoughts: “Yeah, it’s shame we weren’t able to get a better finish today. We had a very fast Verizon 5G Chevy all weekend and we did the best we could but we got hit from behind early on and had issues with the gearbox the rest of the race. It’s the tough part of close street racing sometimes and it definitely hurt us today. It’s good to still come out of here with the points lead and we’ll get back at it and be ready for Gateway.”

Team Penske NTT INDYCAR SERIES Race Recap
Track:  Iowa Speedway

Race:   Hy-VeeDeals.com 250

Date:   July 23, 2022

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No. 2 Hitachi Dallara/Chevrolet – Josef Newgarden

Start: 2nd

Finish: 1st – 24th career NTT INDYCAR SERIES win

Laps Led: 208

Point Standings: 2nd (-15)

Race Rundown: Josef Newgarden was not ready to publicly proclaim that he and the No. 2 Hitachi Chevrolet team were the pre-race favorites in Saturday’s Hy-VeeDeals.com 250 at Iowa Speedway. After yet another dominating victory at the Newton, IA oval, it’s hard to argue that he does not have the 7/8-mile oval completely figured out. Newgarden started from the second position and took the lead from teammate Will Power on Lap 23. He would relinquish it only during pit cycles as he led 208 laps on the day, to push the two-time champion over 3,000 laps led in his career. The day wasn’t without some late-race heartburn, as the No. 5 of Pato O’Ward applied pressure to Newgarden with 25 laps remaining. Newgarden had a little speed left however, as he pulled away late for his fourth win of 2022, and the 24th NTT INDYCAR SERIES win of his career.

Newgarden’s Thoughts: “You know, this was a long game day and I think (Pato) O’Ward definitely looked like he was the toughest competitor today to beat.  But I am really proud of our team and obviously Hitachi and Team Chevy showed up with a really good piece. I was disappointed after qualifying because I just hate losing them because I felt like we had enough to get the job done and we didn’t.  That motivated me because I knew we had a car here today to win this race and in front of this great crowd. Unbelievable job by Hy-Vee, you know they are throwing concerts all weekend and they are doing everything they can amenity-wise for people out here. So, this has been a great event and its one of my favorite tracks. To be able to win here again, it’s always very special.”

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No. 3 Freightliner Dallara/Chevrolet – Scott McLaughlin

Start: 5th

Finish: 22nd

Laps Led: 0

Point Standings: 7th (-93)

Race Rundown: Scott McLaughlin, in his first appearance on the Iowa Speedway oval, piloted the No. 3 Freightliner Chevrolet to a 22nd-place finish in Saturday afternoon’s Hy-VeeDeals.com 250. During the morning qualifying session, McLaughlin laid down a strong run resulting in his second top-five start on an oval this season. Scott held strong through the beginning stages of the race and the first cycle of green flag pit stops with a front wing adjustment. Just a few laps after making a strong move and pass for fourth position, the caution came out for an incident on lap 165. During the ensuing pit stop under yellow, the team had trouble with the right rear resulting in another trip down pit lane. Once returning to the track, and losing a couple laps, Scott ended up 22nd on the day.

McLaughlin’s Thoughts: “A pretty unfortunate day for the No. 3 Freightliner Chevy team. We were running pretty strong, and the car was feeling good, and then end up with a loose wheel after a pit stop. That took us out of contention, but we still finished and got some points. Overall, it could have been a lot better day, but we build as a team and this will make us stronger.”

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No. 12 Verizon 5G Dallara/Chevrolet – Will Power

Start: 1st – 65th career NTT P1 Award

Finish: 3rd

Laps Led: 23

Point Standings: 3rd (-22)

Race Rundown: Will Power continued his charge north through the NTT INDYCAR SERIES record books by winning the 65th NTT P1 Award of his career on the way to a third-place finish in Saturday’s Hy-VeeDeals.com 250 at Iowa Speedway. With the pole position, the 2014 series champion and 41-time race winner sits just two behind Mario Andretti for the most in series history. Power kept his No. 12 Verizon 5G Chevrolet up front for the first 22 laps of the race, before giving way to teammate Josef Newgarden. Never falling out of the top five throughout 250 laps and three pit stops, Power was able to drive back to the rear bumper of Newgarden late in the race before eventually dropping back to the third position at the checkered flag.

Power’s Thoughts: “Yeah, we were definitely strong there before it went yellow. Then on that next restart I had to push so hard to keep guys behind that I had a couple of good yaw moments and the rear just never recovered.  I ended up maxed out on my tools, so that was just a matter of pushing. I mean it was either lose positions or really push in the dirty air of Josef.  I was really stoked to be third for like hanging on like that.  Man, the tires are so gone at the end its crazy. It’s kind of fun because you slide these things a lot, but yeah it was a good effort for the Chevy Verizon 5G car.  Another top three and you never look back on those as a bad day, so a good day.”