Newgarden handles weather in Alabama
LEEDS, Ala. – Josef Newgarden and the No. 1 Team Penske crew nailed it. Coming out of the raindelayed Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama on Sunday, each and every team was charged with coming up with a strategy to jump him Monday afternoon.
But Newgarden held off all comers. He claimed his second victory of the season Monday and his second straight win at Barber Motorsports Park.
Credit belongs to Newgarden for holding on tight one the rain started falling Monday afternoon. But a lot of credit also belongs to his team, for choosing the winning two-stop strategy that allowed him to chance to rain tires once the heavens opened up.
“Everyone did a great job – good fuel mileage, good reliability,” Newgarden said in victory circle. “It was definitely what we needed to win this race. This was more eventful than I wanted that’s for sure. Fortunately we had a big gap, and that’s really what helped us win the race.”
For Newgarden, the win was his third in his past four tries at Barber and win No. 99 for Team Penske. Penske has now won six of nine races at Barber.
Joining Newgarden on the podium is two-time Barber winner and Andretti Autosport star Ryan Hunter-Reay, who finished runner-up. Schmidt Peterson Motorsports driver James Hinchcliffe picked up his first podium of the season with a third-place run.
You must remember this: The highlight of the race has to be Zachary Claman DeMelo and Spencer Pigot going all fast and furious out on the track.
Jockeying for position early when the race resume on Monday, Pigot eventually got into the side of DeMelo and the two skidded across the track together, crisscrossing the road course twice before separating. Amazingly, both were able to continue racing, though Pigot’s car sustained some damage.
Championship update: Putting a little spin on IndyCar’s 2018 tag line, the future is now. Two of the series’ youngest stars, Josef Newgarden and Alexander Rossi are going toe-to-toe in the championship right now. Newgarden’s win vaults him to the top with 159 points, but Rossi – who finished 11th on Monday – is right behind him with 145.