Josef Newgarden has been nothing short of electric on the streets of Long Beach since joining Team Penske in 2017.
With an average finish of 3.7, the two-time NTT IndyCar Series champion has found the course along Shoreline Drive to be a strong suit for the No. 2 team.
“Long Beach has been good to us,” Newgarden said. “Two seconds, the last two years, (it) hurts a bit. I would like to get a win there, we’ve been close before, so we just got to figure out how to close the deal. If we have a weak place, we’re going to make it a strong place, and I feel like Long Beach has been getting there slowly for us. It’s definitely become a strength and we just need a little bit more to close the deal, and we feel like we can do that this weekend.”
Newgarden comes into the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach as the most recent IndyCar Series winner after a dramatic last-corner surge around teammate Scott McLaughlin to take the win at Texas Motor Speedway.
Team Penske so far this season has been a perfect two-for-two, with victories from McLaughlin and Newgarden.
The win two weeks ago came as a crucial positive for the No. 2 team, after new race engineer Eric Leichtle was brought in during the offseason, along with other numerous changes.
“To be able to capitalize that early, is important in any season,” Newgarden said, “I think more so for this season specifically on the 2 car because of how much turnover we’ve had. We always have a great crew on the 2 car, but it’s very different this year. It’s probably 60-70 percent turnover on just the people that we’re working with. We’re trying to gel and engage with each other so quickly in the season, and to get a win that early is very positive.”
A minor difference heading into Long Beach is that the circuit is back to its original Spring appearance, unlike last year when the pandemic moved it to September as the season finale.
Newgarden believes with that change, the number of daring passes during the race may be greater.
“It’s early in the season, you can still take a bit more risks,” Newgarden said. “You might see that, you might see some more moves that are maybe on the risky side that you wouldn’t take in the final race. Confidence is key. The car’s got to be solid on the brakes and you’ve got to feel like you have the car underneath you at a street course to really be able to attack.”
A big question that teams are going to face as the weekend progresses, is the new street circuit tire compound that Firestone has introduced this season.
With the drivers adjusting to the different compound and how it effects their cars, Newgarden mentioned it’s something that teams will have to overcome.
“I’m sure some teams are wrestling that with it more than others,” Newgarden said. “It’s always something you have to stay on top of. There’s small changes every year, whether it’s the track or the tire.”
In the season-finale last year, Newgarden narrowly missed winning at Long Beach after California-native Colton Herta stormed from 14th to the top step of the podium, proving that passing can be done on the tight circuit.
Newgarden feels that certain scenarios must play out throughout the race in order for drivers to have the opportunity to make up a greater number of spots on-track.
“If there’s a big tire offset, that traditionally brings a lot more passing,” Newgarden said. “Depending on how everyone is shuffled on both the primary and the alternate tire. Fuel can always add into the equation. If it turns into a fuel race, and not everybody’s on that strategy, that can add to increase the passing. A lot of it is dependent on how the race forms. We could also have a pretty straightforward day. We’ve seen that at Long Beach before where everyone’s kind of on the same program, and there’s not as much passing. I think if we get enough tire offset, which the chance of that happening now with this new compound of Firestone is higher.”