MADISON, Illinois – Roger Penske may own the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, but his driver, Josef Newgarden, owns World Wide Technology Raceway, at least on the race track.
Newgarden’s Chevrolet came to life after a 2-hour-and-nine-minute red flag because of rain during the Bommarito Automotive Group 500. The driver from Hendersonville, Tennessee was able to score his fourth win at the track that is actually owned by Curtis Francois and sponsored by the Midwest’s largest car dealer, John Bommarito.
It was Newgarden’s fifth win this season, 25th career IndyCar Series win and that ties him with the legendary two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Gordon Johncock on the all-time IndyCar victory list.
“It was a big night for everybody at Team Penske,” Newgarden said. “It’s also great points in the championship fight.”
With the victory, Newgarden has moved into second place in the NTT IndyCar Series championship race, just three points behind teammate Will Power.
“We’re going to race like we always do,” Newgarden said. “It’s as simple as that. We race each other hard. It’s not the first time Will and I have raced each other. We’ll fight it out as normal.
“Clearly, we don’t want to jeopardize the whole group. There is nothing that matters more than putting a Team Penske car in Victory Lane. We have to make sure one car secures the championship. It’s a balance that we have to make sure doesn’t get ugly at some point.”
Newgarden was able to hold off hard-charging rookie driver David Malukas from Chicago, who fought very hard to pass another Team Penske driver, Scott McLaughlin, for second place with three laps to go.
“Man, that kid was hungry,” Newgarden said of Malukas. “It’s a good thing that race didn’t go a few extra laps. If David mounted a real effort on me, I would have more to push him.
“If you are too respectful, you can get run over in this series. You have to push your elbows out because it is so competitive. I would have felt comfortable racing with him. He is one of the best rookies I’ve raced in a long time because he is so respectful.”
McLaughlin was disappointed that he did not have a chance to battle Newgarden for the victory and not be able to maintain second place when Malukas took the position.
“Main thing is, Penske won and that’s a big deal for Roger Penske and for the team,” McLaughlin said. “I’m disappointed for third, which is a good thing, but we’re off to starting next season and having a good year.”
Power started on the pole and led 128 laps in the 260-lap contest. The race ran uninterrupted from the drop of the green flag to Lap 145 when Jack Harvey of Rahal Letterman Lanigan made contact with his Honda in the Turn 4 wall.
The second caution came on Lap 214 for rain and one lap later, the race was red-flagged for 2-hours-and-nine-minutes.
The green flag waved to restart the race on Lap 224 and McLaughlin was the leader. But when Newgarden’s Chevrolet came to life, and he passed McLaughlin’s Chevrolet for the lead in Turn 3.
The two Penske ran 1-2, but Malukas was charging. He passed Pato O’Ward for third place on Lap 246 and raced after McLaughlin for second.
On the next-to-last lap of the race, Malukas passed McLaughlin for second in Turn 2. He didn’t have time to catch Newgarden, however, who took the checkered flag.
“Everybody came alive after that rain delay,” Newgarden said. “Before that, everybody was in fuel save mode and trying to do it on three pit stops, but we made the right calls, did everything right and were able to close the thing out.
“I love night races. To me, they are better. The cars look great and the fans and the crowd. But it’s not up to me, but they do take what the drivers think when we make that decision.”
Newgarden admitted that he has forged a great friendship with McLaughlin and loves racing against him for the victory.
“With Scott, it’s a little bittersweet because we are such great friends and competitors,” Newgarden said. “He’s a great teammate and a tremendous friend and a great competitor and sometimes it’s hard to have a great friendship like that.
“Nights like this are good. At the end of the day, if we are battling for victories, that means we are having a very good night.”
The contest featured some great racing, but the 1.25-mile oval didn’t fully develop a second racing groove like many drivers had hoped for, especially after a high-lane practice session on Friday.
“I wish we could get a second lane going,” Newgarden said. “If we could get a second lane going at this place, it would be gnarly.”
Newgarden didn’t get his first career IndyCar win until he drove to victory at Barber Motorsports Park in 2015. Eight seasons later, he captured his 25th career win.
Can he reach 50 victories in his career?
“Hey, I’m not stopping,” Newgarden said. “Let’s get to 10 wins a year. If we can whip off a season with 10 or 12 wins, that would be impressive.
“People think I’m joking, but I really am thinking that way. If we can keep accelerating the wins, that is only good for all of us.”