LEXINGTON, Ohio – On the Fourth of July, Team Penske driver Josef Newgarden became the winningest active driver from the United States with a victory in the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio.
In the process, Newgarden finally capitalized after another dominant performance. He controlled the last two events at Road America and race two of the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix, only for his tires to loose grip at Detroit and his gearbox fail at the end of the race at Road America.
Newgarden started on the pole and led 73 laps in the 80-lap contest to claim the 19th victory of his NTT IndyCar Series career. That broke a tie with Ryan Hunter-Reay with 18 wins to make him the winningest active American driver in the NTT IndyCar Series.
RESULTS: Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio
“Look, I’m very proud to be from America,” Newgarden said. “I don’t get too caught up in that. I said this before, the great thing about Indy car racing is we tend to attract the best of the best from around the world. If we didn’t have that, I don’t think it would be special to be an American in this championship.
“You’re competing against the best in the world. Scott Dixon from New Zealand, people from all across Europe, Takuma Sato from Japan. If these people weren’t in this sport, it wouldn’t mean as much.”
Newgarden’s victory was the first this season for Team Penske and came on the 50th anniversary of team owner Roger Penske’s first IndyCar Series victory. That came on July 3, 1971, when the late Mark Donohue won the Schaefer 500, the first race held at Pocono Raceway.
“It was nice,” Newgarden said. “It was a really good day yesterday. Celebrating the 50-year mark for the very first win for Roger and the entire organization. Little bit of a ceremony coming to that moment, that milestone. All the boys, they found this super cool trophy just kind of commemorating that win at Pocono, Mark Donohue.
“We all felt confident going into today. Pulling into victory lane, he was one of the first people I saw with a huge smile. It’s a dream driving for Roger. Gold standard when it comes to racing. To be able to make him happy, it’s everything.”
But even this victory came with moments of high drama for Newgarden.
“I’d start each stint and feel like I had everything under control,” Newgarden recalled. “You get to the back end of it, and I thought I was starting to fall apart. So, it was really hard to hang on. But I had my wingman Tim (Cindric, Team Penske President and Newgarden’s race strategist) coaching me all the way just making sure I knew what was up to date. But I don’t know what to say other than this team has been doing the job. Everyone has been giving me a hard time asking what’s up with us not winning a race.
“But I don’t think these people at Team Penske could have done anything different. We’ve been in the game almost every race and had great performance and obviously, great support from our partner in Team Chevy. So, it’s great to seal a win here finally on the year. We’re going to need, probably, three or four more of these if we’re going to win this championship. But this team is capable of it. I’m just excited to be back.
“Two weeks off was enough. And to come back and finally get a win, I’m happy for our whole group.”
Newgarden defeated Marcus Ericsson by .8790 seconds. NTT IndyCar Series points leader Alex Palou was third and leads Pato O’Ward by 39 points after Sunday’s race. O’Ward finished eighth.
Scott Dixon was fourth and remains third in points, 56 behind Palou. Alexander Rossi rounded out the top five.
Newgarden’s victory keeps him fourth in the standings, 69 points out of the lead with six races remaining.
The next race is Aug. 8 on the streets of Nashville, Tenn., Newgarden’s hometown.
“That’s good motivation,” he said. “We needed to be the first pit box out at Nashville, so we got that done yesterday. We’ve got some confidence with this win so I feel like we can make it all happen. I always believe, I’ve told these guys, I believe we can win any race we go into. Nashville would be a dream to have a great result. I’m so proud.”
Sunday’s victory almost didn’t happen for Newgarden. In Saturday’s final practice, he felt a strange vibration from his Chevrolet engine. Newgarden brought the car in after the 30-minute practice and told his crew.
After investigating the issue, the team decided to change engines.
The race got off to a smashing start when Felix Rosenqvist, Ryan Hunter-Reay and James Hinchcliffe were involved in a crash in turn five on the opening lap. After a two-lap caution, the race resumed, but this time Scott Dixon and Will Power made contact in turn five and that sent Power spinning. He was then struck by Ed Jones, resulting in both drivers retiring from the race.
Power suffered a hand injury during the incident.
“I left my hand on the wheel,” Power said. “I should have probably taken it off. The smoke I made, made it worse. I thought I could almost keep going but it went backwards, and I got nailed. Just unfortunate. Could have had a really good day.
“(Scott) Dixon was on Reds. He was obviously very keen to get by. I battled with him. Knowing that corner, I actually slowed it up a lot. He would have gotten me if he gave me more room. He just squeezed me down so tight, but it spun me out.”
When the race resumed, Newgarden remained in control and was finally able to celebrate a victory for Team Penske for the first time this season.
“I think everyone was pretty satisfied it all worked out,” Newgarden said. “It’s pretty tough last couple weeks to see what’s transpired. Not talking we’re in a rut, but it’s just tough to watch. Man, that’s crazy it’s just not working out.
“I think it’s pleasant for everybody.”