Indycar 2016 finale at Sonoma

The beautiful road course at Sonoma Raceway provided a fitting end to the dominant Championship season of Simon Pagenaud.  He started P1, finished P1, and brought home his first Indycar championship in his second season racing for Roger Penske.

TOP TEN
1.  Simon Pagenaud: Clinched his first Indycar championship.
2. Graham Rahal: Solid finish for his season.  Finished 5th in the points.
3. Juan Montoya: His third podium of the season, and highest finish since Detroit.
4. Ryan Hunter-Reay: His 5th top five of the season.
5. Alexander Rossi: Finishes strong and wins the rookie of the year award.
6. Josef Newgarden: Finished 4th place in the points, the highest placing non-Penske car.
7. Helio Castroneves: Finishes a solid third in the championship.  
8. Marco Andretti: Just his third Top 10 of the year.  Finishes 16th in points, tying his worst finish in 11 Indycar seasons.
9. Charlie Kimball: Three Top 10s to finish out the season had him 9th in season points.
10. Sebastian Bourdais:  His best finish at Sonoma since 2013.


6 Chevys  &  4 Hondas
Different Teams:    Penske(3), Rahal Letterman, Andretti Autosport(3), ECR, Ganassi, KV
Different Countries: 5   France(2), USA(6), Columbia, Brazil 

 
Fun Facts

 

 Average Speed:  101.181 mph

 Time: 2 hours  13 seconds

 1 Cautions for 3 Laps

Fastest Lap  108.324 (Tony Kanaan)

 Most Positions Improved:  James Hinchcliffe (8 positions)

  

Lead Changes: 5 among  3 drivers
(Simon Pagenaud, Helio Castroneves, Graham Rahal)

Penalties: 0

 

 

Josef Newgarden Update Watkins Glen 2016

Josef started 12th

after two difficult practice sessions.

In practice 1 he blew a tire and in the 2nd practice he crashed. 

His really good crew was able to get the car fixed and better than ever so he could finish second to the untouchable Scott Dixon.

 

Josef is now 5th in points, just 5 points out of third, and has a chance to finish as high as second in the Indycar championship!

 

 

 I was watching Josef's car go through spec on race day morning and they let me stand by his car and get a picture!!!

 

Later, about 2 hours before the race, I was watching Josef's crew at his garage, and they said I could come in and watch, and then they lifted me into his car!!!

 

 

And the day kept getting better, because as Josef was leaving his garage for driver introductions I got to give him a hug and wish him good luck!!! 

 

And finally,

a nice man from Watkins Glen let us into victory circle as we were walking by with eight laps left.  So we got to see Josef come into victory lane and I could see him on the podium receiving his trophy and spraying champagne.

 

It was really fun!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you Josef, the #21 crew and the nice people at race spec and Watkins Glen!

 

Posted by Alex (age 9)

 

 

 



Indycar at Watkins Glen 2016

Scott Dixon has many attributes that make him one of the greatest Indycar drivers of all-time.  One of those attributes is the ability to take a great car and make it even better and dominating the race.  That is exactly what Scott Dixon did at Watkins Glen.
     The Indycar Grand Prix at the Glen was one of the most anticipated races in the Indycar season after being announced as a replacement for the canceled Boston Street race. After a 6 year absence from the Glen, Indycars were back for a 60-lap thriller in New York.
    Scott Dixon came in with the dominant car, leading all but one of the practice sessions, earning the pole, and winning his 4th race at the Glen by a margin of 16 seconds over second place Josef Newgarden. 
     As the green flag dropped, more than half the field got their first taste of racing at Watkins Glen.  Heading into turn one, Mikhail Aleshin, Sebastien Bourdais, and Juan Montoya spun themselves around, but were back on track within 30 seconds.  Through the scuffle, Simon Pagenaud and others moved up 6+ spots.  Through the race, the first couple turns proved to be the place for fans to watch, as Will Power, Mikhail Aleshin and Graham Rahal all had their days ended in the first 4 turns.  The race continued as Scott Dixon pulled ahead yet again.  Through the race, fuel strategy played a key role in the race.  James Hinchcliffe was among those who ran out of fuel coming to the line.  In the end, Scott Dixon and Josef Newgarden managed to stretch their fuel for a solid end to their weekend.  Scott Dixon continued his dominating weekend, Josef Newgarden battled back from adversity, and Helio Castroneves made a stop-and-go at the end, giving him a podium.

TOP TEN
1.  Scott Dixon  Four wins in seven starts at the Glen!
2.  Josef Newgarden  His sixth Top Five this season.
3.  Helio Castroneves  Pitting for a quick splash of fuel with just three laps to go didn't hinder him from getting his fourth podium of the year.
4.  Conor Daly  Was headed towards his second podium of the season before having to coast across the finish line without fuel.
5.  Sebastien Bourdais  His eighth Top Ten in the last ten races.
6.  Charlie Kimball  A strong finish after a exciting day where two separate contact incidents left him unscathed and Graham Rahal and Will Power out of the race.
7.  Simon Pagenaud  A solid finish for the points leader eliminated all but Will Power from championship contention.
8.  Alexander Rossi  His highest finish on a street/road course this season.
9.  RC Enerson  The 19 year old impressed all weekend in only his second Indycar race qualifying 11th and running as high as sixth during the race before falling off at the end trying to conserve fuel.
10.  Max Chilton  Ran has high as second and earned his second Top Ten of the season.


7 Chevys  & 3 Hondas
4 Rookies (of 5 in the field)
Different Teams: 6   Ganassi (3), Ed Carpenter Racing, Penske (2), Dale Coyne Racing (2), KV Racing, Andretti/Herta

Different Countries: 5   New Zealand, USA (5), Brazil, France (2), Great Britain

Fun Facts

 

 Average Speed:  119.334 mph

 Time: 1 hour 41 minutes 40 seconds

 3 Cautions for 9 Laps

Fastest Lap:  144.526 (Tony Kanaan)

 

Most Positions Improved:  13 (Conor Daly)

  

Lead Changes: 8 among 6 drivers
(Scott Dixon, Carlos Munoz, James Hinchcliffe, Will Power, Helio Castroneves, Juan Pablo Montoya)

Penalties: 3
Takuma Sato (Blocking - yield postion)
Marco Andretti (Pit Speed Violation - Drive Thru)
Sebastien Bourdais (Blocking - yield position)

 

Thoughts

Although Will Power took a points hit when he crashed in the esses, he was uninjured and cleared to drive in the final race of the season.
Despite Scott Dixon, Josef Newgarden and Helio's podium finishes, they were all eliminated from championship contention.

A tough day for James Hinchcliffe who had a second place finish in hand before running out of fuel on the final lap and finishing 18th.

Disappointment for Mikhail Aleshin who had a tire explode going through the esses on lap 14.
 

Indycar at Texas 2016 Part 2

Firestone 600

at Texas Motor Speedway

Top Ten
1. Graham Rahal The fourth win of his Indycar career.
2. James Hinchcliffe  His best finish this season.
3. Tony Kanaan Moves to third in the season points standings.
4. Simon Pagenaud Got racy but smart at the end to extend his points lead over Will Power.
5. Helio Castroneves  Led 7 laps and finished strong despite two close calls on track.
6. Charlie Kimball 
7. Carlos Munoz  Second 7th place in a row.
8. Will Power  Has two races left to win the championship
9. Juan Pablo Montoya 
10. Sebastien Bourdais  Finished in the Top 10 in all ovals this season.


Different Teams: 5  Rahal Letterman, Schmidt Peterson, Ganassi, Penske, Andretti, KV Racing

Different Countries: 6   USA(2), Canada, Brazil (2),  France (2), Colombia (2), Australia,

Fun Facts

 

 Average Speed:  144.901 mph

 

 Time: 2 hour 29 minutes 25 seconds

 

 53 Caution Laps

 

Fastest Lap:  214.851 Scott Dixon

 

 

Lead Changes: 14 among 8 drivers
(James Hinchliffe, Carlos Munoz, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Helio Castroneves, Josef Newgarden, Tony Kanaan, Graham Rahal, Ed Carpenter)

 

Josef Newgarden Texas Part 2 Update

The Indycar race at Texas Motor Speedway finished two and a half months after it started. 

Josef was there, healthy and whole but wasn't allowed to race because of his terrible crash in the first part of the race in June.

(Josef is just 10 points out of 3rd in the season points standings.)

 

He finished last due to the earlier crash, so he spent the race as a spectator & security guard???, protecting and cheering on his boss Ed Carpenter.

 

 

 

Last weekend in Texas. They wouldn't let me rejoin the race, so I had to find a new gig. #IndyCar https://t.co/JFwVS0vTZl

— Josef Newgarden (@josefnewgarden) August 30, 2016

On to Watkins Glen!!!! 

Good Luck Josef

 

Josef Newgarden update Pocono 2016

Josef finished fourth after starting second at Pocono Raceway after spending most of the day in the Top 3.

 

He did really good on restarts, but on longer runs he wasn't able to really contend for the lead.  The good news is that he moved to third in the Indycar season points standings!
 

Tough, long race today with the @ECRIndy crew. Ended up a bit shy with P4. Congrats to the podium gang, they were all solid today! #IndyCar

— Josef Newgarden (@josefnewgarden) August 22, 2016

And it looked like Josef had a fun weekend! 

It was a bit weird before driver intros today w @josefnewgarden @ConorDaly22 @Hinchtown @poconoraceway pic.twitter.com/MZGR7ZqaYu

— The Rain King (@bigdalsky) August 21, 2016

And Josef and Conor Daly had a little fun on Hinch's weekly podcast. 

 

Missed @Hinchtown's live podcast at @poconoraceway? Listen here: https://t.co/z624Gi9XSN

Thanks for hosting us @PainTour1911! #INDYCAR

— IndyCar Series (@IndyCar) August 23, 2016

Unfortunately Josef won't be racing this weekend at Texas, since he and Conor crashed out way back in June when the race started. 

So we have to wait till Labor Day weekend to see Josef race at Watkins Glen! 

 

posted by Alexandra (age 9)

Race Day Recap and Photo Gallery

The ABC Supply 500 was a super exciting, if windy, race!  Pocono Raceway has always been a great track to be at, and we put together a race day recap that summed up our day at the track

 

 

 

 

 

 

...And a few extra pictures

 



Indycar Pocono 500 2016

 
The rain got its hat trick on Sunday, as Pocono Raceway encountered it's third rain delayed race in three tries this season. 
 
Race day:
 Monday was a beautiful, but windy, day as Will Power and his team worked on improving the #12 car all afternoon until he found himself outclassing the field and getting his 4th win in the last six Indycar races.  Polesitter Mikhail Aleshin looked strong all day, but just couldn't catch Power at the end and instead ended the day runner-up (His best Indycar finish ever).

Defending race winner Ryan Hunter Reay started last after a crash in practice, but then flew through the field and into the lead by lap 49.  His car lost power on lap 164 and he coasted around to the pits before he could get it refired.  He went a lap down but a late race caution for debris allowed him to get his lap back.  Once again he charged through the field, passing Josef Newgarden for third on the final lap.  Given a few more laps, he may have had a chance at catching Power. 
 
Power walked away from the Monday race just 20 points back of his teammate Simon Pagenaud in the season championship, after Pagenaud uncharacteristically crashed on Lap 158.

 

 

Had the car & the drive to win today. Unbelievable. Electrical issue shut the car off while leading. Its just been one of those seasons.

— Ryan Hunter-Reay (@RyanHunterReay) August 22, 2016

 

      

 

Top Ten

1. Will Power Closed to within 20 points of leader Simon Pagenaud in the Indycar championship.
2. Mikhail Aleshin  Led the most laps (87) on route to his career best Indycar finish.
3. Ryan Hunter Reay  Came through the field twice to get on the podium.
4. Josef Newgarden Led 15 laps and ran in the Top 3 all day.
5. Sebastien Bourdais  His best finish on an oval since coming back to Indycar.
6. Scott Dixon  Started 19th and led 3 laps.
7. Carlos Munoz  Ran strong all day but faded at the end.
8. Juan Pablo Montoya  His first Top Ten in the last four races.
9. Tony Kanaan  Led 1 lap while finishing where he started.
10. James Hinchcliffe  His best finish in 3 starts at Pocono.


Different Teams: 6   Penske, Schmidt Peterson, Andretti, Ed Carpenter Racing, KV Racing, Ganassi

Different Countries: 8   Australia, Russia, USA(2), France, New Zealand, Columbia (2), Brazil, Canada

It may have been ANOTHER longer than expected weekend, but it was another great race. Congrats @12WillPower pic.twitter.com/RXpLl6P9uf

— The Rain King (@bigdalsky) August 22, 2016

Fun Facts

 

 Average Speed:  180.198 mph

 

 Time: 2 hour 46 Minutes

 

4 Cautions for 20 Laps

 

Fastest Lap:  218.499 by Will Power

 

 

Lead Changes: 29 among 9 drivers

(Mikhail Aleshin, Will Power, Ryan Hunter Reay, Josef Newgarden, Alexander Rossi, Sebastien Bourdais, Scott Dixon, Tony Kanaan, Simon Pagenaud)



So glad to see Helio Castroneves uninjured after a scary pit road accident that left Alexander Rossi driving over his head.

Tributes to Justin Wilson and Bryan Clauson made the weekend special.    We saw so many people wearing Wilson shirts and socks, and watched Conor Daly drive around each lap in that #88 car.  It was sad but really special.

 

 

 

 

Bryan Clauson

 

We first heard of USAC Champion Bryan Clauson in 2012, his rookie year at the Indianapolis 500 when he was signing autographs at the hotel we were staying at downtown.

 

 

He was very nice and we wished him luck in his first '500'.

From that point on we paid attention to just how good he was in all the many races he ran.

 

We were excited to find his dog, Chevy's, twitter account over a year ago.  We love dogs and it was fun to see Chevy tweet "barked it" whenever his dad won, including his final win. 

 

Barked it!!!

— Chevy Clauson (@ChevyClauson) August 4, 2016

 

It was great to hearing the cheers as Bryan took the lead for the 100th running of the Indy 500 for three laps this past May.  It was his third start and best finish, of 23rd, in the event.
 

 

We'll miss Chevy's updates,

and we'll miss following one of the greatest

all around racers we've ever seen.

 

We'll be praying for Bryan's family and friends and fur babies.

 

Josef Newgarden Update Mid Ohio 2016

Josef finished 10th at Mid Ohio!
 

That's usually not too good of a finish for him anymore, but since he was hit twice during the race, it was great that he could end up in the Top Ten.

Plus he moved up a position to 4th in the season standings!
 

 

He had a really good car and started third.

For the second race in a row a Penske driver took off Josef's back bumper pod and neither was penalized.  (Montoya at Toronto, Will Power at Mid Ohio).   Later in the race when Josef finally caught up to the field Mikhail Aleshin's crew sent him out right into Josef who was pitting. 
Poor Aleshin may have won his first Indycar race if not for the contact, that was neither driver's fault.

 

 

.@josefnewgarden shows amazing perseverance and finishes 10th after dropping all the way to the back after being hit on track AND the pits

— Ed Carpenter Racing (@ECRIndy) July 31, 2016

Can't wait till Pocono where Josef finished second last year,

and I get to be at the track!!!! 

post by Alexandra (age 9) 

Mid Ohio Indycar 2016

Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course is best known to the Indycar nation for its high speeds and many turns.  As Indycars took to the track that so many call Scott Dixon's playground, Graham Rahal looked to defend his 2015 win there.
  As the green flag dropped, Simon Pagenaud, the pole sitter, led the field through the first corner for the sixth time this year.  He took the early lead as he and teammate Will Power pulled away from the field.  Around lap ten, strategy calls were made as teams decided to gamble and come to the pits early.  After pit stops, top contender Scott Dixon had contact with the #3 of Helio Castroneves, and Dixon's day was over.  At the restart, Josef Newgarden got clipped from behind and lost a rear bumper pod (sounds familiar).  He had to come into the pits, and lost a lap, but battled the leader and got back onto the lead lap around halfway through the race.  As strategy started to play out, Mikhail Aleshin took the lead and was driving away from the field.  Rookies Conor Daly, RC Enerson and Spencer Pigot all spent time near the front of the pack.
 As the end of the race neared, Mikhail Aleshin's team sent him out of his pit box and into Josef Newgarden, thus ending Aleshin's hopes at his first Indycar win. 
Simon Pagenaud regained the lead, and teammate Will Power put up a fight, but at the end, Pagenaud took his 4th win of the season.

Top Ten

1. Simon Pagenaud: Back on top for his fourth win of the season.

2. Will Power:  Has not finished lower than second in the past five races!

3. Carlos Munoz:  A great run all day for his second podium of the season.

4. Graham Rahal:  Another strong finish at his home track.
5. James Hinchcliffe:  His seventh Top Ten in 12 races this season.

6. Conor Daly:  Led 22 laps for a total of 56 laps led this season.

7. Spencer Pigot:   The best finish of his young Indycar career.
8. Charlie Kimball:  Ran strong after starting fifth.  His 8th Top Ten this season.

9. Takuma Sato:   A great run till a incident with Bourdais took them both out of the Top Five.
Sorry @TakumaSatoRacer . I just got too close and locked up behind, my bad...

— Sébastien Bourdais (@BourdaisOnTrack) July 31, 2016

 10. Josef Newgarden:  A great run to finish tenth after two incidents that were not his fault, had him fighting from the back all day.

Different Teams: 8 ( Penske, Andretti Autosport, Rahal-Letterman, Schmidt Peterson, Dale Coyne Racing, ECR, Ganassi, A.J. Foyt Racing)

Different Countries: 7 (France, Australia, Brazil, USA (5), Canada, Japan)

 

FUN FACTS

 Average Speed:  110.853 mph

 Time: 1 hour 50 Minutes

2 Cautions for 10 Laps

Lead Changes: 7 among 5 drivers (Mikhail Aleshin, Pagenaud, Daly, Montoya, Power)

Best Lap: 105.728 mph by Helio Castroneves

THOUGHTS:

RC Enerson did a fantastic job all weekend in his first Indycar race.  The nineteen year old got up to speed quickly in practices and racing strong till he unfortunately ran out of fuel.

Huge shoutout to my teammate @RCEnerson , the dude was fast all weekend and made no mistakes. Should be really proud of that #USA #youngguns

— Conor Daly (@ConorDaly22) August 1, 2016

Mikhail Aleshin ran a super race and we really hoped to see him win his first Indycar race.

Kudos to Roger Penske for letting his drivers race out on the track and not giving any team orders.
 

Josef Newgarden Update Toronto

Josef started 8th and finished 22
An early bump by Juan Montoya took off his back bumper pod and then he ran really strong but had a problem with a section of curb that was coming apart.  Josef crashed out on lap 58.

That finish moves him back to 5th in point standings.

On to Mid Ohio!

A new 'Josef' video this week,
Indycar Test Drive Q & A.
 

 

posted by Alex (age 9)

Toronto Indy 2016

As the Indycars came back to Exhibition Place for the Honda Indy Toronto, Scott Dixon took the lead from the pole. 

Dixon and Helio Castroneves had no time to get a jump though, because a caution came out on lap 1.  Ryan Hunter-Reay and Charlie Kimball both were involved, and dropped to the back of the pack. The green flag dropped on the restart and the race went clean until Juan Montoya clipped the back of defending race winner Josef Newgarden.  Josef would have to pit for a new back wing, and would fall to 50 seconds behind the leader, in last place. 

Later in the race, Castroneves had a left front tire go down, and he stopped for a new one at the first round of pit stops.  On lap 45, curbing came up on one of the turns, and it later caused problems for Josef Newgarden, and his car got sent into the wall. 

Will Power would have the yellow flag fall his way, and he took the checkers for his 3rd win in 4 races.

Top Ten

1. Will Power: His third win in four races.  Wow!

2. Helio Castroneves: His fourth podium at Toronto in the last five races there.

3. James Hinchcliffe: Great to see him on the podium at home in Canada.

4. Tony Kanaan: Pitted from the lead with less than ten laps to go.
5. Takuma Sato: His best finish of the year since the third race of the year in Long Beach.

6. Mikhail Aleshin:  His second top 6 in the last two races.

7. Sebastian Bourdais: His best finish since his win in Detroit Race #1.
8. Scott Dixon:  Led the most laps but got caught out with the final yellow.

9. Simon Pagenaud:  Only his third top 10 in the last 6 races after having started the        season with two seconds and three wins.

10. Marco Andretti:  His second best finish of the season. (ninth at Detroit Race 2)

Different Teams: 6 (Penske, Schmidt Peterson, Ganassi, A.J. Foyt Racing,  KV Racing, Andretti Autosport)

Different Countries: 7 (Australia, Brazil (2), Canada, Japan, Russia, France(2), New Zealand, USA)

FUN FACTS

 Average Speed:  88.739 mph

 Time: 1 hour 42 Minutes 39 Seconds

Lead Changes: 6 among 6 drivers (Dixon, Pagenaud, Bourdais, Daly, Kanaan, Power)

Best Lap: 105.728 mph by Helio Castroneves

THOUGHTS:

Another gritty run by Josef Newgarden.  Fighting back from early damage due to Juan Montoya only to have his fatigued hands give out and he crashed late in the race.

Montoya is having a tough few races lately and some bad luck.  Wondering when he will bounce back.

Josef Newgarden Iowa Update

Josef  won!!!!
after he started 2nd totally dominated the race!!!

and

He is 2nd in points for the season!!!

Congrats to @JosefNewgarden on the win at the #IowaCorn300 and moving into 2nd in the points race. https://t.co/uokyz0BAiJ

— Verizon (@verizon) July 11, 2016

I'm all the way up ⬆️@ecrindy was incredible today, and don't forget about @jrhildebrand with… https://t.co/UT4PxCSFt5

— Josef Newgarden (@josefnewgarden) July 11, 2016

JOSEF NEWGARDEN WINS THE #IowaCorn300!

— Ed Carpenter Racing (@ECRIndy) July 10, 2016

He set the record for most Indycar laps led in a race with 282!
 

 

Josef Newgarden had the fasted lap

time at 17.9317 on lap 265.

And he did it all with a broken hand and clavicle!

And now he's off to Toronto where he won the race last year!!!

 Post by Alex (age 9)

Iowa Indy Corn 300 Race Recap

             As the green flag dropped at Iowa Speedway for the tenth time, Simon Pagenaud, starting from the pole, had high hopes for giving Roger Penske his first win at the .875 mile oval. However, 2nd place starter Josef Newgarden, driving with a broken hand and clavicle, got a jump on the outside and led the first lap. Newgarden then led the second lap and the third, and ultimately 282 of the 300 lap race.  In fact, in the first 100 laps Newgarden lapped the entire field, but 2nd place, Simon Pagenaud. 

            On lap 109, 3-time Iowa winner Ryan Hunter-Reay blew an engine, giving the fans a great mid-race fireworks display.  No one was hurt. The green flag dropped on the first restart, and Josef Newgarden checked out for the second time.  This time, the second caution came out before Newgarden could lap the whole field, on lap 187, when Juan Montoya had mechanical a problem. 
 

           After the pit stops cycled through, front runners Pagenaud and Kanaan got a third shot at Newgarden.  They stayed side by side, but Newgarden pulled away. Again.  When the final caution came out for a crash involving Max Chilton, the final pitstops occurred.  At the restart, Scott Dixon gave Josef a run for his money, but still no one could out power the 21 car.  Josef Newgarden took the checkers for his first win this season, his third podium at Iowa in the last three races, and the third victory of his Indycar career. 
 



 
Top Ten

1. Josef Newgarden: Vaults to 2nd in the points after his first career oval win

2. Will Power: His best finish at Iowa.  His previous average was around 12th.

3. Scott Dixon: His 8th Top Ten at Iowa in ten starts

4. Simon Pagenaud: Maintains a 73-point lead in the championship.
5. Mikhail Aleshin: His best finish since St Pete and the highest finishing Honda.

6. Alexander Rossi:  Another strong oval finish for the Indy 500 Champ

7. Tony Kanaan: His 9th Top 10 in 10 races this season.
8. Sebastian Bourdais:  Sits 14th in points.

9. James Hinchcliffe:  His best finish since his 7th place at Indy.

10. Charlie Kimball:  His 6th Top 10 in the last 7 races.

Different Teams: 6 ( Ed Carpenter Racing, Penske,  Ganassi, Schmidt, Andretti/Herta, KV Racing)

Different Countries: 7 (USA(3), Australia, New Zealand, France(2), Russia, Brazil, Canada )

 

FUN FACTS

 Average Speed:  143.330 mph

 Time: 1 hour 52 Minutes 16 Seconds

Lead Changes: 10 among 5 drivers (Newgarden, Pagenaud, Rossi, Chilton, Dixon)

Best Lap: 179.481 mph by Josef Newgarden

THOUGHTS:

Great run by rookie Max Chilton until a crash on lap 246

 

 

Indycar at Road America 2016

Indycars returned to the beautiful 4-Mile Road America course for the first time since 2007. 
The 14-turn track was a favorite among the Indycar veterans and rookies alike.


 

 Will Power kept his momentum going from his win in Detroit Race 2 by winning his second pole of the 2016 season.  (He won the pole in St. Pete, but did not start due to illness).   Power led the field to green for the 50-lap, 202 mile race at Road America and he dominated the early stages.  Top championship and race contender Scott Dixon had engine issues on lap six, and called it a day. At the first round of pit stops, Takuma Sato had already moved up 7 positions, and Josef Newgarden, with his broken hand and collarbone, had moved up five. Later, Takuma spun and ended up 17th.  Up front, Simon Pagenaud took the lead for a few laps, but near the end, he too had engine problems.  He finished 13th.  As the checkered flag dropped, Will Power took his second consecutive win for 2016, and Josef Newgarden toughed out the pain and brought it home admirable 8th. 
The points standings saw Scott Dixon dropped to 4th, with 5th and 6th place closing in.  The top three spots in the championship are occupied by Penske's Simon Pagenaud, Helio Castroneves and Will Power.  

 Road America Top Ten

1. Will Power:   'Powers his way to third in points despite missing the first race of the season.

2. Tony Kanaan:  His best result since a second at Fontana last year.

3. Graham Rahal:  His second podium in two races at Road America.  (The other coming when he was just 18).

4. Ryan Hunter-Reay:  Fought the flu all weekend to finish a strong 4th.

5. Helio Castroneves:  Moved to second in season points, 74 back of his teammate Pagenaud.

6. Charlie Kimball:  His sixth Top 10 of the season.

7. Juan Montoya:  A hard fought position after a fantastic battle with Josef Newgarden in the closing laps.
8. Josef Newgarden:  Impressed alot of people as he was the biggest mover of the race, moving up 12 positions, despite the pain from his broken clavicle and hand.

9. Spencer Pigot:  Best run of his Indycar career!

10. Carlos Munoz:  Started 8th and ran around there most of the day.

Different Teams: 5 ( Penske, RLL, Andretti, Ganassi, Ed Carpenter Racing)

Different Countries: 4 (Australia(1), Brazil(2), USA(5), Columbia(2))

 

FUN FACTS

 Average Speed: 121.6 mph

 Time: 1 hour 39 Minutes 10 Seconds

Lead Changes: 4 among 3 drivers (Power, Pagenaud, Rahal)

Best Lap: 138.787 by Max Chilton

THOUGHTS:
Great runs but bad luck for...

Conor Daly who had a strong weekend and was running in the Top 8 all day when a rear wishbone gave out sending him speeding into the barrier.  Luckily he was unhurt. (21st)

Max Chilton was doing great and had the fastest lap of the race.  Unfortunately he ran out of fuel and lost 2 laps.  (20th)

And more bad luck....

Gabby Chaves had trouble with his pit speed telemetry and received a Drive Thru pit speed violation, and then another while on his first drive thru penalty.  He lost a lap. (19th)

Scott Dixon.  After qualifying second, he had an issue on Lap 6 and was out of the race. (22nd)

 

   

 

 

Newgarden Road America Update

Josef started 20 and finished 8th

with a broken hand and collarbone!

It was Josef's first time racing at Road America in Indycar,

and he did not want to miss it.
 

Hope he's not hurting too much after that 4 mile road course.
 

Now Josef stands 5th in points.
 

His teammate Spencer Pigot (also an Indy Lights champion) finished right behind Josef in 9th place.

 

 

Great to be back at the track this weekend. @roadamerica is incredible. Thank you to all the… https://t.co/ZBCrvRf9Qg

— Josef Newgarden (@josefnewgarden) June 26, 2016

20th to 8th, two weeks after breaking clavicle and hand.
Absolutely no stopping @josefnewgarden! #KohlerGP pic.twitter.com/ZDF67S1iDd

— Ed Carpenter Racing (@ECRIndy) June 26, 2016

Josef Newgarden's hurt hand and shoulder won't stop him from driving at one of his best tracks, Iowa.  He will be testing Wednesday and racing there in two weeks. Trying to better his two second place finishes there in the last two years.


Good luck Josef!!!

posted by Alex (age 9)

Josef Newgarden's weekend at texas

 The Good Part of Josef's weekend.

 

1.  He qualified 5th and had a really strong, really neat looking Emerald green car.

2.  The Firestone 600 in Texas was rained out on Saturday night, and the neat thing about rain delays is that it gives the drivers lots of free time.  Some of them, like Josef, were really nice and went up into the stands to hang out with the fans!

Getting up in the stands with @Hinchtown and the other @IndyCar guys was AWESOME! Thanks to the fans for hanging! pic.twitter.com/yqTHnVpu8s — Josef Newgarden (@josefnewgarden) June 12, 2016

3.  Josef got really bored and silly and goofed around a lot.

He was interviewed on NBCSN with Ed Carpenter, and he gave everyone some tips about social media, and reading twitter fast.

Thanks for tuning in tonight @IndyCar peeps. The rain always ruins our fun! pic.twitter.com/w9RH0oPTQa

— Josef Newgarden (@josefnewgarden) June 12, 2016

3.  The race started on Sunday afternoon and Josef was running in the Top 5 and even leading through the first 40 laps.

 The Bad Part of Josef's weekend.

 (but it turned out a lot better than it looked)

 

While passing Conor Daly on the outside, Conor lost grip and turned sharp right into Josef.  Josef went on his side and head first into the wall.  It was very, very scary.

 

 

Back to the Good Part.

Despite it looking really, really bad,

Josef only had a fractured clavicle and a bone in his right hand.

I'm sure that he hurts a whole lot, but hopefully he will be back racing soon.

 

 

post by Alex, age 8

PS  I'm really glad I was at my violin recital and didn't see the crash live or

I would've been super scared for him. 

By the time I got home and watched it  on tape I had seen on twitter that he was basically ok. :)