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.
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 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.
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
