2017 Indycar GP of Alabama

Josef Newgarden repeated his 2015 race winning drive at Barber Motorsports Park, giving him his first win driving for Roger Penske!

 Will Power sat on the pole and dominated much of the race before a punctured tire forced him to pit with just over a dozen laps remaining.  Newgarden inherited the lead and held off a hard charging Scott Dixon. 

 

 

 2017 Honda GP of Alabama

Polesitter:  Will Power

TOP 10 Finishers:

 

1. Josef Newgarden:  His first win in just his third start for Penske Racing gives him the fourth Indycar victory of his career.

2. Scott Dixon: Worked hard trying to chase down Josef Newgarden but ended up with his 5th second place finish in 8 races in Alabama.

3. Simon Pagenaud:  Relegated to saving fuel in the closing laps the defending race winner had to settle for 3rd.

4. Helio Castroneves: His 5th Top Five in 8 starts at Barber.

5. Alexander Rossi: His best finish this season.

6. James Hinchcliffe: Ties his best finish at Barber (from 2016 and 2012).

7. Tony Kanaan: His first Top 10 this season.

8. Sebastien Bourdais:  Retains his points lead for Dale Coyne Racing.

9. Takuma Sato:  His first Top 10 in eight races at Barber.

10. Mikhail Aleshin: His best finish since Pocono 2016.

 

Different Teams: 5 Penske (3), Ganassi (2), Andretti(2), Schmidt (2), Dale Coyne

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

 

 

Fun Facts

 

8 Lead Changes among 5 Drivers

Average Speed: 108.809
Cautions: 2 for 7 laps

Fastest Lap: 121.272 by Will Power

Penalties: 1  Zach Veach (Drive Thru for Work done in Closed Pit)

 

SHOUT OUT TO:

Zach Veach who was racing in his first Indycar event!
Zach raced clean all day and ran as high as fourth.
We can't wait to see him run in the 101st Indy 500 next month and hope to see him in many more Indycar races in the future!

ANOTHER ROUGH DAY for
Marco Andretti couldn't get the car out of first gear to start the race and ended up running around the whole race 3 laps down.

 

 

 

NEXT UP:

 

Phoenix Grand Prix

Saturday, April 29th

Indycar GP of Alabama 2017 Preview

The Indycars visit Barber Motorsports Park for the 8th time April 23rd for 90 laps around the beautiful 2.3 permanent mile road course.

 

Simon Pagenaud walked away with the win last year, and Will Power, a two time winner at Barber, is on the pole.

 

Find out who we think might win this weekend.

 

 

Indycar GP of Alabama 2016

Simon Pagenaud earned his second win in a row, holding off Graham Rahal and a charging Josef Newgarden for the win at Barber Motorsports Park.

 Honda GP of Alabama TOP 10

1. Simon Pagenaud :  Fantastic start to the season with 2 wins and two seconds

2. Graham Rahal: Had an impressive run. Finished second for the second year in a row at Barber

3. Josef Newgarden:  His fourth top ten in 5 starts at the track.

4. Will Power: Moves to a solid 7th in points after the DNS at St Pete 

5. Juan Montoya: Biggest mover of the race after starting last.

6. James Hinchcliffe: Strong and steady the entire race after starting 8th.

7. Helio Castroneves: Is 4th in season points despite a rather slow start to his season.

8. Tony Kanaan:  His best finish at Barber since 6th in 2011

9. Charlie Kimball:  Finishes of 9th, 10th 11th & 12th this year have him 11th in points.

10.  Scott Dixon: The first time in 7 races at Barber that he didn't finish on the podium.

 

Different Teams: 5 (Penske, RLL, ECR, Schmidt, Ganassi)

Different Countries: 7 (France, USA, Australia, Colombia, Canada, Brazil, New Zealand)

 

 

Fun Facts

 

 Lead Changes among 2 Drivers

Different Race Leaders: Simon Pagenaud, Graham Rahal

Average Speed: 114.254

Fastest Lap 120.958

Penalties: 2

Sebastian Bourdais drive thru for avoidable contact on Lap 5

Charlie Kimball had to give up a position for blocking on Lap 13

 

 

 

 

 

NEXT UP:

THE MONTH OF MAY!!!!!!!!

GP of Indianapolis

Saturday, May 14

Josef Newgarden GP of Alabama 2016

Josef started 3rd and finished 3rd!!!

He did a really good job and passed Will Power for 3rd in the final few laps.  His crew did good in the pits and he ran as high as 2nd early in the race.
Overall during the race the lowest he ran was 8th.
He jumped up 4 spots in the Indycar season standings and is
 currently 8th, just 15 points out of 5th place!

 

  

 

Josef got another podium at Barber!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Not as good as a win like last year, but he still got to spray champagne.

 

 

Thanks for another great weekend, @BarberMotorPark! pic.twitter.com/x4ioNnJS3M

— Ed Carpenter Racing (@ECRIndy) April 25, 2016

 

 

(Posted by Alexandra, age 8)

 

 

Josef Update. GP of Alabama

Josef started 5th and finished

 

FIRST!!!!!!!

Josef completed another great qualifying, this week at Barber Motorsports Park for the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama. He made it out of round 1 group 1 with the third fastest time a 1:07.2853 (123.058 mph) He advanced to the Firestone Fast 6 for the second race in a row and ended up starting 5th.
He passed 3 cars right away and was up to second behind Helio.
He took over the lead when Helio had a long pit stop.

Josef led the most laps of the race and is now 4th place in the Indycar points!!!!


Another Video with Josef
One on One Interview with USA Today.


Time to start working on the 2015 'Josef wardrobe'
for the Month of May! 

Josef is driving the Century 21 Number 21 car like he did at the 2013 Indy 500.

 

Next up Indy Grand Prix of Indianapolis
Saturday May 9th!




GOOD JOB JOSEF!!!

Post by Alex.
(age 7)

Honda GP of Alabama

The Honda Indy GP of Alabama was a
 super race full of surprises!  

1.  Josef Newgarden won his first ever Indycar race!  Yay!

 2. There was an all-American top two with Josef and Graham Rahal. 

3.  Scott Dixon earned a podium finish.  (Which isn't much of a surprise considering he's never not finished on the podium here.) 




 

Josef Newgarden started from 5th position and in the first lap moved to 2nd place.  Helio Castroneves led Josef until a slow pit stop by his Penske crew allowed Josef Newgarden to take the lead. 
 The field was split on 2 pit strategies.  The first group consisted of Graham Rahal, and the Second group of Josef, Helio and Dixon. 
In the end, Josef stretched his fuel to win the race, and Graham Rahal drove superbly to overcome an 18 second deficit and overtook Scott Dixon for 2nd place on the final lap!

 

The top 10 Finishers

1.  Josef Newgarden:  His first Indycar career win, and the first win for the newly merged Carpenter Fisher Hartman Racing Team.

2.  Graham Rahal: His first podium since Detroit Race 1 in 2014.

3. Scott Dixon:  His sixth podium finish at Barber in six races. (2nd, 2nd, 2nd, 2nd, 3rd, 3rd).

4. Will Power:  Had a huge comeback after a penalty early in the race.

5. Ryan Hunter-Reay:  The winner of the last 2 races at Barber. He started way back in 18th.
 

6. Carlos Munoz: Biggest mover of the race. Improved 16 positions.

7. James Hinchcliffe: Holds on to 6th place in the points standings.

8. Sebastien Bourdais:  His third Top Ten this season.

9. Simon Pagenaud: Started 3rd and led 3 laps.

10. Marco Andretti: His 5th Top Ten in his 6 races at Barber Motorsports Park.

Top Ten included..
 

* All three Andretti drivers
* Drivers from 7 different teams

* 5 Chevys and 5 Hondas

* Drivers from 6 different countries


OTHER:

* Josef was the Fourth Different Winner in 4 races this season.

* It was the Fourth Different Team to win this season

* 10 of the Top 12 Qualifiers were driving Chevys including the Firestone Fast 6

* There were 16 Lead Changes among 8 different drivers

Can't wait till the GP of Indianapolis on
Saturday, May 9th on NBCSN.

Josef Newgarden's Popular Indycar Win

Congratulations Josef Newgarden
and the whole Carpenter Fisher Hartman Racing team!!!
 

Twitter comments from his fellow drivers and Indycar media after his first win say a lot about what a great driver and person Josef is.
(of course his #1 fan, Alex, has been saying that for 3 years..)

Most importantly congrats to @josefnewgarden. It was a long time coming. Incredible talent, and more importantly a great guy. Congrats man!
— Graham Rahal (@GrahamRahal) April 27, 2015

Had fun making my way back to 4th.. Congrats to @josefnewgarden on his first win.. Was only a matter of time.
— Will Power (@12WillPower) April 26, 2015

Congrats @josefnewgarden - was only a matter of time! @CFHRIndy team is doing a great job.
— Ryan Hunter-Reay (@RyanHunterReay) April 27, 2015

And I want a throw a huge congrats out to @josefnewgarden!! Well earned and well deserved. First of many I'm sure.

— James Hinchcliffe (@Hinchtown) April 27, 2015

A big congrats to @josefnewgarden for the W today. Welcome to the winners club!
— Charlie Kimball (@racewithinsulin) April 27, 2015

Great job by @josefnewgarden & the @CFHRIndy fellas, won't suck to have that dude's data to look through next time out! #IndyCar #isitmayyet
— JR Hildebrand (@JRHildebrand) April 26, 2015

Lost to much ground conserving. And ran the rear off. Congrats @josefnewgarden , awesome man.
— Marco Andretti (@MarcoAndretti) April 26, 2015

Brilliant drive by @josefnewgarden and @GrahamRahal. That was great to watch. #IndyCar
— Justin Wilson (@justin_wilson) April 26, 2015

Thrilled for @josefnewgarden - @IndyCar race winner....finally!!!!!
— Leigh Diffey (@leighdiffey) April 26, 2015

Congrats @josefnewgarden well deserved man!
— Sage Karam (@SageKaram) April 26, 2015

Congratulations to @josefnewgarden & @CFHRIndy . Great job today guys! @IndyCar
— James Jakes (@JamesJakes) April 26, 2015

Josef update #4 Barber Motorsports Park

Josef Newgarden finished a strong 8th in the rain delayed, wet and tricky GP of Alabama.

 

After starting fourth for the second race in a row Josef dropped to tenth by lap 4, but slowly worked his way back up to 6th before falling back to 8th after his final pit stop.
He is now 10th in Indycar Points!

And it seems like Josef had some fun before the race too.

Here he is selling race tickets from atop a spider (with an 'interesting' voice):

 

He also had some fun with Hinch at the space camp at the US Space and Rocket Center:

 

 

 

OTHER JOSEF STUFF:

 

*  There was a article about Josef in the USA Today before the Alabama Race! 

 

*  Sarah Fisher Hartman racing announced Klipsch Audio will be Josef's primary sponsor for the GP of Indy on May 10th.

 

Cool Car.
Can't wait to see it in person when we're at the race!!!

 

 

Watch Josef May 10th in the Grand Prix of Indianapolis on ABC.

GP of Alabama Recap

What a great first road course race of the season!
 

 

Wet track...kinda dry track... keep on rain tires or go to slicks?

 Cars weaving around the track trying to find water so their rain tires wouldn't overheat, then trying to avoid water so they wouldn't go sliding off the track on their slicks (which many of them did).
 

After a 3 hour rain delay and a timed 1 hour and 40 minute race, Ryan Hunter Reay won for the 2nd consecutive time at Barber.


 

 

Race Stuff: 

 

* Josef finished 8th! (Alex wanted you to know)

 

* Sebastien Bourdais served a drive thru penalty for punting Mikhail Aleshin

 

* Helio pulled into Justin Wilson's pit because their crew uniforms are similar (he had to serve a stop and go penalty for his mistake)

* First time since Iowa 2013 that Andretti cars went 1-2

* Will Power is the only driver to finish in the top 5 every race so far

* There was 7 lead changes and 16 laps run under caution
 

* Saavedra led for the second time in his career

* Marco Andretti moved up 12 positions in the championship to 6th

* Dixon had the fastest lap of the race

The top 10 Finishers

1. Ryan Hunter-Reay (said driving on the slicks was like 'on an ice skating rink with sneakers)

2. Marco Andretti (a great run to the front but couldn't catch Hunter Reay)

3. Scott Dixon (his worst finish ever at Barber, he had four 2nds)

4. Simon Pagenaud  (another solid finish, he is 3rd in points)

5. Will Power (Awesome save when he skidded into the gravel and just grazed the wall, although it did cost him the lead)

6. Justin Wilson (led a lap)

7. James Hinchcliffe

8. Josef Newgarden (They finally gave him an in-car camera!)

9. Tony Kanaan (The biggest move of the race after starting 23rd)

10. Charlie Kimball (His best finish of the season thus far)

 

Top Ten included..

 

*  Drivers from 6 different teams

*  Drivers from 7 different countries

*  6 Hondas, 4 Chevys

*  Three of the four Andretti Autosport drivers

*  Three of the four Ganassi drivers

*  No rookies

*  And......Josef!

 

 

 

Can't wait till the Grand Prix of Indy on Saturday, May 10th on ABC!

 

 

GP of Alabama Qualifying

 

Will Power earned the 33rd Pole of his Indycar career while having the fastest time in qualifying for the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama.  Only 3/10ths of a second separated him and the other Firestone Fast Six drivers.

 

 

 For the 2nd time in two races, James Hinchcliffe will start 2nd and Josef Newgarden will start 4th as Sarah Fisher Hartman's Racing's single car team hung with the big boys of Penske, Ganassi and Andretti on the 2.3 mile course.

 

 

 

Top Six

 

1. Will Power (Penske)
2. James Hinchcliffe (Andretti Autosport)

3. Ryan Hunter Reay

4. Josef Newgarden (Sarah Fisher Hartman)

5. Scott Dixon (Ganassi)

6. Helio Castroneves (Penske)

 

Visit the Indycar page for full Qualifying Results

 

Other Stuff:

*  Sebastien Bourdais was penalized and lost his two quickest laps for impeding Ryan Hunter Reay in the Round of 12. He will start 12th.

*  Will Power is now tie with Dario Franchitti on the Indycar pole winners list with 33 and will start on pole for the 3rd time in 5 races at Alabama.

*  All 3 of Penske's cars and all 4 of Andretti's will start in the Top 9

*  James Hinchcliffe will start 2nd for the 6th time in his Indycar career (he has never won the pole)




Mazda Road to Indy Series Races

 

*  Zach Veach started on pole and won the Indy Lights 1# race

 

*  RC Enerson won both USF2000 races

 

*  Spencer Pigot won both of the Pro Mazda races


 

 

Don't miss the race on April 27th at 2:30 on NBC Sports Network