Josef won the GP of Alabama!!!! Again! Josef returned to the site of his very first Indycar win, Barber Motorsports Park, and won for the second time in three years!
Josef started seventh and ran really strong all day long. He made some really neat passes during the race including one on Scott Dixon for second place in the closing laps. When Josef's teammate Will Power had to pit for a cut tire, Josef got the lead. Scott Dixon was right behind him with twice the amount of Push to Pass seconds left, but Josef still managed to hold him off for the final 12 laps. It was Josef's 4th win of his Indycar career and his first driving for Roger Penske.
Josef is currently 3rd in the Indycar points standings, just 7 points behind leader Sebastien Bourdais.
Up next for Josef the Phoenix Grand Prix
where he finished 6th last year in his first visit there.
Josef Newgarden moved to Team Penske for 2017 At the end of last Season they announced that Josef Newgarden was going to be moving to Team Penske. But the change did not stop Josef from being his fun-loving self. You can read or watch more about Josef in the video and links below.
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)
