Our Carb Day through Pictures

We saw Arie Luyendyk (winner of the Indy 500 in 1990 & 1997)signing autographs outside the car inspection tent.  We were going to get our photo taken with him, but then Josef walked past and we got sidetracked.

Alex is happy because we got to see Josef's car close up and take good pictures.  She was even happier when she got to see and talk to him (and get a hug) on Legends Day.

We saw Sam Schmidt's specially designed car
(he drives it using just his mouth and head motions)

Alex is three weeks too young to go into the garages,
so she stood outside the fence, longingly gazing in at the action.

We got to see a steering wheel in the car. 
I guess drivers have to memorize which buttons do what...



This tires used in this years Indy 500 had the names of the previous 99 Indy 500 winners all around it's edge.
Very cool.

Josef Update - Honda Indy Toronto

Double Headers this year have not been kind to Josef.

He has four 20th place finishes out of the 6 races and a 17th and 13th.
Needless to say Alex would like all double header races taken off the schedule for next year.

(she would also like for their to be more races at Iowa speedway)

Josef didn't have a good weekend at Toronto, where he ended up finishing 20th and 13th.
In race 1, Josef got hit from behind and got involved in a six car crash on lap 1. They got the car fixed under a red flag and did not lose a lap. Yeah!
He made his way up to 11th (to the delight of  Alex),
but then spun the car on lap 63 and couldn't finish the race. Wah!

In race 2 the weather was very wet and lots of cars went in for rain tires, but Josef stayed out and led laps 14-20, until he spun in turn eleven and then went in for rain tires.
When the track dried, he stayed on rain tires and was running fifth,
but when a red flag came out and the cars restarted, the rain tires weren't working as well as the other cars on reds, and he dropped down to 13th.




 

Tricky at Pocono Raceway

 

Tricky the Fox

 

Tricky is Pocono Raceway's mascot

  

Tricky lives at the track and goes around in Trickys Kit Kamp, the Kids Zone, Victory Lane and basically all over.

  

We see him a lot, and trust us, he loves hugs!

(and kids and having fun)

 

 

 

So when you're at Pocono Raceway, look for Tricky,

although most likely Tricky will find you first!

 

 This is the stuffed Tricky kids will get when they join the Kids Club

 

 

Trickys Kit Kamp has play tents, campfires, and animals.

(including a fox, you can't forget the fox) 

 

 

We Love Tricky!!!
 

Josef Newgarden at the Pocono 500

We saw Josef at the Pocono Indycar 500! 
Again and again and again.

And it was great because he led 8 laps of the race!!!
Which was terribly exciting for Alex even though we broke it to her that he had to stop for fuel.

Josef finished 8th!...
which isn't fantastic but was great considering the bad luck (and finishes) he's been having recently. 
(You'll note that we never did a Josef update from Houston because it was not good 
and he finished 20th in both races.)

 

Alex was happy, okay, ecstatic, that we got to see and talk to Josef within moments
of arriving in the paddock.  He seriously was walking behind the van
that we were riding in and even though he was in a hurry to get to his car
on pit lane for the practice session he stopped a moment
for the obligatory photo with Alex.
Thanks Josef!
 



Watching Josef get ready to qualify
(She's still trying to forget about his run, the crash was very upsetting for her)
 



That's Josef waving to Alex after we yelled to him as he drove by for driver introductions.

Alex with Josef's dad, Joey Newgarden
(technically he's not Josef, but he is Josef's dad,
and he told her stories of Josef and Josef's rescued kitty, Simba so she really likes him)
Mr. Newgarden, I hope you don't mind we used your picture but Alex really wanted it in the post.

Josef at the raceday autograph session
(we  told Alex that we would not wait in line for his autograph, since we already have it,
so she was content to get his attention and he waved to her)



Josef in the pits
(we had lots more of him in the pits, but we decided to narrow it down)

Josef in the pits talking (or is it dancing) with Simon Pagenaud
 



Josef's crew working on some stuff after the race. 
 Alex thought that they were making dinner. Seriously.
We explained that it's like a garage in the bottom of the hauler, not a kitchen




 

Alex by Josef's pit.....

we spend way too much time peering through fences looking at Josef's pit box

(even when he and his car aren't in it.)

If she wasn't only 7 we'd just leave her there all day and she'd be content.

 

 

Josef's car being pushed back after the race
(isn't it a beautiful shot, with the flag in the background and Josef' banner waving in the wind)

Watching for Josef in his garages after the race.
(We didn't see him, but we did see his crew members, his gear and his car...
way too many times except for Alex.)

And our favorite picture of the Pocono 500...
JOSEF LEADING THE RACE!

Indycar Pocono 500 in Photos

The Pocono Indycar 500 was fantastic!!

 



Drivers, start your engines!
 A great day for racing, upper 70's and sunny. 
Missed having rookie Jack Hawksworth in the field after he bruised his heart
in a vicious 100G crash in practice on Saturday.



Let's go racing!

And the winner is... Juan Pablo Montoya!
What an exciting finish with Josef Newgarden & Tony Kanaan both leading late but having to stop for fuel, and front runner Will Power falling back after getting a penalty for blocking his teammate Helio.

 

The top 6.
Montoya, Castroneves, Carlos Munoz, Ryan Briscoe,
Scott Dixon and Simon Pagenaud

  

Hinch signing autographs....
Why does he always look like he's about to get into trouble?



We ran into Robin Miller!
(We'll have to thank Alex for that, we were
 hanging around the garages to watch Josef)




Cheering Josef on in qualifying
(that didn't go so well when he crashed in turn 2 and had to start last)

 

Your pole sitter and eventual winner
(being interviewed in The Fan Zone before the race)

Carlos Munoz taking a post-race bike ride
after another very successful 500 mile race.



The obligatory 'Josef' photo with Alex
(We honestly don't stalk him. 
We were getting off the van in the paddock and he walked behind it.)

 

 

GP of Houston

Breaking News!

 

 Houston we have a problem...

 

That was probably heard by a lot of teams this weekend as 2 crazy indycar races took place on the streets of Houston.

 

The GP races 1 and 2 held lots of chaos, finger pointing and exciting racing. 
Saturday's Race 1 got off to an interesting start in the rain. taking out drivers like Mike Conway, Simon Pagenaud, Takuma Sato and Mikael Aleshin. 
Josef Newgarden slammed the wall halfway, as did many others when their tires hit a wet spot or two.  We interviewed one of his biggest fans, Alex in Pa, and she was not happy. 
 

The really interesting part of the race was when the rookie Carlos Heurtas won. 
He was the first Indycar driver to win in his rookie year since Marco Andretti in Sonoma in 2006.
 Juan Montoya finished 2nd, and Carlos Munoz, another rookie finishing 3rd,
which made for a Columbian podium sweep,
the first in Indycar History.






Race 2 was just as exciting and crazy, despite no rain.

Race 2 began with a rolling start, and all was pretty status quo until the mid-way point when perhaps the intense heat and humidity started to affect the drivers and crews.
 

Lots of contact and wild racing ensued including pole sitter Helio Castroneves who crashed while running in second.  Josef Newgarden had a wheel come off after his final pit stop, Sebastian Bourdais ran the last twenty laps with a broken front wing (and still finished 5th) and points leader Will Power finished 11th after a problem with just a lap and a half left.
 

The winner?

 Simon Pagenaud, for the second time this year, and
Schmidt Peterson Motorsports who had there first one two finish ever
with rookie Mikael Aleshin finishing second.
The podium was rounded out with another rookie, Jack Hawksworth( Who had a great battle with Juan Montoya) finishing third.

So if you're keeping tabs,

All four (full season) Indycar rookies finished on the podium this weekend! 
Wow!








 

 

 

The top ten:

 

Race 1:

* 7 Hondas and 3 Chevys
* 3 Rookies

* 5 teams
* All the Andretti Autosport cars

 * A Columbian Podium Sweep

 

* Carlos Heurtas

* Juan Montoya

* Carlos Munoz

* Sebastien Bourdais

* James Hinchcliffe

* Jack Hawksworth

* Ryan Hunter-Reay

* Marco Andretti

* Helio Castroneves

* Justin Wilson

Fun Facts:

* 7 drivers had DNF's
* Marco Andretti got penalized for holding up Takuma Sato
* 5 different drivers led
* There were 6 lead changes

 

 

 

Race 2:

* 8 Hondas and 2 Chevys
* 2 Rookies
* 6 teams


* Simon Pagenaud

* Mikael Aleshin

* Jack Hawksworth

* Charlie Kimball

* Sebastien Bourdais
* Ryan Hunter-Reay
* Juan Pablo Montoya
* Ryan Briscoe
* Marco Andretti
* Tony Kanaan

Fun Facts:

* 5 drivers had DNF's
* 2 different drivers led
* There were 3 lead changes

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pocono 500 Countdown 11 days!!

 Yes! Its almost here!
The Pocono Indy 500 is only 11 days away.
Last year was awesome, and it was only 400 miles. 
This year, its 500!
More Miles.  More Racing.  More Fun!

 

 

And yes, Alex, Josef Newgarden will be there again.

 

Alex's Josef Update #6 Indy 500

The 'Indy 300' went really well for Josef as he started 8th and ran in the top ten for most of the first 300 miles....
Then things turned ugly.

First Josef came sputtering down pit lane and ran out of gas, and apparently when you run out of gas in an Indycar it's really hard to restart it.   So he sat in the pits for about 10 laps.

He was then in 29th place until a yellow came out on lap 167 for a spin by Dixon and Josef was rear-ended by rookie Martin Plowman as he slowed in Turn 4.   OUCH. 
He was done for the day....and finished 30th.
(and since the '500' was worth double points he dropped to 14th in the Indycar standings).
 
(Don't worry Martin, Alex forgives you since Josef was already way behind....it's not like he was leading like when a certain future Indy 500 winner ran into him)

 

But as upset as Alex was about Josef's finish in the 500 she did have a very nice memory from the weekend to keep her in good spirits.

 

JOSEF HELD ALEX!!!!

  

Oh wait, in case you don't already know about Alex's obsession for Josef, go to our post 'Josef Newgarden and Alex'. (But please be quick, Alex is going to get upset if we don't tell you about Josef picking her up soon)

 

 

Okay then, so Alex saw (and talked to) Josef thru the fence at his pits right before he went out for carb day practice, but she was a little disappointed she couldn't get a hug.   We had to break it to her that she probably wouldn't because he's "kinda busy all weekend" with a little race thing.

 

So you can imagine her excitement when, while waiting for her dad to come down the elevator by the media center, she saw Josef coming down the steps. 

 

He immediately scooped her up and gave her a hug and Alex didn't want us to say this, but Josef said that she had gotten quite a bit heavier.... uh oh, maybe next time Alex will just have to settle for a ground hug.

 

 

THANKS JOSEF FOR MAKING OUR LITTLE SISTER'S INDY 500 WEEKEND SPECIAL!!!

and

We know that first Indycar win is coming really soon!

 

 



Drivers in carts

Do Indycar drivers race Indycars or golf carts?

 Ryan Hunter-Reay
(well, the back of him anyway, we'll get a better one)

 Helio Castroneves
(on Will Power's cart!....is this allowed?)

 

 

Helio, on a bike this time.
And still smiling!

 Tony Kanaan defending 500 champion
(love his shoes)

James Hinchcliffe
(glad he recovered from the hit in the GP)

Simon Pagenaud
(congrats on the Indy GP win)

 Rick Mears - 4 time 500 winner!!!
(got his autograph!)

 Ryan Hunter-Reay
(we told you we would get a better one)

 Dario Franchitti - 3 time 500 winner
(miss him on the track but great to still see him at the track!)

 Jack Hawksworth rookie
(awesome helmet)

 

Carlos Huertas a

(another rookie)

 

 

 

 

 

Alex's 'Josef' view of the Indy GP weekend

 

There are two distinct aspects to this Josef post.

 

          The Sad Part

Josef finished 17th on race day, which basically ruined Alex's day.
But she was still happy when he drove by every lap. 

 

 (you're probably expecting some pictures, but Alex wants no reminder of that day.
She barely let us put it in the post)

 

   and

 

The Super Happy, Ecstatic Part

 

 

- ON FRIDAY

- Alex got to see and talk to Josef in his pits (basically because we stood by his pit until he got out of the car and noticed her and came over.)           

- Alex got to talk with Josef's mom and dad before qualifying                                                  

- Alex got to go into Josef's shop and met some super nice ladies who work there.

- Alex got to get a Josef shirt (her first 'official' Josef shirt that wasn't homemade).

 

 

- ON SATURDAY

- Alex got to see Josef & he waved at her in a tweet up

- Alex got Josef's chef's hat that he wore while cooking with Joe Namath in St. Pete because Jarod won it for her at the tweet up.

- We met Josef's web designer who took a picture of her in her 'Josef dress' and posted it to Josef's website. (She was kinda a little excited about that.) Thank you, Rob!

 

 

- ON SUNDAY

- Alex got to see Josef

- Alex got to talk to Josef

- Sadly, she also had to say goodbye to Josef (but only for a week and a half so it was all good.)

 

Josef driving his car in the pits

  

You'll notice some other drivers in the background,
they do not matter to Alex & she was upset that we didn't crop them out

  

Alex wants to sit in this section for the 500
(we're not)

 



Looking for Josef
(wrong way, Josef comes from behind you this is the GP not the 500)

 

Josef's garage.

We admit that we took these pictures just to rub it in to Alex that
we can get in the garage area and she can't....she's too young.



And now Alex is really happy because she gets to go back to Indy to see Josef again (race...what race?)

But she's really super happy because

JOSEF qualified 8th for the Indianapolis 500!!!!