Josef Newgarden took his first Team Penske win at Barber Motorsports Park on Sunday in Alabama. Newgarden took the win in just his third race with the IndyCar Series powerhouse, fending off Scott Dixon of Chip Ganassi Racing for the last 14 laps.
Twitter: RT @IndyCar: Congrats to @josefnewgarden for winning the #HIGPA @BarberMotorPark #INDYCAR https://t.co/GpPVDSy0Yk (@Team_Penske)
The Tennessee native took the lead on lap 76 after fellow Penske team-mate and race leader Will Power suffered a slow puncture and had to pit.
The driver of the #2 Penske held a narrow half-second margin over Dixon for the last 14 laps, but the CGR driver had a Push-to-pass advantage. With nearly double the Push-to-pass time over Newgarden in the late stages, Dixon was free to attack, however never got within closer than three-tenths.
The race win for Newgarden at Barber was his and Team Penske’s first of the year; he had won previously at Barber with Ed Carpenter Racing. The win capped a strong weekend showing for Team Penske after a couple of miserable opening races in St. Petersburg and Long Beach.
Reigning IndyCar Series champion Simon Pagenaud recovered to finish P3, including a jostle with Newgarden in T5 mid-race; while Helio Castroneves salvaged a Top-5 finish in P4 after starting P2.
The fourth Team Penske car of Power, seemed to be headed for Victory Lane when team radio suggested that the Australian had a loss in tyre pressure on lap 74. Power ignored the call to pit and continued on with decent lap times, but finally pitted on lap 76. Power handed the lead to Newgarden and slotting back in P17; he would recover three places in the closing laps to finish P14. Penske official’s determined there was a slow leak in Power’s Firestone scuffed Blacks—down to 12 PSI—about half of the recommended tyre pressure.
The result is the latest in a series of consecutive bad luck races for the Australian. However, he will have a quick chance at redemption as the IndyCar Series circus moves to Phoenix next weekend for the first oval race of the year.
Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama Race Notes:
– Wet weather threatened, but no significant rainfall appeared.
– Marco Andretti’s Andretti Autosport machine had a stuck gear and pitted before the start, as a result he was 3 laps down by the time he got running.
– Ryan Hunter-Reay had first lap contact with Pagenaud and James Hinchcliffe, resulting in Hunter-Reay pitting for a new front wing and bringing out the first Full Course Yellow.
– ECR’s Spencer Pigot was running P8 before a spin dropped him down and triggered the second Full Course Yellow.
– Newgarden joins Al Unser Jr. as the only drivers to get their first Team Penske win after only three races with the team. Unser Jr. did so in 1994 at Long Beach.
