Newgarden finds redemption at Road America

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After a heartbreaking loss in 2021, Josef Newgarden was determined to find his way to victory lane, outpacing pole-sitter Alexander Rossi to take his third victory of the season to move up to 3rd place in the drivers championship.

With the win, Newgarden also captured the $1 million PeopleReady Force for Good Challenge Bonus, rewarded to the first driver to win on all three types of circuits – road courses, ovals, and street circuits – in 2022. The bonus is shared between the challenge winners, with $500,000 going to Team Penske and Newgarden, and $500,000 going to charities of Newgarden’s choice –  SeriousFun Children’s Network and Wags and Walks Nashville.

Related Link: PeopleReady Force for Good

The Nashville-native Newgarden was visible excited in victory lane about the win, but was more excited about the donations:

‘To finally get it done and most importantly to give that money to charity, half of that money is going to charity with SeriousFun Network and Wags and Walks Nashville. I hope they’re happy about it. That’s a lot of money coming their way.’

Starting second, Newgarden was unable to mount a significant challenge to pole-sitter Alexander Rossi, despite multiple restarts in the first few laps due to cautions, but was able to jump into the lead for good on lap 43 when Rossi and other challengers pitted for the final time.

On lap 50, Newgarden saw his 2.6 second lead over Rossi evaporate under caution as the field bunched up for a restart – one that only lasted half a lap as Helio Castronevas spun his 06 AutoNation Honda as the field came to the green flag, forcing the drivers into another restart and pressuring Newgarden once more. However, it was not to be for Newgarden’s rivals as this time Newgarden was on point and took off from the field for the final restart on lap 52, winning by over 3 seconds to eventual second place finisher Marcus Ericsson, who overtook Rossi in Turn 1 on lap 53.

Championship intensifies

With his runner-up finish, Ericsson regains control of the NTT IndyCar Driver’s standings, 27 points over Will Power – who suffered an abysmal day to finish 19th – and Newgarden in third. His day was not without drama as early on in the race he came into contact with teammate and 2021 Road America Winner Alex Palou, knocking the number 10 driver out of the race with a suspension failure due to the impact.

After the race Ericsson was apologetic for the racing incident:

‘First of all, I’m really sorry. You never want to have contact with a teammate. From my point of view, the door was open, and I was already side by side. If you see a gap, you go for it. It’s important at the beginning of the race to get track position.’

Third place finisher Alexander Rossi continued his run of solid finishes, adding a back-to-back podium  and a 3rd top-5 finish in a row, bringing him up in the points to  7th place as he mounts a title run before moving to the Arrow McLaren SP team in 2023. Teammate s Romain Grosjean and Colton Herta rounded out the top-5, a strong showing for the Andretti squad with 3 finishers in the top 5.

Related Link: Sonsio Grand Prix at Road America Race Results

Summer Break

The NTT IndyCar Series takes its summer break over the next two weekends as team prepare for The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio. Constructed in 1962, the popular circuit host many nation series including IndyCar, IMSA, and NASCAR as well as a slew of smaller, regional racing series. With a small payout, lap times are quick and the action is plentiful with elevation changes, tight turns, and fast straights to keep the action flowing.

2021 winner Josef Newgarden will look to continue his run this season with back-to-back victories at the ever-popular track

Race weekend kicks off on July 1st, with raceday on Sunday, July 3rd at 12:00pm ET on NBC and Peacock (US).