INDYCAR - Laguna Seca
Grand Prix of Monterey
Start: 4th, Finish: 11th, Points: 15th (-358)
RACE RUNDOWN: Josef Newgarden and the No. 2 Astemo Chevrolet team scored a solid, much-needed finish by taking the checkered flag in Sunday's Grand Prix of Monterey at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in the 11th position. The two-time Indianapolis 500 winner led the Team Penske qualifying effort on Saturday afternoon and started the 95-lap event from the fourth position on the softer Firestone tires. Two quick caution flags interrupted the racing action early allowing several competitors an opportunity to visit pit lane while the Astemo team stuck to their pre-race strategy. After making their first pit stop on Lap 26 for an additional round of the softer compound tire, Newgarden drove his way into the third position before making his second trip to pit lane on Lap 52. This time, the pit crew applied the harder Firestone tire for its mandatory usage on a day when the softer tire was preferred. That, coupled with an overcut by other competitors during the pit cycle, resulted in Newgarden cycling to just outside the top 10. As the racing intensified over the final laps, Newgarden was nearly able to return to the top 10 but was not able to get past several cars that elected to stop during the early caution periods that proved to be the advantageous strategy.
NEWGARDEN'S THOUGHTS: “Honestly, it was great to get a solid, fairly stress-free finish this weekend. We’ve had a tough stretch here with DNFs and that has us behind a bit from where we need to be. Everyone on the Astemo Chevy has kept their head down and has put in the work necessary for us to pull out of this valley we’re in currently. Today was a lot about pit and tire strategy and we just came out on the wrong side of that, particularly on our second stint when we were overcut on a primary tire run. That cost us quite a bit of position and we did our best to claw that back before the checkered.”
