INDYCAR - Portland
Grand Prix of Portland
Start: 15th, Finish: 24th, Points: 18th (-387)
RACE RUNDOWN: Josef Newgarden and the No. 2 Astemo Chevrolet team were in position to capture a top five finish in Sunday's Grand Prix of Portland before contact from the No. 9 of Scott Dixon left his Chevy briefly stalled on the frontstretch, resulting in a 24th-place finish. Newgarden transferred to the second round of qualifying on Saturday, finishing with the ninth quickest lap before a six-position grid penalty for an unapproved engine change saw him roll off the grid from the 15th position. Electing to start on the softer Firestone tire compound, Newgarden quickly moved into the top 10 as the race divided into two pit strategies. Like his Team Penske teammates, Newgarden and crew decided on the strategy that allowed them to push for the entire race without worrying about fuel. After running the softer Firestones for two consecutive stints, Newgarden has built enough of a cushion prior to making their mandatory pit stop for the harder tire that he was able to hold his track position coming into the final stint. After making his final pit stop on Lap 84, Newgarden blended onto the track and was immediately hit from the rear by Dixon in Turn 1, an incident that prompted INDYCAR SERIES officials to penalize Dixon for avoidable contact. After several attempts at restarting the Chevy using the hybrid system, Newgarden rejoined the field in the 24th position. With no other driver on his lap, the two-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion elected to not push the envelope and bring his Astemo machine home without further incident.
NEWGARDEN'S THOUGHTS: “Going from likely battling for a top five finish to finishing 24th is kind of emblematic of this year. I think it was pretty clear that the 9 car just ran all over me, and the avoidable contact penalty validated that. There should be no real confusion about that one. Better days are absolutely ahead of this team and they could come in these last two races. Milwaukee and Nashville are places we expect to run well and there is no reason we shouldn’t.”
