INDYCAR - Long Beach
Grand Prix of Long Beach
Start: 14th, Finish: 14th, Points: 6th (-75)
RACE RUNDOWN: Josef Newgarden and the No. 2 Astemo Chevrolet team was the early buzz in Sunday's Grand Prix of Long Beach as they worked to make one of the few three pit stop strategies pay off. Unfortunately, two issues left them with a 14th-place finish in one of the iconic events for the NTT INDYCAR SERIES. Newgarden just missed out on the second round of qualifying on Saturday afternoon, ultimately starting the race from the 14th position. He and race strategist Jonathan Diuguid stuck to their pre-race plan as Newgarden hit pit lane for the first time on Lap 12 for a second application of the Firestone alternate tire. After returning to the circuit with no cars in front of him, Newgarden treated the fans to laps consistently timed as the fastest on the track as the looked to cut down the difference between he and the leaders before the next round of stops. The 2022 Long Beach winner eventually took the race lead after all cars had pitted for service before making his second stop of the day on Lap 38. Just four laps later, Newgarden made a strong move to the inside of Marcus Armstrong but had moderate lockup of the left front tire while making the pass, resulting in a flat spot that led to a severe vibration. He was able to make it to a caution period at Lap 58 when a pit stop issue dropped him back to 21st in the running order. Proving the speed in the Astemo Chevy, Newgarden was able to pass seven more cars before the checkered flag to finish the day with the most on-track passes.
NEWGARDEN'S THOUGHTS: "Just tough day. It was going really well. Going really well. We were going to try and make a 'three-stop' work when pretty much the whole field wasn't. And, basically, first stint was incredible. The No. 2 Astemo Chevy was on rails, but made a mistake, on the second stint - technically, our third stint when passing Armstrong in turn one lit up the inside of the left front. So, I tried but had a massive vibration. I thought the tire was gonna blow up. I can't believe it held. Then we were just trying to nurse the thing to the next pit stop. Got lucky with the yellow and was able to pit but had a bad plug. So, I'd already kind of ruined our day and then lost a little couple spots there. And we went back to 21st and then clawed our way back to fourteenth. So started fourteenth, finished fourteenth. And I think the good news is that the car was stupid quick. So really encouraged by that."
