Josef Newgarden had a relatively smooth drive to finish third in last Sunday’s Grand Prix of Portland. It wasn’t without a few challenging moments, though.
After starting fifth in the No. 2 Team Penske Chevrolet, Newgarden quickly fell two spots shortly after taking the green flag but was able to rebound with a methodical march back into the top five by lap 31 of 110. From there, he continued to hit on his in- and out-laps, out-lasting a furious mid-race battle with Andretti Global’s Colton Herta before finishing on the final step of the podium, a distant 23.2046s behind racing-winning teammate Will Power on the 12-turn, 1.964-mile road course.
“Yeah, it was a good day,” Newgarden said. “I think it's about what our potential was. The only way we finish higher is if we start higher. Need to start on pole or second place, lead from the beginning if we want to be higher up.
“It's going to be tough to match Will today. He had a tenth (of a second) or two on us. I think Alex (Palou) was really tough to beat, too. If we had track position on them, maybe we make something happen. I think it was going to be hard overall.
“From where we started, pleased with the progress we made. I don't want to finish third, but I think we maximized what we could today.”
And looking ahead with the three remaining races on ovals, the 33-year-old Newgarden has plenty of reason for optimism. Going back to the final oval of the 2021 season at Gateway, he has collected 10 wins over the last 15 races on the specific track discipline. The return this weekend to The Milwaukee Mile, in particular, has his attention as IndyCar hasn’t raced there since 2015, when he finished fifth while driving for Carpenter Fisher Hartman Racing (now Ed Carpenter Racing).
“I'm excited, for sure,” Newgarden said. “I like Milwaukee. I've been there a couple times in the past before we left for a little hiatus. I always thought it was fun. I hope we can produce a good race.”
However, Newgarden admitted Nashville Superspeedway, the track hosting the season finale, is “completely unknown to me” as the series hadn’t raced there since 2008.
“I've never been on the track,” he said. “Out there to watch some testing. Really don't know what that one's like.
High hopes for the ovals
“I have high hopes we can find a good package for both places. I think Gateway was really pretty phenomenal as far as the combination. It's not easy. It's not an exact science. I think if we could bottle a good racing package where there's usability on multiple lanes, we would take it everywhere.
“Sometimes it's a little bit of guesswork, trial and error. You have to kind of go places a time or two to figure it out in this new package. We're trying to figure it out, with the extra weight, hybrid, aero, tire configuration.
"Overall I love oval racing, too, so excited to finish the season strong.”
