Newgarden reflects on IndyCar decision to ban ‘aggressive’ move that helped him win Indy 500
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The upcoming NTT IndyCar Series season kicks off this weekend on the Streets of St. Petersburg with the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.
One driver who is hoping to find himself in victory lane on Sunday is Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden.
“I think road and street courses were our weakness last year,” Newgarden said. “It hasn’t been historically our weakness, but last season we struggled a bit. So, we’re going to look to turn around those fortunes and hopefully come out of the gates a little bit stronger.”
Last season, Newgarden finished in fifth place in the IndyCar championship. He had four race victories during the year. His most important win came in the 107th Running of the Indianapolis 500.
It was his first career Indy 500 victory. Last week, an image of him was unveiled on this year’s Indy 500 ticket, an annual tradition for the big race.
“To be on the ticket for the next year, it’s a very special gift,” said Newgarden.
Newgarden’s win last May was in thrilling fashion, as he dipped below the white line right before the start of pit road before turning back onto the track in an effort to break the draft with second-place Marcus Ericsson.
Well, this year, that move, which was legal last May, has been banned for the Indy 500.
“I’ve wanted that rule to come into play,” Newgarden said. “I think they needed to find a line there, and I’m so glad we had this offseason. For me, I knew the rules last year and I was doing everything in my power to win the race. I was going to push the boundaries as much as possible and I would do it all over again, and now that we have a new set of rules, we will find a different way to win the race. That’s what you must do. IndyCar is doing the right thing. They’re trying to define something that probably needs to be defined. I think it’s the right move to not allow competitors down there especially in that circumstance.”
Click on the video to watch Newgarden’s full conversation with News 8 Sports’ Andrew Chernoff that aired on WISH-TV’s SportsLocker Sunday.