BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Josef Newgarden drove to the Verizon IndyCar Series victory Sunday in the Honda Grand Prix of Alabama at Barber Motorsports Park.
Newgarden’s win over Scott Dixon is his second on the 2.3-mile, 17-turn permanent road course and comes two years after he secured his first career series victory at the same track. It also is the 26-year-old American’s first win since joining Team Penske, who took three of the top four finishing positions in the 90-lap race.
Driving the No. 2 Team Penske Chevrolet, Newgarden took the lead for the first and only time on lap 77 when teammate Will Power was forced to pit with a punctured left rear tire.
“This is a good one to have, I think we earned it,” said Newgarden, who started the race seventh. “This was a great car this weekend. We were on it.
“I think it was shaping up to be a really great battle for me, Dixon and Will, and it ended just being between Dixon and me. I feel bad for Will. I wish he could have been in that with us, but sometimes that’s the way it rolls.”
Dixon finished second for the fifth time at Barber and for the 34th time in his Indy car career, tying Michael Andretti for fourth all time. The Chip Ganassi Racing driver has reached the podium seven times in the eight races on the Alabama track, but has yet to win there.
Dixon jumped two spots in the season standings to second place and is within six points of the championship lead after the third of 17 races this season. But he lamented the pass Newgarden made on him for second place on a lap 69 restart.
“I saw him late coming into (turn) 15 or 16 on the last restart and I tried to turn down, but the car was just so neutral I just didn’t have the rear grip to pull it off,” Dixon said. “Kudos to Josef, he drove a hell of a race and the win was well deserved. The NTT Data car was strong in the race. I think we actually had the speed. I think if we would have had clean air in that race, we would have checked out.”
Simon Pagenaud, last year’s Barber race winner and Verizon IndyCar Series champion, placed third in the No. 1 Team Penske Chevrolet, just ahead of teammate Helio Castroneves in fourth. Alexander Rossi gained the most positions from start to finish of any driver, going from 18th on the grid to wind up fifth.
Power, bidding for his third win at Barber, led 60 laps but wound up finishing in 14th place.
“I held on as long as I could, but I knew (the tire) was going down – you could feel it,” he said. “We’ll move on to the next one. I’m thankful to my crew, Verizon, the whole team. They put a great effort in and that’s how racing goes sometimes.”
Newgarden, in his sixth Verizon IndyCar Series season, collected his first win for Team Penske in just his third race with team. By comparison, it took Power five races, Castroneves seven and Pagenaud 19 to get their first wins for the team.
“It’s a group effort (at Team Penske) – all four of these guys work together,” Newgarden said. “I’m thrilled for the (No.) 2 car guys, but this is a team effort with all four cars. So, whoever is in victory lane, we just want to get someone there with Team Penske.”
Sebastien Bourdais finished eighth in the race to retain the championship lead. Bourdais has accumulated 117 points, with Dixon second at 111, Newgarden third with 110, Pagenaud fourth with 106 and James Hinchcliffe fifth at 102.
The Verizon IndyCar Series returns to action on April 29 at Phoenix Raceway.
Verizon IndyCar Series
Barber Motorsports Park – Birmingham, AL
Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama – April 23, 2017
1. (7) Josef Newgarden, Chevrolet, 90, Running
2. (4) Scott Dixon, Honda, 90, Running
3. (3) Simon Pagenaud, Chevrolet, 90, Running
4. (2) Helio Castroneves, Chevrolet, 90, Running
5. (18) Alexander Rossi, Honda, 90, Running
6. (6) James Hinchcliffe, Honda, 90, Running
7. (10) Tony Kanaan, Honda, 90, Running
8. (12) Sebastien Bourdais, Honda, 90, Running
9. (14) Takuma Sato, Honda, 90, Running
10. (8) Mikhail Aleshin, Honda, 90, Running
11. (5) Ryan Hunter-Reay, Honda, 90, Running
12. (9) Max Chilton, Honda, 90, Running
13. (21) Graham Rahal, Honda, 90, Running
14. (1) Will Power, Chevrolet, 90, Running
15. (15) Charlie Kimball, Honda, 90, Running
16. (11) Ed Jones, Honda, 90, Running
17. (16) Carlos Munoz, Chevrolet, 90, Running
18. (20) Conor Daly, Chevrolet, 90, Running
19. (19) Zach Veach, Chevrolet, 90, Running
20. (17) Spencer Pigot, Chevrolet, 89, Running
21. (13) Marco Andretti, Honda, 87, Running
Race Statistics
Winner’s average speed: 108.809 mph
Time of Race: 1:54:08.7076
Margin of victory: 1.0495 seconds
Cautions: 2 for 7 laps
Lead changes: 8 among 5 drivers
Lap Leaders:
Power 1-20
Castroneves 21-22
Dixon 23-24
Power 25-43
Dixon 44
Power 45-63
Kimball 64-74
Power 75-76
Newgarden 77-90
Verizon IndyCar Series point standings: Bourdais 117, Dixon 111, Newgarden 110, Pagenaud 106, Hinchcliffe 102, Castroneves 84, Hunter-Reay 65, Sato 65, Jones 62, Rossi 60.
