Team Penske Verizon IndyCar Series Race Report

June 2, 2018

Track: Belle Isle Street Course
Race: Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix Presented by Lear (Race 1)
Date: June 2, 2018

No. 1 Hitachi Team Penske Dallara/Chevrolet – Josef Newgarden
Start: 14th
Finish: 9th
Status: Running
Laps Completed: 70/70
Laps Led: 0
Points Position: 4th (-21 pts)

Notes:

Josef Newgarden, the reigning Verizon IndyCar Series Champion, came into Detroit off a strong top-10 finish at Indianapolis and qualified 14th for the first of two races at the Belle Isle temporary road course.
At the start of the race, Newgarden picked up a couple of early spots before complaining of some left front tire degradation on his No. 1 Hitachi Chevrolet.
Race Strategist Tim Cindric called Newgarden to the pits for the first time on lap six, setting in motion a pit sequence that would be vastly different than some of those up front, hoping it would create track position later in the race.
Newgarden eventually found himself a fixture in the back-half of the top-10, running anywhere between eight and 10th.
The rest of the race, including two late-race restarts, was rather uneventful for Newgarden, who would eventually cross the line in the ninth position when the checkers flew.
With the finish, Newgarden dropped one spot in the Verizon IndyCar Series point standings. He now sits fourth, 21 points behind leader Alexander Rossi.

Quote:
"That was a lot of work for a ninth-place finish. I'm worn out. This place really takes it out of you. This is a place where you have to be up on the wheel all the time. If you aren't, it can bite you. We saw that today with (Graham) Rahal. But I need to thank everyone at Team Penske and Team Chevy. We really want to do well here in their backyard. But we just didn't have enough here today. I think the max were we going to be was fifth or sixth. We know we are going to have to try some things. We are going to do some experiments overnight and try to come up with something different tomorrow."

No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Dallara/Chevrolet – Will Power
Start: 6th
Finish: 7th
Status: Running
Laps Completed: 70/70
Laps Led: 0
Points Position: 3rd (-7 pts)

Notes:

Will Power and the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Dallara/Chevrolet began their day coming off a high following their latest win at the Indianapolis 500 with a strong start for the Chevrolet Grand Prix of Detroit presented by Lear in the sixth position, with a desire to head quickly to the front of the pack.
By lap 24, Race Strategist Roger Penske had the Australian driver to bring his Chevrolet to the pits for sticker primary tires and fuel to continue on in the 70-lap event.
After staying in a fairly consistent position on track between sixth and sevent, Power brought his Chevrolet to the pits on lap 46 for new primary tires again and was on his way.
Once a caution led to a restart on lap 54, Power found himself running seventh and continued to remain in that position until the checkered flag waved signifying the end of the Dual 1.
Power and the No. 12 Verizon Chevrolet team fell from firth to third in the point standings, but still only sit seven points behind Alexander Rossi.

Quote:
"I drove pretty hard for seventh place. Our car is pretty good; the handling is not bad so there's not much I could pick out to gain us some speed. I think the Hondas just have a different power curve which suits this track. Obviously we have good top-end speed, which is great for Indy and some of these tracks with longer straights. If we could qualify a little better, like in the top-four, it would make a big difference. You could do something there with strategy."

No. 22 DXC Technology Team Penske Dallara/Chevrolet – Simon Pagenaud
Start: 13th
Finish: 17th
Status: Running
Laps Completed: 70/70
Laps Led: 0
Points Position: 10th (-108 pts)

Notes:

Former Belle Isle winner Simon Pagenaud returned to the DXC Technology black and silver colors this weekend in Detroit and qualified 13th for the first of two races at the bumpy road course.
At the drop of the green, Pagenaud was not happy with his racecar, but held serve and ran in the 14th position.
With a number of different pit strategies playing out across the field, Pagenaud stayed on track nearly as long as anyone following the first stint and eventually found himself running as high as seventh.
The DXC Technology team made their first stop on lap 19, switching to primary tires and giving Pagenaud some front wing.
Unfortunately, Pagenaud could never get the track position that he needed, which cost him time to the leaders most of the afternoon.
Late in the race, Pagenaud began to experience gearbox issues, which also hindered his movement through the field. Despite the issues, Pagenaud was able to climb from 22nd position at one point to 17th at the finish.
The 2016 Verizon IndyCar Series Champion remains 10th in the series point standings, 108 behind leader Alexander Rossi.

Quote:
"Not a good race today. We struggled big time. We need to understand why and need to understand what we got wrong on the car today. Sometimes, you need to have those bad moment to bounce back and get better. That is something that Ben (Bretzman) have been good at in the past. I'm sure tonight will be a lot of thinking as to how we can improve for tomorrow. We will come back, qualify on the front row and hopefully win the race."