Team Penske IndyCar Series Race Report - Mid-Ohio

July 28, 2019

Track:                  Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course
Race:                   Honda Indy 200
Date:                   July 28, 2019
 

No. 2 PPG Dallara/Chevrolet – Josef Newgarden
Start: 3rd
Finish: 14th
Status: Off Course
Laps Completed: 90/90
Laps Led: 11
Points Position: 1st (+16 pts)
 
Notes:

• It was a tough race for Josef Newgarden and the No. 2 PPG Dallara/Chevrolet team as they battled for valuable championship points at Sunday's race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio, but unfortunately an on-track incident led to Newgarden going off-course on the final lap of the race and settling for a 14th-place finish.
• Starting third, the Tennessean began the race with a strong run as he consistently remained in the third spot for the first 30 laps of the 90-lap event.
• After teammate, Will Power and the No. 12 Verizon Dallara/Chevrolet pitted on lap 30, Newgarden was able to take the lead.
• On lap 41, Newgarden brought the No. 2 Chevrolet to the pits for fresh primary tires and fuel, but due to a fuel flow issue, the pit stop lasted longer than planned causing him to lose valuable track position.
• As a precaution to prevent any future fuel flow issues, the No. 2 Chevrolet team replaced the fuel hose by lap 48 to prepare for their final pit stop.
• When he returned to the track, Newgarden found himself consistently in the seventh position until a round of pit stops brought him up to fifth on lap 59.
• As the race was winding down toward its final laps, the No. 2 Chevrolet pitted for one final time for fuel, worn primary tires and a front wing adjustment on lap 63.
• In an effort to try and pass Ryan Hunter-Reay, Newgarden tried to move past him but unfortunately ended up spinning on lap 89 leading him to finish the event off-course, one lap down.
• Josef Newgarden and the No. 2 PPG Dallara/Chevrolet team are now just 16 points ahead of Alexander Rossi in IndyCar Series championship point standings following the race at Mid-Ohio.
• The IndyCar Series will take the next two weekends off and will return to racing at Pocono with just four races remaining in the 2019 IndyCar Series season. Newgarden and team will spend the time reevaluating their plan as they continue to battle for a championship.

 
Quote:
"I just forced the issue. I was trying to get on the podium there. I got into the side of (Hunter-Reay), looped it around and lost power. It was my fault trying to force the issue. I wish I could've kept the engine running. That was the big thing. We had a great car today with PPG on board. Chevy did a wonderful job. I wish we could've done more there at the end. It just wasn't meant to be."

 

No. 12 Verizon Dallara/Chevrolet – Will Power
Start: 1st
Finish: 4th
Status: Running
Laps Completed: 90/90
Laps Led: 26
Points Position: 5th (-148 pts)
 
Notes:

• Will Power and the No. 12 Verizon Dallara/Chevrolet ran a strong race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course as they finished fourth in the 90-lap event. This was their eighth top-10 finish of the season.
• The No. 12 Verizon Chevrolet team began the race from the pole position leading the first 30 laps of the race prior to their first pit stop in which they took fresh primary tires, fuel and a front wing adjustment.
• As pit stops cycled through, Power fell to the sixth position by lap 38 and fought hard through the field to move up to the second position by lap 46.
• On lap 54, Felix Rosenqvist made a hard charge to pass Power using a push-to-pass to succeed causing Power to settle into the third position on the 2.258-mile road course.
• For their final pit stop, Power and the No. 12 Verizon Dallara/Chevrolet returned to the pits for fuel, worn tires and a front wing adjustment in hopes that that combination would give them everything they needed to pass the competition and regain the lead.
• Will Power and the No. 12 Verizon Dallara/Chevrolet team would ultimately finish the event in the fourth position.
• Power remains fifth in IndyCar Series championship point standings and will continue to battle for points as the series heads to Pocono in two weeks. The No. 12 Chevy team has finished in the top two for the last three events there and plans to be strong at 2.5-mile oval.

 
Quote:
"It was a tough race, honestly. It was difficult to predict the tire strategy – the (Firestone) red tires were way better when the track temps came up and unfortunately we used them at the beginning so it just didn't play into our strategy. It was a pretty frustrating end for Team Penske, really frustrating to see Josef (Newgarden) in the tires at the end. So, overall, not a great team day but it was a solid finish for the Verizon Chevy. We'll take it and move on."
 
 
No. 22 Menards Dallara/Chevrolet – Simon Pagenaud
 
Start: 4th
Finish: 6th
Status: Running
Laps Completed: 90/90
Laps Led: 0
Points Position: 3rd (-47 pts)
 
Notes:

• Simon Pagenaud and the No. 22 Menards Dallara/Chevrolet team ran a strong race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course as they finished sixth at the 90-lap event, holding onto the third position in IndyCar Series championship point standings.
• Starting the race on red tires, Pagenaud was the first of the Team Penske Chevrolets to pit on lap 12. The car was equipped with primary black tires and the team also made a front wing adjustment to the No. 22 Chevrolet. The early stop set the Menards Chevrolet team up for a three-stop strategy for the race.
• As stops cycled through, Pagenaud moved up to second place in the running order on lap 30, trailing only his teammate Josef Newgarden.
• On lap 36, Pagenaud made his second stop of the race as he was running second behind Newgarden. The Menards Chevy once again took on primary tires but Pagenaud encountered traffic after exiting the pits which prevented the team from advancing into the top-three.
• Pagenaud made his final stop for four primary black tires and fuel on lap 63. Traffic again hampered the forward progress of the Menards Chevy over the final stint of the race.
• Despite a loose-handling condition over the final laps, Pagenaud maintained his position inside the top-10 and was running seventh when Newgarden went off-course on the final lap. The incident allowed Pagenaud to secure a sixth-place result at the checkered flag to mark his eighth top-10 finish in nine career starts at Mid-Ohio.
• Pagenaud remains third in the IndyCar Series championship standings, now just 47 points behind Newgarden, the series leader.

 
Quote:
"It was pretty difficult for us to keep up the pace at the end because our car started getting very loose but overall, it was a good race and I thought we got the best finish we could with the Menards Chevrolet. We committed to a three-stop strategy and we got caught behind traffic after pretty much every pit sequence so that cost us quite a bit. It's unfortunate because I think that strategy could've worked well. The good news is we picked up some points and we're definitely still in the hunt for the championship."