Track: World Wide Technology Raceway
Race: Bommarito Automotive Group 500
Date: August 24, 2019
No. 2 PPG Dallara/Chevrolet – Josef Newgarden
Start: 1st
Finish: 7th
Status: Running
Laps Completed: 248/248
Laps Led: 50
Points Position: 1st (+38 pts)
Notes:
- After an exciting night race at World Wide Technology Raceway, Josef Newgarden and the No. 2 PPG Dallara/Chevrolet team finished seventh, maintaining their 2019 IndyCar championship points lead by 38 points over teammate Simon Pagenaud.
- Starting on the pole, Newgarden's race had a strong start leading the first several laps of the event in Madison, Ill. He would go on to lead a total of 50 laps that evening.
- On lap 53, Tim Cindric, team strategist for the No. 2 team called Newgarden to the pits for fuel and tires.
- By lap 100, Newgarden found himself consistently in the top-10 but was hungry to regain the lead position.
- After discussing a vibration earlier in the race, Newgarden pitted for fuel, tires and a front wing adjustment on lap 111. He would take the same adjustments to his Chevrolet on lap 177.
- The team's final pit stop came on lap 198 for tires, fuel and a front wing adjustment as they continued to fight their way through traffic.
- On the final lap of the race, Newgarden was running low on the track and nearly made contact with Santino Ferrucci causing him to drop from fourth place, ultimately settling for a seventh-place finish.
- Newgarden and team continue to lead IndyCar championship point standings as the series has just two races remaining in the 2019 season.
Quote: "For us tonight, our guys did a great job. Our PPG car was fast. We were better in clean air, which was unfortunate because we got stuck in in dirty air more often than not. I think if we were a little bit better in traffic, we could have made something happen. But they did a great job. Great stops. Good calls from everybody. I'm really proud of the team. Now we've just got to try and have a couple of better rounds here to finish the season off."
No. 12 Verizon Dallara/Chevrolet – Will Power
Start: 3rd
Finish: 22nd
Status: Accident
Laps Completed: 52/248
Laps Led: 1
Points Position: 5th (-147 pts)
Notes:
- Will Power and the No. 12 Verizon Dallara/Chevrolet began Saturday night's Bommarito Automotive 500 at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway from the third position, his eighth top-five starting position of 2019.
- For the second consecutive week an early yellow flag stopped the racing action, but when it resumed Power quickly moved his Chevrolet into the second position.
- After radioing to race strategist Roger Penske that he was happy with the balance of the car, Penske called for no adjustments on the first pit stop of the day on lap 52. Unfortunately, while getting up to speed following his service, Power ran high in the third and fourth turns, making contact with the outside wall.
- The damage to the right side of the No. 12 Chevrolet was enough to force Power to retire from the race, finishing 22nd on the day. He remains fifth in the IndyCar Series standings, 147 points behind leader Josef Newgarden.
Quote: "Yeah, the Verizon Chevy was great. The car was really good. I came out on cold tires and just got a little bit out of the groove. And man, it's like ice. There are so many marbles because they brought the new tire that really sheds the rubber. And, that was going to happen in the race, no matter what. But I guess it's my bad for getting up there. You just can't put an inch on that stuff. Man, you just go straight. It sucks for the guys. We had such a good car. They had to hang out all day. We had a good chance."
No. 22 Menards Dallara/Chevrolet – Simon Pagenaud
Start: 4th
Finish: 5th
Status: Running
Laps Completed: 248/248
Laps Led: 0
Points Position: 2nd (-38 pts)
Notes:
- While Simon Pagenaud and the No. 22 Menards Dallara/Chevrolet's fifth-place finish at World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Ill. didn't garner a win, it felt like one as the team moved into second in 2019 IndyCar Series championship point standings with just two races remaining.
- Starting the race in the third position, Pagenaud ran hard towards the front of the field from the beginning of the 248-lap event.
- After complaining about a vibration similar to what teammate Josef Newgarden was experiencing, Pagenaud pitted on lap 50 for fuel, tires and a front wing adjustment.
- By lap 100, Pagenaud was running as fast as the leader and continued to gain speed.
- The No. 22 Chevrolet was called to the pits on lap 112 by team strategist Kyle Moyer where the car was serviced for tires and fuel.
- Running in the eighth position on lap 176, he returned to the pits once again for fuel and tires as part of the pit cycle. Unfortunately, a few laps later on lap 184, Pagenaud was blocked and lost some track position.
- For their final pit stop, Pagenaud brought the No. 22 Menards Chevrolet to the pits for tires and fuel on lap 192.
- Pagenaud continued to charge hard and ultimately settled for a fifth-place finish in the Saturday evening night race.
- Next weekend the series heads to Portland where Pagenaud and the No. 22 Chevrolet finished sixth after starting 22nd. The team plans to improve upon that performance and continue to battle teammate Josef Newgarden for the 2019 IndyCar Series championship.
Quote: "Wow, what a night. That is a race that I am going to be excited to re-watch. Honestly, I really don't know much about what happened because as a driver you are kind of like a horse. You just have to keep going. We had a really good car and after five laps the car was really, really strong. It had a lot of pace and we could really keep it up through the stint. Really, really struggled on restarts. Just no grip. Some of it is me and some of it, I don't know what it is. Certainly, some work we need to do. Wow, it was an eventful race. Lots of passing and lots of elbows out, out there and with the strategies, it seemed like it was fun. The fans had a great show tonight."