This was Newgarden’s third straight victory at this 1.25-mile oval.
Josef Newgarden won the rain-interrupted Bommarito Automotive Group 500 late Saturday night at World Wide Technology Raceway. This moved him closer to the NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship lead. Newgarden, from Nashville, Tennessee, drove to his series-leading fifth victory of the season in the No. 2 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet by 0.4708 of a second over rookie David Malukas, whose brilliant charge – as threatening as the lightning that rag-flagged show – after the race restarted in the No. 18 HMD Honda finished second – a career-best.
The Race distance is 260 laps, but the rain delay made it a 213-lap race in daylight, followed by a 47-lap all-out dash under the lights. When the race resumed at 9:05 p.m. local time, track conditions had changed significantly because of the rain-cleaned asphalt. There was better adhesion with lower temperatures after sundown. The race was a contest of strategies as well as drivers and teams.
This was Newgarden’s third straight victory at this 1.25-mile oval in the shadows of the Gateway Arch. This was also Newgarden’s 25th career series victory, tying him with Gordon Johncock for 16th place on the all-time list. Two-time series champion Newgarden is now just three points behind teammate and series leader Will Power in the race for the Astor Challenge Cup with just two races remaining. Power, the NTT P1 Award winner, led a race-high 128 laps but finished sixth in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet.
Pato O’Ward finished fourth in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet, while two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Takuma Sato placed fifth for his best result this season in the No. 51 Nurtec ODT Honda. The championship race remains tight. Seven drivers are mathematically eligible to win the title, with just 58 points, a scant four more than the maximum awarded at one race, between leader Power from seventh-place Pato O’Ward.
“That’s INDYCAR. It’s never straight-forward,” said Will Power. “You expect that in the championship. It might come back to us in the next two in a different way. That’s how it is. We’ve got some good tracks coming up. Like I predicted, it will be a tough battle all the way to the end. I’ve been around a long time and know how these things go. The best thing about today is that we finished in the top-six, so that’s still pretty good.”
History was made on Friday afternoon as Power became the second driver in NTT INDYCAR SERIES history with 67 pole positions, tying Mario Andretti for the all-time lead. To date, 42 of Power’s 67 pole positions have been in a Team Penske car powered by the Chevrolet 2.2-liter V6 engine. Power maintains the lead in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship standings with only two races remaining. Next is the Grand Prix of Portland on Sunday 4 Sept. at Portland International Raceway. The season ends with the Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey on Sunday 11 Sept. at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, publisher (kzhw@aol.com), is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
Zino is at home on test tracks, knows his way around U.S. Congressional hearing rooms, auto company headquarters, plant floors, as well as industry research and development labs where the real mobility work is done. He can quote from court decisions, refer to instrumented road tests, analyze financial results, and profile executive personalities and corporate cultures.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
IndyCar: Rain Soaked Bommarito 500 Goes to Chevy
This was Newgarden’s third straight victory at this 1.25-mile oval.
Josef Newgarden won the rain-interrupted Bommarito Automotive Group 500 late Saturday night at World Wide Technology Raceway. This moved him closer to the NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship lead. Newgarden, from Nashville, Tennessee, drove to his series-leading fifth victory of the season in the No. 2 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet by 0.4708 of a second over rookie David Malukas, whose brilliant charge – as threatening as the lightning that rag-flagged show – after the race restarted in the No. 18 HMD Honda finished second – a career-best.
The Race distance is 260 laps, but the rain delay made it a 213-lap race in daylight, followed by a 47-lap all-out dash under the lights. When the race resumed at 9:05 p.m. local time, track conditions had changed significantly because of the rain-cleaned asphalt. There was better adhesion with lower temperatures after sundown. The race was a contest of strategies as well as drivers and teams.
Pato O’Ward finished fourth in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet, while two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Takuma Sato placed fifth for his best result this season in the No. 51 Nurtec ODT Honda. The championship race remains tight. Seven drivers are mathematically eligible to win the title, with just 58 points, a scant four more than the maximum awarded at one race, between leader Power from seventh-place Pato O’Ward.
“That’s INDYCAR. It’s never straight-forward,” said Will Power. “You expect that in the championship. It might come back to us in the next two in a different way. That’s how it is. We’ve got some good tracks coming up. Like I predicted, it will be a tough battle all the way to the end. I’ve been around a long time and know how these things go. The best thing about today is that we finished in the top-six, so that’s still pretty good.”
History was made on Friday afternoon as Power became the second driver in NTT INDYCAR SERIES history with 67 pole positions, tying Mario Andretti for the all-time lead. To date, 42 of Power’s 67 pole positions have been in a Team Penske car powered by the Chevrolet 2.2-liter V6 engine. Power maintains the lead in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship standings with only two races remaining. Next is the Grand Prix of Portland on Sunday 4 Sept. at Portland International Raceway. The season ends with the Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey on Sunday 11 Sept. at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, publisher (kzhw@aol.com), is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn. Zino is at home on test tracks, knows his way around U.S. Congressional hearing rooms, auto company headquarters, plant floors, as well as industry research and development labs where the real mobility work is done. He can quote from court decisions, refer to instrumented road tests, analyze financial results, and profile executive personalities and corporate cultures. He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe. Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap. AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks. Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.