INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Josef Newgarden beat teammate Will Power in the finals of the Indianapolis 500 pit-stop challenge on Friday, giving the whole of Team Penske something to feel good about after a trying week leading up to "The Greatest Spectacle in Racing."
Newgarden and Power will both start from the final row of the 33-car grid on Sunday after their cars were found to have a part that was illegal altered ahead of qualifying. But both of them had fast cars in the final 2-hour practice on Carb Day, and then they showed that their crews are just as fast in the annual competition on pit lane.
In the decisive matchup, Newgarden's team stopped the clock in 10.263 seconds and Power in 10.503, giving the two-time Indy 500 winner his second consecutive pit-stop championship and Team Penske its 20th dating back to its first in 1981.
“These are the unsung heroes of this race. They're risking it every time we're coming in,” said Newgarden, who will start 32nd on Sunday as he chases an unprecedented three-peat. “It's not easy to do this job. They work on their cars all day, all night, and then they have to come out and perform in these moments, and they have to perform on Sunday.”
The pit-stop title was the third overall for Newgarden, putting him in a tie with Al Unser Jr. for fourth-most by any driver.
“It helps you win the Indy 500,” he said of the quick pit stops. “Everything has to be perfect and this is a big part of it.”
Newgarden, whose team won $50,000, beat Pato O'Ward of Arrow McLaren in the semifinals in a rematch of last year's head-to-head final. Power won his semifinal matchup with Chip Ganassi Racing's Scott Dixon, whose team won two years ago.
“After the week we've had, all three cars are ready to go out there and take this win,” said Caitlyn Brown, one of the Team Penske crew members on Newgarden's car, who two years ago became the first female over-the-wall crew member at the Indy 500.
“Winning this competition only powers us to go out there and take it,” she said. “Starting from the back doesn't mean anything.”
Final practice
Newgarden's team also had reason to celebrate after the final 2-hour practice session, when the No. 2 car had the fastest lap at 225.687 mph. Takuma Sato was second, Dixon third, Devlin Defrancesco fourth and Power fifth.
It was a strong showing overall by Team Penske, which is trying to give team owner Roger Penske his 21st race win.
“As far as the engine goes, we were all good,” said Power, who will start 33rd. "The track changed and the wind changed, which will be different again on race day. Probably some minor changes to the car and then go.”
Sato, who will start in the middle of the front row, had mechanical problems near the end of practice. Other contenders also had trouble, including Ryan Hunter-Reay, who was eighth-quickest before fire erupted from the back of his car.
“Not a big fire,” he said. “It didn't look like it caused a lot of damage.”
Award winners
Earlier in the day, Chip Ganassi Racing manager Barry Wanser and broadcast statistician Russ Thompson were given the Robin Miller Award, which honors unheralded people who have devoted a significant portion of their lives to IndyCar.
The award is named after Miller, a longtime motorsports writer who died in 2021.
Pat Caporali, the lead communications representative for tiremaker Firestone, was given the Jim Chapman Award for excellence in public relations. Chapman was a legendary PR executive who worked with Babe Ruth, among others. ___
AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
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