Tag: Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix

Every rookie IZOD IndyCar Series driver has to earn his racing stripes through hard work and patience, and Josef Newgarden received a lesson in the latter at the Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix Sunday.

Newgarden started from the 13th position and immediately began saving fuel to work toward a race strategy that would put him near the front on a circuit that makes passing difficult.

Unfortunately, the streets of Belle Isle Park had different plans for Newgarden’s No. 67 SFHR Dallara/Honda/Firestone car.

Under the stress of 25 IndyCars pounding on its pavement, the Belle Isle streets began to deteriorate. Newgarden drove over a piece of loose track and sustained a tire puncture that forced him to pit on lap 27, earlier than his strategy called for.

Newgarden fared better than two other drivers however, who ran over loose pieces of asphalt and cement that caused them to lose control of their cars and crash.

The race was eventually red flagged on lap 45 to undergo track repairs.

“After you get into your race mode and have everything going, the last thing you want to do is stop, which was difficult,” Newgarden said.

Track officials poured new cement onto the circuit and after a nearly two-hour hiatus the green flag flew again.

Newgarden re-started the race in 13th, but before completing a lap he sustained contact from behind from the No. 78 car of Simona de Silvestro. He spun and was unable to re-start his car without assistance.

“I feel bad we got clipped from behind at the end, especially since we had already had bad luck during the race,” Newgarden said. “We had a great strategy going but it didn’t get a chance to play out as we had hoped.”

After the incident, Newgarden went a lap down, but rallied to tick off quick laps and make two solid passes before the checkered flag.

“All we can do is keep doing what we’ve been doing and things will turn around for us,” Newgarden said.

Newgarden and SFHR ended the day in 15th position. Due to the lengthy red flag, the race was shortened to 60 laps.

Scott Dixon, of Ganassi Racing, led every lap of the race to claim the Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix victory. His teammate Dario Franchitti finished second.

Simon Pagenaud of Schmidt Hamilton Motorsports, Will Power of Team Penske, and Oriol Servia of Panther/Dreyer and Reinbold Racing rounded out the top five.

The IZOD IndyCar Series returns to action Saturday, June 9 at Texas Motor Speedway.

It’s not easy to keep your head in the game when you haven’t slept much since the biggest race of your life and you’re fighting off a pesky summer cold and sore throat, but that is exactly what Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing’s rookie driver Josef Newgarden is trying to do.

After racing in his first Indianapolis 500 last Sunday, Newgarden tested at the Milwaukee Mile on Tuesday and then made the trek to Belle Isle Park for the Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix on Thursday.

“I think there’s a cold going around, and our whole team’s got it,” Newgarden said.

Newgarden posted a lap at 103.347 mph to earn the 13th starting position for Sunday’s Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix.

“We didn’t quite have the pace for today, but it doesn’t mean we won’t have it tomorrow,” Newgarden said. “We’ve made a lot of progress since the first practice session, and we keep getting closer and closer to where we need to be.”

Newgarden narrowly missed advancing to the second round of knockout style qualifying when Takuma Sato bumped him out of the final transferring spot with a lap that was one hundredth of a second faster.

“I’m disappointed because I should have gotten more out of the car,” Newgarden said. “It’s just disappointing when you don’t maximize your potential.”

Newgarden expects the progress SFHR showed in improving the No. 67 SFHR Dallara/Honda/Firestone car from practice to qualifying will transfer well on race day.

“We’ve made a lot of progress since the first practice session here,” he said. “We’ve got hard workers here at SFHR so we’ll keep our heads down and see what we can do tomorrow in the big show.”

Scott Dixon of Ganassi Racing scored the Pole position with a record qualifying lap of one minute, 10.3162 seconds. Will Power, Alex Tagliani, Simon Pagenaud and EJ Viso rounded out the top five qualifying spots.

The green flag drops on the Chevrolet Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix Sunday, June 3 at 3:45 p.m. ET. Live TV coverage begins on ABC at 3:30 p.m. ET.

When Frederick L. Olmsted drafted the plans for Belle Isle in Detroit, he envisioned a beautiful oasis in what was simply a marshy swamp, similar to the transformation he concocted for the most famous green space in the world, Central Park.

Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing (SFHR) and Josef Newgarden have never raced at scenic Belle Isle, but after five races in the 2012 IZOD IndyCar Series, the team has proven that a fast rookie and a capable team can work together to build a competitive package.

The team has rolled out of the transporter with a quick race car at each IndyCar street circuit thus far, including St. Petersburg, Fla., Long Beach, Calif. and Sao Paulo, Brazil. Newgarden started second in the Long Beach Grand Prix and had the quickest lap of the race in Sao Paulo.

SFHR is considered by many to be a contender on oval tracks with their win at Kentucky Speedway in 2011, but the team has stepped up its road course and street circuit programs and proven that it can turn right just as well as it can turn left.

SFHR and Josef Newgarden are seeking a solid finishing result at Belle Isle to back up the promising speed they have posted early in the season.

With a little ingenuity and a lot of raw talent, Newgarden and SFHR are looking to follow in Olmsted’s footsteps to architect their own piece of history in the IZOD IndyCar Series.

JOSEF NEWGARDEN (Driver- Nashville, Tenn.)

On switching from ovals to street courses:

“I’m interested to see what happens, because I think it feels weird going into a street course after being on an oval for a long time. Everything you’re doing in the car feels completely different. Now that things are back to a street course setting it takes a while to feel normal. You’ve got to give yourself four to five laps to re-adjust to the street course feel. I think we’ll be able to adjust really quickly as a team, and I think everybody will catch up, but I think it will be interesting to see which teams get on top of it the quickest.”

On the Belle Isle street circuit:

“The challenge is on the rhythm of the track. It has a lot of flow and surface changes that will make driving difficult. Definitely not an easy place to master, but I feel confident in the SFHR team and feel good about what we’ll be able to produce on a new track for the team.”

On getting a good result: 

“We’ve got to try to maximize each race week to its fullest so that when we look back at this stretch at the end of the season, we can be proud of what we accomplished with such short turnaround periods.”

Broadcast Info:

The Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix will air live on the ABC beginning at 3:30 p.m. ET Sunday, June 3.