Tag: IZOD IndyCar Series

Josef Newgarden had high hopes for his second shot at the Milwaukee Mile, but an 11th-place finish left the competitive 22-year-old driver feeling frustrated and unsatisfied.

“It wasn’t a good day,” Newgarden said. “It was a rough one and it stinks sometimes because you don’t have the package, but we’ll keep working hard. There’s definitely no quit in this team and we’ll keep trucking away for the next one.”

The second year driver for Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing (SFHR) started the race 8th on the grid, and spent most of the 250 laps in the top-10, even racing as high as fourth place.

During the second stint of the race, Newgarden fell a lap behind and was never able to make it up. Only eight drivers finished the race completing all 250 laps.

“We just really struggled with car grip in general,” Newgarden said. “It was especially difficult in traffic. It was really tough to run behind everyone and race, which is pretty critical around this place.”

After SFHR made its fourth and final pit stop on lap 213, the No. 67 SFHR Direct Supply/Dallara/Honda/ Firestone car fell from 9th to 12th position.

“You have to have a pretty decent car in dirty air and we didn’t really have that today,” Newgarden said. “It was great to have Direct Supply on the car, it’s their home race, and everyone was pumped up. It just didn’t turn out how we wanted to so we’ll keep working and go to the next one. There are a lot of good races coming up for us."

Andretti Autosport’s Ryan Hunter-Reay won the Milwaukee IndyFest for the second consecutive year. Helio Castroneves and Will Power finished in second and third respectively.

The IZOD IndyCar Series will head west for the Iowa Corn Indy 250 on Sunday, June 23. Iowa Speedway is the third oval track in a row on the series schedule. The race will air live on ABC at 2:30 p.m. ET. For all of the latest team updates, follow @SFHRindy on Twitter and Instagram.

Josef Newgarden will start eighth on the grid in tomorrow's Milwaukee IndyFest, the same position he finished in last weekend's race at Texas Motor Speedway.

The 22-year-old driver for Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing (SFHR), who fell out of last year's Milwaukee Mile on lap 48 due to a mechanical issue, qualified for the 2013 race with a two-lap average speed of 169.492 mph.

"It felt good out there," Newgarden said. "We maximized what we could for today and I think we have an even better car for the race tomorrow, and that's when it counts. I'm excited for Saturday."

Newgarden, driving the No. 67 SFHR Direct Supply/Dallara/Honda/Firestone car, was third fastest in today's first practice session and finished with the eighth fastest overall speed around the 1-mile oval after completing both practices.

"I think we learned a lot about our racecar in practice," he said. "We tuned it and made it better from our starting package, which was already good. We should be really strong for the race."

Newgarden is sporting a blue and black Direct Supply firesuit this weekend, representing the Milwaukee-based company who is sponsoring SFHR for the 250-lap race.

"Milwaukee is Direct Supply's home base," Newgarden said. "They love IndyCar racing, and they're very passionate. They help Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing in everything we do, so we have a little extra incentive to do great this weekend for not only them, but also for our team."

Saturday's eighth place starting position is Newgarden's second top-10 qualifying spot on the 2013 IZOD IndyCar Series schedule.

The Milwaukee IndyFest will air live on NBC Sports Network on Saturday, June 15 at 3 p.m. ET. For all of the latest updates from the No. 67 car, follow @SFHRindy on Twitter and Instagram.

With eight races complete and 11 remaining on the 2013 IZOD IndyCar Series schedule, Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing (SFHR) is on the rise. The Indianapolis-based team crossed the checkered flag at all but one race this season and landed a top-10 spot on four occasions, including an eighth place finish in last weekend's Firestone 550 at Texas Motor Speedway.

SFHR and sophomore driver Josef Newgarden look to continue making strides toward a podium finish, as the No. 67 SFHR Dallara/Honda/Firestone car takes the track this weekend at the Milwaukee IndyFest.

After a drive on Texas Motor Speedway's high-banked oval a few short days ago, it will take some adjusting to the very low banking on the historic 1-mile oval in Milwaukee.

"I like Milwaukee because it is the only 1-mile flat oval that we go to," Newgarden said. "It's almost like a road course with two very fast corners. You have full downforce and that dynamic of a 1-mile oval with no banking is really cool."

In 2012, Newgarden fell out of the Milwaukee Mile early due to a fuel pressure problem that was out of his control.

"Last year we had one of the strongest cars out there and we just ended up encountering an issue," Newgarden reflected. "The tough thing is that we didn't even really get to run the race."

The 22-year-old said he still took lessons away from his rookie debut at one of the oldest operating speedways in the world.

"It would have been nice to learn more in the race last year, but there's some things I learned in qualifying," Newgarden said. "It's tricky in Milwaukee to go flat but it's also really crucial that you do go flat when you qualify, so that's something I'm going to apply this year."

Qualifying begins at 5:15 p.m. ET on Friday, June 14 and the green flag will drop for the 100-lap race at 4:40 p.m. ET on Saturday, June 15. SFHR fans can catch a ride to Milwaukee on the IndyFest Express from Indianapolis Motor Speedway on either Friday or Saturday morning.

"I think [the IndyFest Express] is great because there's a lot of fans in Indy that love Milwaukee and love this race," Newgarden said. "This gives them an opportunity to come up on a bus, enjoy the race and come back to Indy and I think it's awesome that we have that opportunity open for fans."

The Milwaukee IndyFest will air live on NBC Sports Network starting at 3 p.m. ET on Saturday, June 15. Click here for more information on the IndyFest Express, and for the latest updates from the No 67 car, follow @SFHRindy on Twitter.

Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing (SFHR) clinched its fourth top-10 finish in the 2013 IZOD IndyCar Series season tonight at Texas Motor Speedway. Through ups and downs amid the 228-lap race, sophomore driver Josef Newgarden drove his way past the checkerd flag in 8th place.

“We had a good result considering we got hosed a little bit on some of the yellows, which pushed us back a little,” Newgarden said. “I think we had a top-5 car, but we were pretty good in the mix and I think to secure decent results is satisfying. We definitely want more but I think we learned a lot tonight.”

On SFHR’s second pit stop, the crew made changes to allow Newgarden more downforce on the No. 67 SFHR Dallara/Honda/Firestone car.

“We really struggled in the middle of the race with chronic understeer and then it shifted to chronic oversteer at the end of the race,” Newgarden said. “So there were a lot of mixed feelings in the car. We just did our best to work it out and keep it as balanced as possible.”

The 22-year-old driver started the contest 7th on the grid, and steered his way around Texas Motor Speedway as the sun set behind the 1.5-mile oval.

“The transition from day to night was actually fine,” Newgarden said. “Most of the track was shielded so it was actually a pretty easy transition. It was a little disorienting running under the lights so often.”

The 550-km race had just three caution periods and no crashes. Driver Helio Castroneves finished on pole and is first in the series championship standings. Rounding out the top-5 were Ryan Hunter-Reay, Tony Kanaan, Ed Carpenter and Marco Andretti.

With lessons learned at the end of the night, Newgarden and SFHR continue to seek improvement and consistency.

“I think we got decent points tonight, but we need to get better points,” Newgarden said. “We will go to the next race and try to do better.”

SFHR holds onto 15th place in the series championship standings with 11 races remaining on the 2013 schedule. Next weekend the No. 67 Honda-powered car will be back on the track for the Milwaukee IndyFest. The race will air live on NBC Sports Network at 4 p.m. ET on Saturday, June 15th. For the latest team updates, follow @SFHRindy on Twitter.

Josef Newgarden and Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing (SFHR) will start seventh on the grid in Saturday night's Firestone 550, the team's highest qualification effort in the 2013 IZOD IndyCar Series season.

"I think that was our smoothest qualifying session," Newgarden said with a smile. "We actually didn't have anything go wrong, we didn't have any incidents and nothing funny happened like a lot of the time it does. It was definitely one of our better ones and I think we'll be in good shape for the race."

Driving the No. 67 SFHR Dallara/Honda/Firestone car, Newgarden maneuvered his way around the 1.5-mile high-speed oval at Texas Motor Speedway, qualifying with a two-lap average speed of 216.693 mph.

"Qualifying is important in that it can hopefully keep you out of some trouble in the beginning of the race," Newgarden said. "But in the end, this race will be all about attrition because it's such a long race."

The 228-lap, 550-km contest is the first of two night races on the 2013 IndyCar schedule

"Racing at night gives you a different perspective inside the car," the 22-year-old driver said. "Everything seems faster so everything speeds up under the lights. I think it makes it more exciting for the fans to watch. I've always enjoyed watching night races myself. As a driver, it's fun because you definitely have to be more on your toes with the sense of speed increase."

Driver Will Power is set to start on pole in Saturday's Firestone 550, with a qualifying speed of 219.182 mph. The green flag will drop on Saturday, June 8 at 8:45 p.m. ET. Tune into ABC to watch the No. 67 car, and for all of the latest updates from Texas, follow @SFHRindy on Twitter.

TEXT: "Texas is the lowest downforce situation that we run all year. It is very difficult to run flat out but it’s a high speed oval which makes it a fun challenge. We’ve had weekends where we haven’t gotten points where we should have, so it puts emphasis on always getting what you can out of a weekend because points is what builds a championship." --Josef Newgarden

It seemed as if "Dual 2" at the Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix would bring a flare of deja vu after Race 1 winner Mike Conway started in the front row and A.J. Allmendinger crashed into the wall on the first lap, looking almost identical to his crash in "Dual 1."

The repetitiveness from Saturday's race came to a halt for Josef Newgarden and Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing (SFHR) on lap 14 when Graham Rahal, driving the No. 15 car, made contact with the back of Newgarden's No. 67 SFHR/Dallara/Honda/Firestone car, damaging the gear box.

"It's a shame that we got caught out by something that wasn't our fault," Newgarden, who finished the day in 16th position, said. "We just had to salvage what we could. It's a tough day but at least we got some points."

The SFHR pit crew scrambled to replace the gear stack as quickly as possible, but the sophomore driver, who finished 7th in Saturday's race, lost six laps before the car was able to return to the track.

"They're pretty stout here at SFHR so they did the best job they could to put the car back together and get it going as quickly as possible under green flag conditions," Newgarden said. "We fixed it as fast as we could and didn't lose too many laps."

Lap 27 caused more chaos for the field, with a multiple car collision that ended the day for many teams. In the back of the pack, the No. 67 car was able to come out of the incident with nothing more than a bruised nose, which the crew fixed under caution.

"The incident helped us gain as many positions as we could, but still a rough day," Newgarden, who completed 64 of 70 laps, said. "We were able to run it right to the end of the race and luckily gained a few spots back through the cautions."

Driver Simon Pagenaud won "Dual 2" in Detroit, and was joined on the podium by James Jakes and Mike Conway in second and third positions respectively.

The IZOD IndyCar Series heads south next weekend to Fort Worth, Texas for the Firestone 550 at Texas Motor Speedway. The evening race will air live on ABC at 8:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, June 8.

"It's a quick turn around so we'll try to get the car ready to rock for Texas and we'll come back fighting as hard as we can," Newgarden said. "Points are everything in this series and we'll be looking to capitalize in Texas."

For the latest updates from SFHR, follow @SFHRindy on Twitter.

Diligence and determination paid off for Josef Newgarden and Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing (SFHR) in today’s first of two back-to-back "duals" at the Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix.

Driving the No. 67 SFHR Dallara/Honda/Firestone car, Newgarden started the 70-lap race 24th on the grid and drove his way through the field to seventh position, making his second best career finish.

“Not a bad day,” Newgarden said humbly. “We had a strong car and we did a great job from where we started the race.”

After gaining 15 spots, the sophomore driver pitted early on an alternate pit strategy, falling back to position 19. Once again, Newgarden steered his way past his opponents, slowly gaining ground each lap.

“We had a killer strategy which is crucial when you start in the back on these types of tracks,” he said. “So we were able to pass people when we needed to.”

The SFHR pit crew played a key role in Newgarden’s success, pitting nearly perfectly on all four stops.

“We had great stops by the team and did everything when we needed to, so all of the credit goes to the group,” Newgarden said.

In Sunday’s second race in the double-header weekend, the No. 67 car will take off from the exact same grid position.

“You can never really plan to make the same outcome happen again,” Newgarden said. “We just have to stay out of trouble like we did today and work the strategy with the weather the best we can. I think we need to tweak the car a little bit before tomorrow’s race.”

Dale Coyne Racing’s Mike Conway won the first of the weekend’s Dual race features and will ironically start first on the grid in Sunday’s race. Ryan Hunter-Reay finished second and Justin Wilson third.

Live coverage of Sunday’s race will begin at 3:30 p.m. ET on ABC. For the latest updates from the No. 67 car, follow @SFHRindy on Twitter.

Only six days following the Indianapolis 500, the IZOD IndyCar Series is back in action, racing a double header at the Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix on Saturday, June 1 and Sunday, June 2.

Driving the No. 67 Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing Dallara/Honda/Firestone car, Josef Newgarden is set to steer his way through the 2.3-mile street circuit along beautiful Belle Isle’s 982-acre island, just minutes from downtown Detroit.

“Detroit is one of the most interesting places we go because we are racing on an island and through a park,” Newgarden said. “It’s a very fun place to drive and I just think it’s super cool that there’s an IndyCar race running on an island.”

With two duals on consecutive days, there is excess demand placed on the drivers.

“Physically it’s going to be a very challenging race weekend,” Newgarden said. “There’s so much that you need to do as a driver to prepare for one race, and I think that two races just makes it even more difficult with hydration levels, sleep and preparation.”

With a challenge comes competitiveness, which the sophomore driver is sure to bring.

“The great thing is that we get to run two races, which normally we don’t get to do,” Newgarden said. “A lot of the time if you don’t win a race you want to run a second one, and this time you actually can. I think it’ll be fun for everyone involved. I always loved running two races as a junior driver.”

After spending two solid weeks at Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s oval track, switching gears to a street circuit is not an easy task.

“Detroit is a very physical place to drive,” Newgarden said. “It is fast and requires a lot of reaction time on the wheel, which is very different than the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It’s a big adjustment to start with, but once you get used to it you get back into the rhythm of what it’s like to run a street course.”

Both races air live on ABC at 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, June 1 and Sunday, June 2. Qualifying begins on Friday, May 31 at 3 p.m. ET. For the latest trackside updates from SFHR, follow @SFHRindy on Twitter.

It was a bumpy race for Josef Newgarden's second Indianapolis 500, as the driver of the No. 21 Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing (SFHR) Century 21/Dallara/Honda/Firestone car finished 28th, completing 191 of 200 laps.

"We're not sure what happened," Newgarden said. "We still have to investigate things, but something happened in the first stint and it was all about working to try and regain everything. It was really difficult to drive with the rear and almost felt impossible in traffic. It was just really tough."

Newgarden, who started 25th on the grid, steered his way into 22nd before slowly slipping to the back of the pack.

"We kept our heads down and kept chasing it the best we could," he said. "These are the days you work the hardest and also the days you get no reward for it. It was a rough day but we'll have to try and figure out what happened."

The No. 21 car pitted on lap 66 in hopes of fixing the problem, but the extended stop resulted in lost time and laps.

"It's one of those days where you learn the most," Newgarden said. "Detroit is coming up next weekend so we're going to get right back into it. We won't slow down at all."

With only three laps remaining, Tony Kanaan took the race lead. Under caution he won the Greatest Spectacle in Racing, which featured 68-lead changes between 14 drivers, both race records.

Rounding out the top five were Carlos Munoz, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Marco Andretti and Justin Wilson.

The IZOD IndyCar Series keeps up the pace as the teams travel north for the Indy Dual in Detroit next weekend. The back-to-back races will run Saturday, June 1 and Sunday, June 2. For the latest updates from SFHR follow @SFHRindy on Twitter.