Tag: Josef Newgarden

Josef Newgarden set out to contend for the coveted pole position on Pole Day for the 97th running of the Greatest Spectacle in Racing, but the cards were not in his favor.

Driving the No. 21 Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing (SFHR) Century 21/Dallara/Honda/Firestone car, Newgarden was bumped from the top 24 positions with less than one minute remaining in Segment 1 of qualifying.

"It's a shame because we have plenty of speed in the Century 21 car, we just got the process wrong today," Newgarden said.

SFHR hoped Newgarden's first and only qualifying speed of 225.210 mph would be enough, but James Jakes, driver of the No. 16 car, knocked Newgarden off the bubble, leaving no time for a second qualification attempt.

"Qualifying is important in that it's a big part of the whole event and obviously we try our best to do well and we'd love to get the pole, but I don't think it's in our cards this year to be right up front," Newgarden said. "What is in the cards for us is to do well in the race and that's exactly what we're going to focus on."

Though Newgarden's qualification speed fell short of expectations, the Century 21 driver has proven he is fast, turning a lap at 228.609 mph earlier today during practice.

"We were not the fast guy out there and we lost a lot of speed from practice," he said. "I don't know where the speed went, but qualifying is not the most important thing at this track when you think about the race next Sunday."

The second year driver will work to claim his spot in the 2013 Indianapolis 500 field during Bump Day on Sunday, May 19, beginning at 12 p.m. ET. NBC Sports Network will air live coverage starting at 12 p.m. ET. For the latest updates from the Century 21 car follow @SFHRindy on Twitter.

During the action-packed Indy 500, racing teams understand the importance of a strong pit crew on the outcome of the race. That's why the pit crew for Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing (SFHR), along with other teammates, is training with Community Health Network's Sports Medicine staff as part of an individualized employee wellness program from Community Employer Health.

"Our new partnership with Community Health Network is a great example of going beyond traditional marketing strategies in racing," said Sarah Fisher, co-owner of Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing. "Our team is focused on the health of our employees, both on and off the track, and this partnership allows us to emphasize the importance of their fitness in an environment where hundredths of seconds count. We hope people will peek into the new Body Shop, Powered by Community Health Network at our Speedway headquarters where training for the athletes of SFHR resumes in May."

Community Employer Health had the luxury of working with SFHR as the race team was designing its new racing headquarters site on the re-developed Main Street in Speedway. Knowing the team's focus was on physical and mental toughness for peak racing performance, Community designed detailed performance management plans for SFHR driver Josef Newgarden and his crew.

"Our relationship with Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing is an excellent example of why customization of employee health and wellness plans is so important," said Steve Zetzl, vice president of Employer Health at Community Health Network. "Each of our clients has unique issues and goals. Our objective is to understand those issues and plan a wellness program that makes employees the healthiest they can be. Having an onsite health program is one of best ways to lower healthcare costs for employers."

Components of the SFHR Employee Health and Wellness plan include:

Onsite Fitness Center
Management and staffing
Performance training for driver and pit crew
Corporate wellness services
Annual onsite health screening and health assessment
MyPath program, a digital health management platform that allows participants to wirelessly download and track their physical activity
Employee Assistance Program (EAP)

Occupational Health and Medical Services

Work-related injury care
DOT/CDL services (exams and substance abuse testing for those required to have a commercial driver's license)
Annual flu vaccinations
Ergonomic assessment

About Community Health Network

Ranked among the nation's most integrated healthcare systems, Community Health Network is Central Indiana's leader in providing convenient access to exceptional healthcare services, where and when patients need them-in hospitals, health pavilions and doctor's offices, as well as workplaces, schools and homes. As a non-profit health system with over 200 sites of care and affiliates throughout Central Indiana, Community's full continuum of care integrates hundreds of physicians, specialty and acute care hospitals, surgery centers, home care services, MedChecks, behavioral health and employer health services. To learn more, visit eCommunity.com or call 800-777-7775.

About Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing

Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing (SFHR) was established in 2008 and is owned by former driver Sarah Fisher, the youngest woman ever to compete in the Indianapolis 500 and the first woman to run a full IZOD IndyCar Series schedule, and businessman Wink Hartman. SFHR has competed in the IZOD IndyCar Series since 2008, earning its first victory in 2011 at Kentucky Speedway.

In the birthplace of the legendary racing driver Ayrton Senna lies an 11-turn temporary street circuit that hosted Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing (SFHR) and the rest of the IZOD IndyCar Series today. The 2.535-mile asphalt and concrete track for the Itaipava São Paulo Indy 300 bumps and bruises more than just about any course on the series calendar and two things are needed to survive - patience and time.

Starting dead last today in 25th position as a result of a penalty extended for an engine change, Nashville-resident Josef Newgarden and his team thought they might have to count on healthy doses of patience and time as their only strategy. But a record number of cautions at the São Paulo circuit gave the Speedway, Ind.-based team the opportunity they needed to get Newgarden the best finish of his brief IZOD IndyCar Series career.

"I thought we had a really strong race and a top-five is really good going into Indy," said Newgarden. "Given where we started, that's exactly what we wanted to do, score solid points and get some momentum going into the 500. I think we've absolutely done that."

A late-race charge by Newgarden after a restart put him in position to battle for the lead. The 22-year-old racer made several attempts to put his Honda-powered Dallara chassis on point, but he ultimately yielded to James Hinchcliffe, the eventual winner. Newgarden hung on to his fading tires to squeeze out a fifth-place finish for his SFHR team to take back to their new racing headquarters in Indiana.

"It was a little bit of a disappointment," Newgarden said. "I think we had a better car than fifth. You have to take what you can sometimes. We're really pleased at all of the hard work that gets put in from everyone here. It's good to get representative results. We'll try to take that momentum and do well at the 500."

The SFHR team heads home to Speedway for a short walk from the race shop to the 97th Indianapolis 500 where Newgarden put the No. 67 in a seventh-place starting position last year. To get the latest news from SFHR, follow @SFHRindy on Twitter.

Racing and soccer do not typically coincide, but for Brazilian sports fans both are top-notch entertainment, and definitely provide a reason to be "animado," or very excited as we would say in English.

Josef Newgarden, driver of the No. 67 Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing (SFHR) Dallara/Honda/Firestone car, is traveling more than 5,000 miles south of Indianapolis for the Itaipava Sao Paulo Indy 300, the only IZOD IndyCar Series race outside of North America.

Sao Paulo's steadfast soccer fans leave no shortage of enthusiasm when they take over the track, according to Newgarden.

"The big difference with racing in Brazil compared to racing in the States is that the fans are very, very passionate," he said. "It's almost like racing during a soccer match. They're super passionate about soccer down there and I think they bring that same sort of energy to the weekend, which is pretty cool. Going anywhere where you have fans that are that appreciative and that excited to have you there is always fun."

The Streets of Sao Paulo also presents an opportunity for team bonding , as most of the crews stay on the race compound for the entire weekend.

"Last year Hinch (James Hinchcliffe) was supposed to shave his beard but he ended up not doing it, so I slapped him in the face with a handful of shaving cream," Newgarden said laughing. "I don't think it made it on the air anywhere but it was on tape, so it's out there somewhere!"

The sophomore driver can always be counted on for a funny Sao Paulo story, but even more important is Newgarden's reverence for the street circuit itself.

"I like the track a lot," Newgarden said. "I like the way it's laid out, and it's very different than anywhere else we go. It has the longest back straight that we will go to at any point this year, which is very unique."

The 22-year-old relishes the challenge the 2.536-mile street circuit brings.

"We have to run very low down force, which is not typical for a street course," Newgarden said. "Normally on street courses you run a lot of down force, but in Brazil you can't because the straights are so long. That makes it difficult to balance but I think it's really fun."

In his rookie season, Newgarden qualified ninth and drove the fastest lap of any competitor before making contact with a wall that cut his race short. The second year star hopes to take what he learned last year and use it to his advantage.

"We have a great setup that I think will start the weekend on a good note," Newgarden said. "It is straight from the setup we learned and developed last year. If anything we just need to do a good job of scoring solid points because I know we will have a good car."

Newgarden is hoping for a solid result in Brazil that would give his team positive momentum heading into the next IZOD IndyCar Series race, the Indianapolis 500.

"Momentum is a big deal and Indianapolis is coming up right afterwards, so momentum coming into Indianapolis right after Brazil is crucial and we have to do a good job there," he said.

The Itaipava Sao Paulo Indy 300 will air live on NBC Sports Network beginning at 11 a.m. ET on Sunday, May 5. For updates from the No. 67 car follow @SFHRIndy on Twitter.

Josef Newgarden and Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing (SFHR) had a tough day swerving through the Streets of Long Beach after a pit stop glitch halted the progress of the No. 67 SFHR/Dallara/Honda/Firestone car.

“We shot ourselves in the foot on both ends,” Newgarden said. “We had a slow stop and then I ended up stalling the car. So we had a double foul all around. I feel bad, we were already slow in the stop and then I pretty much finished us off with the stall.”

Newgarden, who fell from 12th to 20th-place after stalling the No. 67 car, fought his way back into the mix finishing the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach 13th overall.

“We had an ok recovery from the slip-up,” he said, “But thinking about where we could have been if we didn’t have the mistake is disappointing. We probably would have gone straight to the front with the decision we made if the stop would have been cleaner. It’s a shame, but we will learn from it and move on.”

The sophomore driver, who holds 19th-place overall in the IZOD IndyCar Series Championship, understands that every second in a race is crucial with the competitive field of drivers surrounding him.

“Anytime you have an error like that, it pretty much ruins your day,” Newgarden said. “It’s tough to come back that late in the race from a mistake. Those are things you have to minimize, so we’re going to try to not have as many of those slip-ups in the future because they can be detrimental. Luckily it didn’t bite us too bad today.”

The 22-year-old Nashville-native is keeping a positive outlook on the long season that lies ahead.

“The positive is that the car is in one piece and we finished 13th, which is not horrible,” Newgarden said. We’re not satisfied with a mediocre finish, but I’m excited to go to Brazil in a few weeks and get another shot.”

A.J. Foyt Racing’s Takuma Sato took first place on the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach podium, making him the first Japanese driver to win an IZOD IndyCar Series race. Rounding out the top five were Graham Rahal, Justin Wilson, Dario Franchitti and JR Hildebrand.

The next IZOD IndyCar Series race is the Sao Paulo Indy 300 on May 5 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. To get the latest news from SFHR, follow @SFHRindy on Twitter.