Tag: Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing

On a night when most of his Roncalli High School classmates were working out the details of getting to the first day of school, 17-year-old Kyle O’Gara was trying to figure out how he could get to the front of the pack in a USAC/STARS D1 Midget Feature after starting last.

If the 30-lap feature Saturday night at Grundy County Speedway in Morris, Ill., is any indication, O’Gara had no problem getting to school on time Monday morning.

As the Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing (SFHR) development driver, O’Gara drove the No. 17-B RW Motorsports midget from the back of the pack Saturday night to win his first-ever USAC/STARS D1 Midget feature.

Despite having a car that was fast as soon as it rolled off the trailer, O’Gara was forced to skip qualifications due to a rules infraction. As a result, he lined up last on the grid.

The young driver and his team were undeterred by the setback, and O’Gara charged quickly through the field.

“We started on the tail but were up 10 spots in the first two laps,” O’Gara said. “From there we took the lead on lap 13 and didn’t look back.”

O’Gara led the final 17 laps of the 30-lap feature to collect the win.

“I knew it was going to be a hard race to get up front, but I also knew we had the car to do it,” he said. “We were the fastest in the practice sessions and our heat race, and I was confident in the crew.”

O’Gara’s victory message to his Twitter followers included a message to one of his racing mentors – Bryan Clauson – who shares several connections to O’Gara. Clauson drove for SFHR’s IndyCar team in the 2012 Indianapolis 500, and he also frequently drives a USAC Silver Crown car for RW Motorsports, the team that prepared O’Gara’s winning car at Grundy County Speedway.

O’Gara frequently reaches out to Clauson for advice at various race tracks. The veteran driver also ends his messages to O’Gara by telling him where to park his race car at the end of the race.

This was O’Gara’s winning tweet:

@kyleogara “Parked the ‪@RWMotorsports‬‬ 17b in the circle tonight at Grundy County! Started 20th and came through the field in 13 laps.”

It was a message he couldn’t wait to share.

“BC (Bryan Clauson) tells me to park my car in victory circle every night, so that tweet was for him,” O’Gara said.

After the dust from O’Gara’s victory settled, he traveled back to his home on Indianapolis’s south side to prepare for the first day of his Senior year at Roncalli High School. Administrators there frequently work with O’Gara to ensure he doesn’t fall behind on school work due to his racing schedule.

“When I have to travel for racing, Roncalli works with me and helps me keep up with my work,” O’Gara said. “School has always been first and that is a huge thing with SFHR owners Andy and Sarah as well as my parents. I finished last year off with a 4.0 GPA because it’s really important to me.”

As for the future, O’Gara has his eyes set on racing in the Indianapolis 500.

“I would really like to be in Firestone Indy Lights in the next couple years and race in the Indy 500 eventually,” he said. “That’s something I’ve always dreamed about.”

Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing (SFHR) rookie driver Josef Newgarden had a clean drive in the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio, but his hands were tied when the event turned into a fuel strategy race that left him the odd man out.

Newgarden brought the No. 67 SFHR Dallara/Honda/Firestone car home to 12th in the caution-free race.

Starting from the ninth position, Newgarden got a jump on his competitors and climbed to sixth on the first lap. On lap two he passed Ryan Hunter-Reay for fifth.

Newgarden and the team then settled in and systematically ticked off solid lap times and quick pit stops.

“I thought we had a very strong car today and turned out some really strong laps,” Newgarden said.

However, for the second IZOD IndyCar Series race in a row, there were no caution periods. SFHR strategized for three pit stops while several other teams made only two.

“We got unlucky with our strategy,” Newgarden said. “We ended up doing a lot of work for very little reward in the finish today. The strategy was really the only thing that hindered us.”

In July, team co-owner Sarah Fisher set out a goal for Newgarden and her team to complete every lap remaining in the 2012 IZOD IndyCar Series season. Newgarden came one step closer to accomplishing Fisher’s goal in Sunday’s Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio.

“I’m glad we finished the race today because it’s my job to make sure we finish each race,” Newgarden said. “Unfortunately we just couldn’t quite seal the deal for a top-10 finish at the end because we had to pit for more fuel.”

Scott Dixon of Ganassi Racing won the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio, which marked his fourth victory at the track.

Will Power of Team Penske finished second and moved up to first in the 2012 IZOD IndyCar Series’ driver point standings.

Simon Pagenaud, Sebastien Bourdais and James Hinchcliffe rounded out the top-five at Mid-Ohio.

The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio was the second consecutive caution-free race for the IZOD IndyCar Series, which has not happened since 1987.

The IZOD IndyCar Series returns to action at the GoPro Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma on August 26th.

Josef Newgarden is a true rookie at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, but in qualifying on Saturday for the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio he drove like a calm professional. With a clear purpose, he landed the No. 67 Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing (SFHR) Dallara/Honda/Firestone car in the 10th starting position.

Newgarden was sixth fastest in his group of IZOD IndyCar Series’ knockout-style qualifying, which advanced him to the second round of qualifying.

In round two Newgarden faced off against the 12 fastest cars in the field and ended up 10th with a speed of 122.843 mph.

“It was an okay second session for us,” Newgarden said. “Unfortunately I didn’t really get a great lap in during the second round. I think we did a good job of getting as close as we could to the Firestone Fast Six, but we just needed a little more.”

Newgarden will be the only true rookie starting in Sunday’s race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Mid-Ohio is considered to be SFHR co-owner Sarah Fisher’s home track.

“It's cool to race here because it's sort of Sarah's home track,” Newgarden said. “It's a little added pressure but I like the challenge.”

Newgarden believes the tightly packed speeds in qualifications will make for a challenging race.

“I think we’re in the hunt for sure but it’s just very tight out there,” he said. “We’ll just get to work on a set-up for the race and see what we can do.”

Weather could also play a role in action during the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio as rain is in the forecast.

“I’ve never raced here before but I’ve heard it’s very difficult in the rain,” Newgarden said. “If it ends up raining that will be a big challenge for me.”

Will Power of Team Penske will start from the pole in Sunday’s race. Power’s speed of 123.825 mph narrowly beat the fastest lap of Ganassi Racing’s Dario Franchitti at 123.360 mph.

Simon Pagenaud, Alex Tagliani and Scott Dixon round out the top-five on the starting grid for the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio. Dixon was the 2011 IZOD IndyCar Series winner at Mid-Ohio.

The green flag will wave on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET. The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio broadcast starts at 12:30 p.m. ET on ABC.

Rookie driver Josef Newgarden and Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing (SFHR) are watching the Olympic Games in London just like the rest of the world, but while the games continue throughout the weekend the team has business to take care of in the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio.

With a little ingenuity, the team has found a simple way to keep the US Olympians and their efforts in London top of mind during IZOD IndyCar action this weekend.

For the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio, the No. 67 SFHR Dallara/Honda/Firestone car’s livery will feature “Go USA!” on its side pods.

“I’ve been watching a lot of the Olympics every night,” Newgarden said. “It’s been fun to see how our country’s doing especially since we’ve been knocking it out of the ballpark.”

Newgarden sees similarities between the training athletes go through to compete at the Olympic level and what he does to be at his best in his race car.

“They put their entire lives into their chosen sport,” he said. “Race car drivers are extremely dedicated to the physical training necessary to drive at their peek performance level in the sport and I think that’s exactly what the Olympians do.”

Newgarden’s favorite Olympic sport to watch is swimming, and the 2012 US swim team has not disappointed him.

“I really admire the commitment that each and every one of the swimmers have,” Newgarden said. “It’s been especially cool to see what Michael Phelps has achieved over his career. And now there’s other people like Ryan Lochte coming up and I’ve been watching to see how they do at these Games. I think training for swimming is similar to racing in the total dedication you have to give to the sport in order to compete at that level.”

With US Olympic pride on his car’s sidepods, Newgarden heads to the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio in hopes of capturing a solid result for SFHR.

IZOD IndyCar Series practice at Mid-Ohio begins on Friday, August 3 at 2 p.m. ET. Action continues with qualifications on Saturday, August 4 at 11 a.m. The green flag drops on the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio on Sunday, August 5 at 1 p.m. The race will be broadcast live on ABC at 12:30 p.m. ET.

Quotes:

“JOSEF NEWGARDEN (Driver - Nashville, Tenn.)

After testing last week you tweeted that you loved driving at Mid-Ohio. What did you enjoy about it so much?

“I think it’s my new favorite road course because it’s a very fast track. It has a lot of high speed and high commitment corners. It’s just a great place to wheel a car.”

Mid-Ohio is a very popular track for race fans to attend. Why do you think it’s so fan-friendly?

“Mid-Ohio is one of those old school tracks where people like to go camping and be there all weekend hanging out with their friends. It’s cool to be able to do that at a couple of races during the year, and I think it really makes Mid-Ohio a special track.”

Of Note:

At the end of the Honda Indy Toronto, Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing (SFHR) team co-owner Sarah Fisher said that her team needed to focus on one thing for the remainder of the 2012 IZOD IndyCar Series season: finishing every lap of every race.

In Sunday’s Edmonton Indy SFHR driver Josef Newgarden came one step closer to accomplishing the goal set out by his team owner. He completed all 75 laps of the race and finished 17th.

Newgarden started in 13th position and struggled with low-speed understeer in the first stint of the race. The SFHR crew worked diligently to improve his car throughout the day, but the caution-free race made it difficult for Newgarden to make up tack position.

“No one really made much progress on the track,” Newgarden said. “You kind of had to get lucky cycling through the pits to pass people.”

The No. 67 team was further hindered when Newgarden was issued a pit speed violation on lap 52.

Once back out on track however, Newgarden put the hammer down and turned the quickest lap of the race on lap 68 at 103.491 mph.

“After I served the drive-through penalty, I just focused as hard as I could on laying down the best possible laps to make up my lost ground,” he said.

On the final lap of the race, Newgarden chased down and passed Tony Kanaan for 19th position. An incident in the final corner on the last lap between Charlie Kimball and Simon Pagenaud bumped Newgarden up to his finishing spot of 17th.

“I think we really lost the battle for today’s race in qualifying,” Newgarden said. “We just didn’t have the right combination, which is all part of the learning curve. Some weekends we’re going to get it right and some weekends we’re going to get it wrong. I’m learning a lot with the way you need to set cars up though.”

Helio Castroneves won the Edmonton Indy to claim his second victory of the 2012 IZOD IndyCar Season. Castroneves led 22 laps and managed to keep Takuma Sato at bay in second position.

Will Power, Graham Rahal and Alex Tagliani completed the top-five.

Ryan Hunter-Reay remains the points leader after the Edmonton Indy with 362. Helio Castroneves gained ground on Hunter-Reay in the championship chase with his Edmonton Indy victory and now trails by only 23 points.

The next round of IZOD IndyCar Series action is the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio on Sunday, August 5.

Heading into qualifications for the Edmonton Indy, Josef Newgarden knew the field would be tight and the most minute of details would be the difference between advancing through the IZOD IndyCar Series’ knockout-style qualifying and being stuck on the outside looking in.

With the top 18 cars separated by less than one second in the last practice session before qualifications, Newgarden knew it would be tough to make the cut.

As rain inched closer to the Edmonton City Centre Airport circuit, Newgarden rolled out in his No. 67 Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing (SFHR) Dallara/Honda/Firestone car in the first group of cars. Despite a run that he felt was strong, Newgarden narrowly missed advancing.

“I feel like I put in a solid lap,” Newgarden said. “I don’t think I left much out there on the table. I had good stability and great depth in the brakes.”

Newgarden ended up 15th with a top lap speed of 104.313 mph.

“If the crew had told me that my last lap was good enough for P1 in that first session, I honestly wouldn’t have been surprised,” Newgarden said. “It wasn’t good enough though. Everyone’s just really close out there this weekend.”

The revamped temporary street circuit at the Edmonton City Centre Airport has plenty of zones for passing and Newgarden and his SFHR team plan on being fully prepared to take advantage of them on race day.

“We’ll put our heads together tonight and see what we can come up with for the race tomorrow,” Newgarden said. “We’ve got passing zones so we should be able to make something happen.”

Ryan Hunter-Reay of Andretti Autosport captured the pole for the Edmonton Indy with a lap speed of 103.664 mph. Hunter-Reay is coming off of three consecutive victories at the Milwaukee Mile, Iowa Speedway and the Streets of Toronto.

The top-five in qualifying for the Edmonton Indy were represented by five different teams. Dario Franchitti of Ganassi Racing, Ryan Briscoe of Team Penske, Takuma Sato of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing and Alex Tagliani of Bryan Herta Autosport will start second through fifth in the Edmonton Indy.

The green flag drops on the Edmonton Indy at 2:47 p.m. ET on Sunday, July 22. The race will be broadcast on NBC Sports Network, formerly known as Versus, live beginning at 2 p.m. ET.

Being the new kid on the block isn’t always easy, so rookie IZOD IndyCar Series driver Josef Newgarden is hoping he’ll find a small taste of comfort and home this weekend when he drives the No. 67 Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing (SFHR) Dallara/Honda/Firestone car in the Edmonton Indy.

Newgarden, a 21-year-old Nashville, Tenn.-native, recently found out that his hometown is a sister city to none other than Edmonton, Alberta.

“I had no idea that Edmonton was a sister city to Nashville,” Newgarden said.

While Newgarden didn’t know he would be entering Nashville-friendly territory for the Edmonton Indy until very recently, he is fully prepared to be embraced as Edmonton’s hometown driver.

“Probably the fact that they are both cities is the only thing I can see Nashville and Edmonton having in common,” he said. “But they both have really friendly people, so I’m excited to meet the Edmonton race fans.”

Newgarden also knows that to truly be embraced as one of Edmonton’s own, he will need to visit West Edmonton Mall, which is the largest shopping mall in North America.

“I didn’t get to go to the giant mall last year while I was in Edmonton for the Firestone Indy Lights race,” he said. “I saw it from a distance though, and I’ve been told by many, many people to go there. I’m going to try to make it this year.”

As for on-track action at the Edmonton Indy, Newgarden will be seeking his first podium finish in the IZOD IndyCar Series.

He was running fourth at the Honda Indy Toronto race when he attempted a pass for third with less than five laps to go and tangled with fellow rookie driver Simon Pagenaud. Newgarden spun around and lost a lap to the leaders before he could re-start his car, settling for a 13th-place finish.

Newgarden is ready to chase down his first podium at the Edmonton Indy with Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing, and it would be an added bonus to do so in front of his “hometown” Edmonton fans.

Newgarden will take to the streets of the Edmonton City Centre Airport for IZOD IndyCar Series practice on Friday, July 20. The green flag drops on the Edmonton Indy at 2:47 p.m. ET on Sunday, July 22. The race will be broadcast on NBC Sports Network, formerly known as Versus, live beginning at 2 p.m. ET.

Quotes:

JOSEF NEWGARDEN (Driver - Nashville, Tenn.)

On the Edmonton Circuit:

“I like Edmonton a lot. It has a lot of big braking zones so it should provide for good passing, especially with the new car this year. The chassis promotes more passing than in previous years. I think the track configuration combined with the new chassis will provide a great racing event in Edmonton.”

On the second Canadian race in a row:

“I love the races in Canada. There were a lot of great fans at the last Canadian race in Toronto. They’re very knowledgeable and passionate about IndyCar, which is very refreshing. I think the same is true for fans in Edmonton. I think in general Canadian IndyCar fans are very knowledgeable about the sport and that makes it fun for us to come to the tracks and interact with them. Getting to see those fans is what I enjoy most about the Canadian stint of the schedule."

Notes:

Josef Newgarden has been to victory circle once already at the Edmonton City Centre Airport and has never finished worse than second on the circuit. In 2011 for the Firestone Indy Lights Edmonton Twin 100s, he finished second in the first race and won the second race.

SFHR, No longer just oval specialists: The 2012 Edmonton Indy will be SFHR’s first appearance at the circuit. On the surface that would appear to be a disadvantage, but SFHR has found speed at each of the five street circuits on the schedule prior to the Edmonton Indy, despite having limited experience at each track. Highlights of the team’s success on street courses in 2012 include starting on the front row for the Long Beach Grand Prix and racing for a podium late in the Honda Indy Toronto race.

After the December 2011 unveiling of its plan to build a state-of-the-art headquarters for its IZOD IndyCar Series operation, Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing (SFHR) staff watched construction crews begin work Tuesday at the site of its new building, which will sit in the shadows of Turn 1 of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

The new building will be located on a revitalized Main Street in Speedway, Ind., which is rapidly becoming a popular address for both motorsports and non-motorsports businesses. IndyCar chassis manufacturer Dallara just moved into its massive U.S. headquarters in a new building that is also home to the IndyRacing Experience in addition to a coffee and sandwich shop.

“The excitement of the location is infectious at all levels of our organization, knowing that we are the team next door to the greatest spectacle in racing,” said Fisher.

In the last six months, several other businesses have been attracted to Speedway’s Main Street for the same reason as Fisher. An Indy Lights team, a marketing/PR firm, a yogurt shop and gourmet pizza restaurant have all also located there.

The new SFHR facility will have areas for fans to visit, which also helps the Town of Speedway with its goal of making Speedway a year-round tourist destination.

“The new SFHR headquarters in Speedway will allow us the ability to further include our fans and promote our team as it grows into the future,” said Hartman. “Having a gift shop and interaction areas on top of a first class business center and training facilities will contribute to the support of our current and future partners as well as demonstrate our long term goals to everyone who walks through the front door. It will be a vital asset to our team as we look into the future. We are appreciative of the opportunity to be neighbors to the most spectacular facility, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and look forward to further growing our relationship with our direct neighbor and partner, Dallara.”

While location is important to Fisher and Hartman, positioning their organization to help it become a top-tiered competitive team at every race is the primary purpose for the new facility.

“We look to really increase the competition side of our team after moving several departments of our everyday preparation under one roof,” said Fisher. “I am very grateful for the opportunity that our partner, Wink Hartman, has given us to expand in this capacity. It will certainly enhance the ability to deliver an on-track product that rolls off the trailer ready to win races.”

Rookie Josef Newgarden showed glimpses of the competitive IZOD IndyCar Series driver he will one day become in Sunday’s Honda Indy Toronto, but unfortunately his charge from the back of the field was cut short in the closing laps of the race.

Newgarden started in 20th and immediately began a calculated march to the front of the field. He turned the quickest lap out of any cars in the race on lap 62 at 105.188 mph.

The No. 67 Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing (SFHR) Dallara/Honda/Firestone car was so spot-on that during his two pit stops his car needed no adjustments and received only fuel and tires.

Newgarden patiently climbed to fourth position and was challenging for third and what would have been his first podium finish when the tide turned.

On lap 80 of 85 Newgarden attempted a pass in Turn 3 on the inside of Simon Pagenaud for third place. With Pagenaud taking away Newgarden’s angle into the corner, the No. 67 car overshot the turn and went nose-first into the tire barriers. Though he was eventually able to restart the car, it was not before going one lap down.

Pagenaud received a 30-second penalty from IZOD IndyCar Series race control for blocking Newgarden’s car.

“Unfortunately at the end, I attempted a pass on Pagenaud that l don’t think I should have tried,” Newgarden said. “I went into the tires and that was the end of our fantastic run today.”

Newgarden had to settle for the 13th-place finishing spot.

“We had such a great car today just like we have all year,” he said. “We showed that despite missing two of three practice sessions and qualifying in the back of the pack, we have the ability to move up the field and threaten for a podium finish. We were right where we need to be today. We just need to seal the deal.”

Sarah Fisher, co-owner of SFHR, was sorry to see a promising result again evaporate before the checkered flag waved.

“We wore the heart of our emotions on our sleeves today,” Fisher said. “I appreciate all the fans who have stood behind us during this tough season though.”

Fisher’s goal for SFHR is to finish each of the five races that remain on the IZOD IndyCar Series schedule.

“Our cars have been in the top-five of one practice session or another at almost every event we’ve been to this year,” she said. “We just now need to run every single lap from here forward throughout the remainder of the season.”

Ryan Hunter-Reay drove to victory in the Honda Indy Toronto after leading 36 laps. The win was Hunter-Reay’s third consecutive victory and catapulted him to the top of the driver point standings.

Charlie Kimball finished second, which was his career best IZOD IndyCar Series result. Mike Conway, Tony Kanaan and Oriol Servia rounded out the top-five.

Newgarden and SFHR will return to action in the IZOD IndyCar Series at the Edmonton Indy in Alberta, Canada on July 22.

Josef Newgarden knows his job driving an IndyCar for Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing (SFHR) is never easy, but he found himself behind the eight ball during qualifications for the Honda Indy Toronto after missing the first two Honda Indy Toronto practice sessions due to fuel pressure issues.

Newgarden qualified 22nd in his No. 67 SFHR Dallara/Honda/Firestone car after being able to participate in only one of three practice sessions before qualifying. His issues were compounded by hot, sticky conditions that contrasted greatly with his lone practice session that was drizzled with rain.

“Missing practice yesterday hurt us a little more than I thought it would because we hardly got any dry laps in the practice session this morning,” Newgarden said.

According to Newgarden, his abbreviated practice time put a spotlight on how strong his competitors are.

“There’s just so much talent in this field that you can’t let the other drivers get two practice sessions up on you during a weekend,” he said. “You can’t just turn a handful of laps and expect to blow everybody else’s doors off.”

Newgarden doesn’t believe the No. 67 car’s qualifying lap of 104.951 mph will hinder his chances of advancing in Sunday’s Honda Indy Toronto race.

“We were only three tenths of a second away from transferring out of our first qualifying session, so it’s not like we’re miles off,” he said. “And there’s nothing wrong with the car, we just needed more track time.”

The SFHR team will battle from the back of the pack in Sunday’s race, but Newgarden is up for the challenge.

SFHR made an unapproved engine change in the No. 67 car, and will incur a 10-spot starting grid penalty for the race.

Dario Franchitti won the pole for the Honda Indy Toronto, making it his third consecutive pole in IZOD IndyCar Series competition. Will Power, Justin Wilson, Sebastien Bourdais and Scott Dixon round out the top five starting positions.

The Honda Indy Toronto will be broadcast live Sunday, July 8 on ABC at 12:30 p.m. ET.