Category: NTT Indy

CHEVROLET RACING IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES
GALLAGHER GRAND PRIX
INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA

TEAM CHEVY QUALIFYING RECAP

FELIX ROSENQVIST PUTS CHEVROLET ON POLE FOR INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY ROAD COURSE RACE

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA (July 29, 2022) – It was a good day for Chevrolet powered drivers in NTT INDYCAR Series Firestone Fast Six qualifying for the Gallagher Grand Prix. Felix Rosenqvist, No. 7 Vuse Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet, won the NTT P1 pole award for Saturday afternoon’s race on the 2.439-mile, 14-turn road course inside the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

It is the second pole of the season for Rosenqvist and third of his NTT INDYCAR career.

Four of the six drivers in the final round of qualifying were Team Chevy drivers. Rosenqvist’s teammate and winner of race number two at Iowa Speedway, Pato O’Ward, captured the third starting position in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet.

Will Power, No.12 Verizon 5G Team Penske Chevrolet, will roll-off in fourth with teammate Josef Newgarden, No. 2 PPG Chevrolet.

The remainder of the Firestone Fast Six were Alexander Rossi and Christian Lundgaard.

The 85-lap Gallagher Insurance Grand Prix is set to start 12:30 p.m. with broadcast on NBC beginning at noon, and INDYCAR Radio.

CONNOR DALY, NO. 20 BITNILE CHEVROLET, QUALIFIED 10TH:

“Being fastest in the first round against (Will) Power and (Josef) Newgarden is something we can really be happy about. We’ll see what happens tomorrow, we are in a decent spot. When you start in the Top 10, you can move your way forward and hopefully end up with a podium.”

YOU HAD A GREAT RUN IN MAY, QUALIFIED WELL IN THE DRY AND RACED WELL IN THE WET. YOUR BEST QUALIFYING OF THE SEASON, WHAT CAN YOU DO TOMORROW?

“We just need to put in a solid race. Its been a real challenge for us this year, but a lot of those times we have had great race pace. We will see what we can do when it comes to tomorrow. We like the red tires and its obviously a bit of a red race, so we will see what happens. Just thankful to be back in Indianapolis and have a great day.”

DALTON KELLETT, NO. 4 K-LINE INSULATORS USA CHEVROLET, QUALIFIED 24TH:

“Overall tough qualifying for us. Just didn’t feel like we’ve quite got the most out of the reds. Still struggling with the same thing since the start of the first practice: understeer in high and low speed corners. So, trying to dial some of that out. We thought we made a good decent swing at it for qualifying but still kind of missed on the balance a little bit with the reds. We opted to go to reds early and were one of the first ones on reds, so that never really helps. We’re still looking for a chunk of time so we’re gonna figure out just how we can get a little more front grip dialed into this No. 4 K-Line car and see what we’ve got for tomorrow.”

PATO O’WARD, NO. 5 ARROW MCLAREN SP CHEVROLET, QUALIFIED 3RD:

“It was a great day at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course for the team. Felix is on pole, that was a great lap, and the No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet is P3. I’m super pumped for that, because of where we were in Practice 1 and at the start of the qualifying.

Great job to everyone and tomorrow is all about keeping our nose clean in Turn 1 and in the rest of race. We have some great race cars underneath us and hopefully we end up with a great team result.”

SCOTT MCLAUGHLIN, NO. 3 GALLAGHER CHEVROLET, QUALIFIED 15TH:

“Disappointed we didn’t transfer to round two, so starting further back than is ideal. I know my guys will give me a great Gallagher Chevy for the race tomorrow. With good strategy and our usual great pit stops, we will be able to move our way forward on Saturday.”

KYLE KIRKWOOD, NO. 14 SEXTON PROPERTIES CHEVROLET, QUALIFIED 21ST:

WHAT WAS YOUR FEEDBACK TO THE TEAM ABOUT THE RACE CAR?

“Yeah, I think it was just very similar to what we had in practice where we are fighting a little bit of a balance issue. For some reason we are not as good as we were at the test a month ago, so we are trying to figure it out. We have a lot of time between qualifying and practice to really figure it out and nail it down. We are working on it and now that we have some time to sit down and focus on what we have, where we are at, and what the differences are because there has been a clear difference in the data compared to the test and now. Hopefully we can figure it out overnight and we can go into warm up with a good car.”

THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT YOU HAVE RACED HERE BEFORE IN YOUR INDYCAR CAREER. CAN YOU RACE YOUR WAY FORWARD TOMORROW?

“I think so. That all depends on what happens in the warm up tomorrow. We have been solid here late on runs and we were really good late on the primary tires at the last race. So, that could potentially be very good for us.”

WILL POWER, NO. 12 VERIZON TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, QUALIFIED 4TH:

HOW WAS YOUR CAR AND WHAT’S THE OUTLOOK FOR TOMORROW?

“The car was really good. I think a few more adjustments would have helped us in the Fast Six, but I am happy to be in the top four. We will see in the warm up how it is and make some changes tonight and hopefully put us in a good position.”

JOSEF NEWGARDEN, NO. 2 PPG TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, QUALIFIED 5TH:

“I am just happy to be back and I was really motivated to be here this weekend. If we weren’t in this race, it was going to be very difficult to stay in this championship fight. That was kind of the end for me. I know that we had to be in the race and whatever I have to do to be fit and prepared is number one on my plate. We are here and I have had a tremendous amount of support. I can’t thank the INDYCAR staff enough for all their help after the event, and then obviously everybody at Team Penske has just been unwavering with their support for me. Yeah, we are ready to go and we will be able to race tomorrow now.”

WHAT WERE YOUR SYMPTOMS AND WHAT WERE YOU DOING TO BE READY TO GET BACK?

“I don’t want to get into too much of the medical side, but I certainly hit my head pretty hard on Sunday afternoon. Obviously the main concern at that point is a concussion and just trying to make sure there is no lingering long term effects from that. Thankfully I am in really great shape and you know, I have felt good the rest of the week. So, I think we are in a pretty good spot for tomorrow.”

DID YOU HAVE A CONCUSSION WHEN YOU HIT YOUR HEAD?

“You know, I can’t confirm that and I don’t know that I did. I think if you were a doctor you probably would have said I was concussed after Sunday night so it’s probably fair to say that. Then it turns into a question of how severe was it and how long was it going to linger.”

DOES THIS PUT THE TEAM TO A TEST SINCE YOU WERE KNOCKED OFF KILTER AND THAT YOU COULDN’T REALLY DO WHAT YOU PLANNED TO?

“Yeah, its not ideal. Coming into this weekend, I had planned on being on the simulator Monday before coming here. That would have been nice to have that prep. We could have been in a better position coming into this weekend, but we are not in a bad spot this weekend. Luckily we have great cars here at Team Penske and I have great teammates to lean on. We qualified in the top five and I think that puts us in a great spot for PPG and Team Chevy tomorrow.”

(JAMES) HINCHCLIFF SAID HE WAS TALKING TO YOU TO GIVE YOU INSIGHT ABOUT WHEN HE WENT THROUGH THIS. DID THAT HELP AT ALL OR DID IT JUST MAKE YOU LAUGH?

“No, my lovely and amazing wife did most of the communication for me. She was communicating with anyone that had any sort of advice. Whether it was good or bad, we would filter it out but we had a lot of….yeah, Hinch was one of them. People like Hinch have been through incidents like this and they are not all like for like. His is not necessarily what I was going through, but any information on what people do in these kind of moments is helpful. So, there were a lot of people who reached out and we definitely took use of it.”

HOW ARE YOU APPROACHING THIS WEEKEND TO POTENTIALLY TAKE THE POINT LEAD?

“I am just ready to be in the fight. We are well in the thick of the championship and we have a great opportunity here to stay in the fight. I think it will go all the way down to the final event and possibly win the championship, that is my focus. I would have loved a little more today. I felt like on new tires we had pole pace, but on used tires we lacked some of that pole pace that we needed. We are going to try and clean that up for tomorrow. I think looking after the tires is always critical. If we can do that job, and have a good race here, then it should set us up nicely for the last four events of the year.”

RINUS VEEKAY, BITCOIN RACING TEAM WITH BITNILE, QUALIFIED 8TH:

“We didn’t make the Fast Six, but I think we have a solid car. Like race day wise we are pretty consistent on both tires, which is important. I am pretty happy with that and I think we couldn’t really nail the last bit of balance in the final part of group two qualifying. Bummer, but I won a race here from seventh, so I will have better tires for the race.”

PRESS CONFERENCE INTERVIEW WITH POLE WINNER FELIX ROSENQVIST AND PATO O’WARD:

THE MODERATOR: Pato O’Ward, he’ll start third tomorrow inside of row No. 2. Your thoughts on the team going 1-3 in qualifying today?

PATO O’WARD: Yeah, it’s a great team result. Extremely happy with, first of all, making it to the Fast Six because when we started qualifying we were in trouble, just as we were in FP1. We turned — I don’t know how we did that, but we turned it around, and we got the car into a window where I could work with it, and yeah, like Alex said, I think Felix — I don’t think anybody had anything for Felix’s lap. Great job to him. Super happy to see that for him. He deserves it. He’s been working really hard, and it’s a great result for the team.

Q. We heard you on the radio I think it was in that first segment, you hopped on the radio and said, We are blanked, because it wasn’t going to go well. Was there a turning point or something you changed that maybe you can talk about, or how did you get to this point?

PATO O’WARD: Yeah, sometimes it’s hard to judge. The problem is for us at least in the past it’s always been your balance on blacks has to be pretty tough to drive in order for it to be decent on reds. It was extremely difficult to drive, like even worse than FP1 in the morning, so I was like, oh, we’re in trouble. But they were like, man, we can’t change anything.

I was like, you know what, I’m just going to try and pull something out of my hat to see if we can transfer, and when they told us we transferred, I was like, whew. Then we were able to make a longer change, which then put me in a way happier window for the second shot of qualifying and then that transferred us into the Fast Six.

Q. Pato, at Iowa Felix told us whatever happens is sort of out of his hands; no matter how well he does, he can’t really influence the team’s decision if they bring him back. When you look at how well he’s been driving lately, is he going to make this really difficult for the team if he keeps excelling like this through the rest of the year? Is it going to be really hard to say goodbye to him?

PATO O’WARD: I mean, I love the guy, and I think what makes the atmosphere in the team so good to work around him is that he’s a genuine good guy, and it’s very easy to work with him. It’s in his best interest for the whole team to do well. He won’t section himself off and kind of — in the back of his head kind of wish bad upon the other car just to do better. No, I think that’s what makes our team very special is we’re all obviously pushing each other, but we’re both working together to create a package that’s going to be easier for both of us to drive and just to get better.

The point is to have a team that is P1 and P2, right? That’s always going to be the goal.

I just think he fits exactly what the team of McLaren Racing and all that stands for. In order to create a team or to make a team better and drive it forward, you need complete trust and transparency when working with each other. If you don’t have that, you’ve got nothing.

Q. Pato, obviously you talked about the struggles in practice and then early in qualifying. When you found out you transferred and you’re waiting there and the team is making some changes on the car, mentally what’s your thought process? Do you want to improve that? What are your overall thoughts and what thoughts are you changing to try and improve for the next round?

PATO O’WARD: Well, sometimes you just don’t know what to expect so you kind of just take it as it comes to you. At that point the feeling that I had before we went on the reds, it was like, well, this is going to be a handful. But then on the prep lap, I guess, before you do your flier, you get a little bit of a feel for what it’s going to be like when the tire is coming up to temp, and it was a significant step into, okay, I can work with this.

But that’s it, man. Sometimes it works out that way and sometimes it doesn’t, and sometimes it feels great in the first run and then you put the other set of tires, and it’s like, what the heck happened.

It’s tough. It’s extremely tough to nail both types of tire compounds in terms of balance. You’ve got to be a little unhappy with one of them to excel in the other one. You always kind of want to excel on the red one because the black ain’t going to transfer you anywhere unless you’re a second and a half faster than anybody, which doesn’t happen in the series.

Yeah, it’s tough, and it speaks to how hard it is to qualify in INDYCAR and how competitive it is.

I know in the Fast Six it didn’t really seem like it was that tight based on Felix’s lap. I know it was a great lap. But before that, I think transferring was a tenth or less than a tenth, or from like fourth to 12th or something. You’ve got to nail it.

PATO O’WARD: We’ll have fun.

Q. It seems like a big swing. Do you have to re-platform it almost to try to get a little bit better?

PATO O’WARD: What’s confusing sometimes is we were here in May, and we had a very solid qualifying. We had a very good race until it started raining. Anyway, we had pace.

We obviously come here with pretty much the same, and we’re six-tenths off. But only one car is six-tenths off and the other one is okay.

I’m still in the process of — and I think I’m probably never going to find it, but I don’t know why it happens. It’s very, very sensitive, and it’s extremely sensitive in how you, one, push the tire, and two, how hard you’re attacking the corners, because it’s just so flat, so there’s no cambers or off cambers that you can kind of take into your advantage.

But yeah, it’s just every time we come here, it doesn’t matter if it’s the same track, it’s always different, at least that’s my experience, and I think a lot of people would agree. Maybe others don’t. But yeah.

THE MODERATOR: Obviously joined by the pole winner now for tomorrow’s Gallagher Grand Prix, second pole of the season, third of his career, which goes back to the IMS road course here in 2019. Congratulations, Felix Rosenqvist. Your thoughts about the day and starting P1 tomorrow?

FELIX ROSENQVIST: Thanks. It’s been a pretty smooth day, surprisingly smooth, and I think those guys are kind of rare in INDYCAR. I think the whole team has just done a really good prep work for this race. We tested here like a month ago, which I think really helped. We kind of got here with a good starting package, so we knew that this was going to be one that we had to really extract everything in qualifying.

But yeah, it was really cool. We did only one lap in Q1, saved those tires for the Fast Six, and everything just worked out to plan. Man, it’s rare to have those days, but I think today was just a day about execution, and now eyes forward to tomorrow.

Q. Pato, any thoughts about the tire inconsistencies and stuff like that. Is that something you felt within the team or experienced at some point during the last two seasons?

PATO O’WARD: I have, yes. I’ve had this year and last year. You just never know when it’s going to happen, and it’s just obviously unfortunate. When we get it, other guys might not, but then maybe they can get it another time, but you just never really know when it’s going to happen to you, so you have to obviously analyze and see if it’s not an issue that wasn’t that.

Yeah, I think everybody is on the same boat. Everybody has had it at least once sometime.

Q. Felix, to use your nickname, Tall Swede is starting last, so I guess that makes you Short Swede starting up front. Does it surprise you Marcus is starting last in tomorrow’s race, and how do you think he’s going to get through the field like that, because it can be difficult to pass sometimes.

FELIX ROSENQVIST: Man, I feel with Marcus the further back he starts, the better he finishes. He has like a magic way of just always being there in the end.

That’s probably why he’s leading the championship, man. He’s probably the best racer in the field right now. I don’t really think he’s worried about it, either.

Every time I talk to him and he’s had a bad qualifying, it’s just like, oh, I’m just going to drive up the field. Yeah, good for him. He’s really figured out how to go forward in this series, and I think that’s — I love being here on pole, but that’s only like 10 percent of the job done, and the rest you have to do what Marcus is doing right now.

I’m not too worried for him. I’m sure I’m going to see him around somewhere tomorrow in the race.

Q. Correct me if I’m wrong, I think this is where you got your first pole in 2019. What is it about the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course that you’ve gelled with and gotten accustomed to quicker than almost anywhere else?

FELIX ROSENQVIST: I wouldn’t say it’s my best track. I mean, I have two poles here, but I wouldn’t say result-wise it’s my best track. I’ve been struggling a little bit here in the races historically.

I just feel like we’ve worked very hard as a team to improve this track as we go here twice a year, and at some point last year we were like, guys, we need to improve at the Indy GP because we’re struggling.

Since then every time we come back here I feel like we’re just getting better and better. We had a test here a couple of weeks ago where I think we found some really good things, and we were pretty sure where we wanted to start today in terms of setup, and yeah, it’s just been a smooth day.

Lucky to have one of those days. I’m sure the next weekend will not look the same.

Q. Felix, your race engineer just told me he thinks he’s been 15 years since his last road course pole, so he’s really happy with you right now. Can you talk about the evolution within the team this season with some engineering additions? Obviously Gavin Ward just came on. It seems like we should expect you and Pato to be in the Fast Six or up front in the ovals almost wherever we go. Is this a real revolution we’re watching?

FELIX ROSENQVIST: I think so. I think we as a team have, from an engineering standpoint, we’ve been pretty — I wouldn’t say wildly all over the place, but we’ve been very experimental the last two years, especially on my car. Pretty much every weekend where we go somewhere, Craig is calling me on Monday, like hey, are you open to try something different, and I’m like, yeah, like we’re two cars, and I think Pato in general is more inclined to run kind of what we ran last year with a little evolution, and I’ve been trying more like new philosophies of setup.

Surprisingly it’s not often you do like a big change and it works, but almost everywhere we’ve gone, like me and Craig and the guys at the 7 car have kind of been able to develop something new that works, and I think suits me better, as well.

But it’s almost been that way everywhere. Sometimes Pato’s package works better, like at Iowa, for example. Like day one his car was probably a little bit better than mine, and then day two I went to his car, and it’s been good like that. You kind of have to do that as a two-car team.

But at this point I feel like we gather so much info that we can be a bit more sure where we want to start, and also with Gavin coming along, I think that’s kind of his role, as well, to kind of have a little overview of the whole situation with both cars and just lead us in the best direction for me and Pato.

Yeah, we have a really good engineering crew. Like they’re really clever people. We have a lot of fun in that truck. There’s a lot of laughing and jokes and stuff going around, but then when it’s time to switch on, I feel like everyone is like laser sharp.

I’m really enjoying the working environment right now.

Q. Who won at miniature golf between you and Pato earlier this week?

FELIX ROSENQVIST: He beat me in pickleball before Iowa, so it seems like whoever wins in sports before the weekend is kind of like coming out ahead.

Q. From what I’ve read and heard you say, next year you want to be back here. How is this series compared to where you’ve run before? How is INDYCAR competition-wise, and I understand you hope to be back here again next year because you like it that much.

FELIX ROSENQVIST: Yeah, naturally because we’re doing well and I really enjoy my place in the team and just happy in general, it would be weird to not want to go back, I think. Obviously it’s not that straightforward, so we’re going to have to see what’s going to happen.

I think I’m in a good place no matter what happens. I’m going to have a good job somewhere.

Yeah, INDYCAR, I think it’s kind of addicting in a way. Like it’s very tough. It’s probably — I wouldn’t say like — the driver level is high everywhere in professional championships, but it’s just such a team effort to get everything right on the day in terms of setup, pit stop strategy. The driver has to be fit, he has to be focused. There’s just so many variables, and if you lose one second in a pit sequence, you’re gone. That’s your day gone.

I think that whole thing becomes — like when you succeed and when you win a race or get a podium or whatever, it’s just something you want to do again because it’s very rewarding when you do well, but it can also be brutal when you’re struggling, as I did last year. It was a super tough season for sure.

But yeah, I’m doing well, and I want to continue that, so yeah, hopefully I’ll stay.

Q. Do you work out every day?

FELIX ROSENQVIST: I wish I could say —

Q. I don’t mean with peewee golf. Do you physically work out?

FELIX ROSENQVIST: Yeah, I mean, in some kind of shape or form.

Q. I guess with your future undecided, things are difficult, but I know you’ve come to really love this place and everything that it means to the championship and the history of the series and everything. If this is your kind of last time here for a little while, does this pole make that — is the pole more special basically because of that?

FELIX ROSENQVIST: I mean, I don’t really think about that, to be honest. But I felt like when I drove here this morning, just I love this place. I had like a love-hate relationship. Coming here the first time I had a pole, and then I crashed in the 500 practice, and Chip was angry at me, and it was like such a roller coaster of emotions that are tied to this place.

But this year, man, like finished fourth in the 500, leading for a while towards the end, this pole, it’s just becoming a place that I really love and becoming kind of acquainted to the Indiana in general.

Yeah, it means a lot for sure to do well here.

Q. You spoke about the team effort; you’ve finally found this path or midpoint between the Pato drive mode and your drive mode for this first and third place on this qualification.

FELIX ROSENQVIST: I guess you mean that we’ve found something that works for both drivers? Yeah, man, I think we had pretty different days. Pato had a tough day in practice, and I think he did a really good job bouncing back. He kind of turned around his car a lot, and we kind of stayed the same and just stuck to what we had in practice.

But it’s good to see. I think this is probably like the fourth time we’re both in the Fast Six this year, so I feel like we both figured something out in qualifying together with the team.

As I said before, I think the car is just suited more towards me this year, so I feel like I can maximize it pretty much everywhere we go now, so yeah, that’s a good thing.

Q. The boys were talking about it before you arrived and how sensitive the IMS road course is. Tomorrow before the race obviously between the warm-up and the actual race you’ve got the Cup cars out on the track, as well. Is that going to impact the difference between what the car is like during the warm-up to the race?

FELIX ROSENQVIST: Good question. I don’t really think so. I have to say that this track is probably one of the few that doesn’t — it doesn’t really pick up a lot of rubber. When you look at practice, the lap times we do early on, like even when it’s only three, four cars on track, like that lap time normally stays to the end of the session. There’s not a lot of track evolution. So I think it would kind of be the reverse with NASCAR being out. I think the bigger worry there is if they’re like tearing up the grass or the curbs or something.

No, I’m not too worried about that. I think it’s going to be a pretty straightforward weekend in terms of track grip.

Q. I don’t know if Pato is your agent but he’s working hard to keep you in that INDYCAR seat. What does that mean to you, for him to feel so strongly each week to plug away for you?

FELIX ROSENQVIST: It means a lot to hear that. I would obviously say the same for him. I think we have a very strong working relationship right now on and off the track. I think it’s kind of rare that you have a teammate that you don’t really try to hide anything, and I think that’s the best possible situation for the team because the more competition there is, like the more negative competition it is between the teammates, the worse for the team, because it’s like you’re hiding stuff from each other; you maybe don’t tell how your car is; you kind of build up a little fence to your car.

But I feel like we have just full transparency between the two cars, between me and Pato. Today when he was struggling we’ll talk about it, like hey, maybe try this, try that. It’s just great, and we have a good time out of the track, as well, when we’re here in Indy. We always play mini golf or pickleball or just go for dinner.

Yeah, I think even for other drivers and team owners reaching out and showing support and kind of saying that they want me to stay in the series, I think it means a lot. I’m really thankful for all those comments, and hopefully that’ll be the case.

Q. (No microphone.)

FELIX ROSENQVIST: Well, I consider myself pretty easy to get along with, but for sure I had bad teammates that you don’t trust and you don’t like, and you just have to get on with it. I think when you spend so much time together over a season, like it’s just so helpful if you can actually enjoy hanging out.

But I think with Pato it’s very special for sure. It’s something I hope that will last longer.

Q. Your contract situation notwithstanding, just as a driver, do you have interest at all in driving a stock car at some point in your career?

FELIX ROSENQVIST: I think I would love to try it, especially on a road course. I feel like I’m a few laps behind when it comes to the ovals to beat those guys. It feels like they’re very experienced. But yeah, if an opportunity comes, I would definitely be open. I saw Daniil Kvyat; is he here this weekend? That’s super cool. Maybe one day — I’m always open to try anything, so just give me a call.

Q. What is the most interesting car you’ve raced would you say?

FELIX ROSENQVIST: The most interesting? I think I did a couple of races in Carrera Cup. I did one race in the Super Cup. That was a very tricky car to drive, like very soft and no ABS, and it was very difficult to get a lap right. But very good for driving. If you can be quick in that, I think you can probably be quick in anything.

Man, I have to say the INDYCAR is just so tricky. Like to get it right in these cars is like — yeah, it’s like one out of 10 laps you get it right. All the other laps you feel like you left something on the table.

It’s probably one of the hardest cars I’ve driven, as well.

THE MODERATOR: Congratulations again, second pole of 2022, third of his career, Felix Rosenqvist will start from pole tomorrow for the Gallagher Grand Prix.

ABOUT CHEVROLET:

Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, available in nearly 80 countries with nearly 2.7 million cars and trucks sold in 2021. Chevrolet models include electric and fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.

July 28, 2022, St. Louis – Seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion and current NTT INDYCAR SERIES driver Jimmie Johnson will compete in the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 presented by Axalta and Valvoline at World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Illinois, on Saturday, August 20.

Johnson scored 83 NASCAR wins before moving to the NTT INDYCAR SERIES. Last Sunday, the California native passed the series points leader en route to his career-best finish in INDYCAR – fifth place on the Iowa Speedway oval. WWTR’s Bommarito Automotive Group 500 is the next and final oval on the 2022 INDYCAR schedule.

Johnson is no stranger to the challenging WWTR 1.25-mile oval, but it’s been a while since he’s been on the track. Johnson competed at WWTR in what now is known as NASCAR’s Xfinity Series in 1998, 2000 and 2001.

“Honestly, I’m just super excited to get come back to the race track,” said Johnson. “I raced there a long, long time ago in the Busch Grand National Series. It’s such a pivotal point in my journey in finding a seat and a ride in the NASCAR (Cup) Series. I’ve been there to test a couple times with a Cup car over the years but have not been back in a racing capacity in gosh, the past 20 years.”

His prior experience at WWTR, and the momentum sparked by last week’s top five has Johnson looking forward to the next oval race.

“I’m excited to go back, obviously building on my performance from Iowa,” said the two-time Daytona 500 winner. “I’m very excited to get on a shorter oval. It’s a little bigger there than what we had in Iowa, but I feel the fundamentals – the way I approach our car set-up, passing, racing – all of that, should really apply and carry over. I certainly hope to have my career-best finish at World Wide Technology Raceway.”

With luck, Johnson and his No. 48 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda team could join WWTR’s list of Bommarito Automotive Group 500 winners.

BOMMARITO AUTOMOTIVE GROUP 500 PRESENTED BY AXALTA AND VALVOLINE WEEKEND

The NTT INDYCAR SERIES brings the world to the St. Louis-Metro East region. Truly an international series: America’s best drivers competing against men and women from New Zealand, Spain, Australia, France, Netherlands, Sweden, Mexico, Brazil, Japan, Denmark, England, Canada and Switzerland. They are the cars and stars of the Indianapolis 500.

Bringing the St. Louis region to the world: Viewers from more than 200 countries will tune in to watch the Bommarito Automotive Group 500, the final oval track race on the 2022 NTT INDYCAR SERIES schedule.

Two of American motorsports’ most recognizable names of all time – Mario Andretti and A.J. Foyt – remain active in the sport today as team owners.

The Bommarito Automotive Group 500 presented by Axalta and Valvoline has produced many memorable moments, including Takuma Sato’s thrilling win over Ed Carpenter – the closest finish in WWTR history (by 0.039 sec.) — in 2019. Only one driver has won the Bommarito Automotive Group more than once: Josef Newgarden is a three-time victor.

Tickets and weekend experiences are available at the WWTR ticket office, by calling (618) 215-888, or online at wwtraceway.com.

BOMMARITO AUTOMOTIVE GROUP 500 WEEKEND SCHEDULE

Friday, August 19

7:30 a.m. — Parking lots open.

8 a.m. – Spectator gates open; Fan Walk open for paddock pass holders.

8 a.m. — Indy Pro 2000 practice.

9 a.m. – INDYCAR garage and paddock opens for paddock pass holders.

9:15 a.m. — Vintage Indy exhibition.

10 a.m. — USAC Silver Crown Series practice.

10:45 a.m. — Indy Pro 2000 practice.

12 p.m. — NTT INDYCAR SERIES Bommarito Automotive Group 500 practice.

1 p.m. – Midway entertainment begins.

1:15 p.m. — USAC Silver Crown Series practice.

2:10 p.m. — Indy Lights Series practice.

3:15 p.m. — NTT INDYCAR SERIES Bommarito Automotive Group 500 practice.

4:15 p.m. — Coors Light Pole Night festivities begin.

4:30 p.m. — USAC Silver Crown Series qualifying.

5:15 p.m. — Indy Lights Series qualifying.

6:15 p.m. — NTT INDYCAR SERIES Bommarito Automotive Group 500 qualifying.

7:50 p.m. — Coors Light Pole Night qualifying awards.

8 p.m. — USAC Silver Crown Series driver introductions.

8:30 p.m. — USAC Silver Crown Series Gateway 100 (80 laps, 100 miles).

11 p.m. – Track closed.

Saturday, August 20 – Bommarito Automotive Group 500 presented by Axalta and Valvoline

8 a.m. — Parking lots open.

8:30 a.m. – Spectator gates open; Fan Walk open for paddock pass holders.

9 a.m. — Vintage Indy exhibition.

9:45 a.m. — Indy Pro 2000 practice.

10:15 a.m. – Midway entertainment begins.

11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. – Indy Lights driver autograph session (main stage on midway)

11:45 a.m. — Indy Pro 2000 qualifying.

12 p.m. — INDYCAR garage and paddock opens for paddock pass holders.

12-1 p.m. – SpeedFreaks Live! (main stage on midway) – INDYCAR drivers will participate 12-12:30 p.m. Indy Lights drivers will participate from 12:30-1 p.m.

12:30-1:30 p.m. – INDYCAR driver autograph session (main stage on midway).

1:15 p.m. — Vintage Indy exhibition.

12:30-2 p.m. — SpeedFreaks Live! Driver Interviews on midway stage.

2:15 p.m. — Indy Pro 2000 Series race (45 laps).

3:15 p.m. — Indy Lights Series race (75 laps).

4:45 p.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES Bommarito Automotive Group 500 driver introductions.

5 p.m. – Sixth annual NTT INDYCAR SERIES Bommarito Automotive Group 500 (260 laps).

7:45 p.m. — Post-race track walk for fans and victory lane celebration (time approximate).

8 p.m. – post-race concert on midway stage.

11 p.m. – Track closed.

Schedule subject to change.

About World Wide Technology Raceway

World Wide Technology Raceway (WWTR) is the only track in the world to host the premier series of NASCAR, INDYCAR, and NHRA . Located just five minutes from downtown St. Louis and covering more than 600 acres, WWTR is the largest outdoor entertainment facility in the area. WWTR’s facilities include a 1/4-mile drag strip, 1.25-mile superspeedway, 2.0-mile road course, the Gateway Kartplex (a state-of-the-art karting facility), and the adjacent Gateway National Golf Links. WWTR and owner Curtis Francois have been recognized with several awards, including: 2021 Comcast Community Champion of the Year; 2021 Jack Buck Award; 2020 NASCAR Drive for Diversity Track Award; 2018 Innovator Award from the St. Louis Convention & Visitors Commission; 2017 Outstanding Facility of the Year Award from the Race Track Business Conference; and the 2017 Spirit of St. Louis Award from the St. Louis Attractions Association.

Our mission: We are committed to making a difference in our community, while providing first-class entertainment and memories that last a lifetime.

Second race of 2022 on IMS Road Course can build more momentum in title chase

DETROIT (July 27, 2022) – For the third time this season and second on the road course, Chevrolet teams in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES are headed to Indianapolis Motor Speedway – this time for the Gallagher Grand Prix and the 13th round of this year’s 17-race schedule.

There hasn’t been much to slow down the Chevrolet IndyCar train with nine wins so far and the lead in the Engine Manufacturer Championship. The only thing missing this year for Team Chevy is a win at Indianapolis, which the 10-car contingent of Bowtie-powered teams hope to rectify once the race goes green at noon ET on Saturday (NBC, Peacock, IndyCar Radio).

“It’s always good to go back to Indianapolis,” said Rob Buckner, Chevrolet program manager for INDYCAR. “Although this is our second time this season on the IMS road course, there are a number of obvious differences. It’s a different time of year so the track and air temperature will influence tire performance. We’ll also have different brands of tire rubber on the track throughout the weekend with NASCAR sharing the weekend.

“None of this is new to us,” he added. “We’ve been able to adapt all year to different track conditions and situations, and this is a big reason we are leading the Engine Manufacturer Championship heading into the home stretch. Our teams have performed well and we’ll all continue working together to maximize any opportunities that come up this weekend.”

That has happened more often than not at the 2.439-mile, 14-turn Indy road course. Three different active Chevrolet drivers – Will Power, Josef Newgarden and Rinus VeeKay – have won nine times on that configuration since 2015. Team Penske’s Power, driving the No. 12 Verizon Chevrolet, leads all drivers with five Indy road course wins.

On the way to the green flag, the field for the Gallagher Grand Prix will follow a red Corvette Stingray, which will serve as Official Pace Car.

And while on the grounds at IMS, Team Chevy fans can enjoy all that the Chevrolet display, located near Pagoda Plaza, has to offer. Included in the display activities will be a series of Q&A sessions with some of the star Chevrolet drivers.

Friday

· 2:30 p.m.: Team Penske – Scott McLaughlin, Will Power

· 3:00 p.m.: Juncos Hollinger Racing – Callum IIott

· 3:15 p.m.: AJ Foyt Racing – Dalton Kellett, Kyle Kirkwood

· 4:30 p.m.: Arrow McLaren SP – Pato O’Ward, Felix Rosenqvist

Saturday

· 10:00 a.m.: Ed Carpenter Racing – Rinus VeeKay and Conor Daly

The Chevrolet Motorsports Display opens at 9 a.m. Friday, 7 a.m. Saturday and 8 a.m. Sunday. Numerous Chevrolet vehicles will be on display – including the 2023 Corvette Z06 and Silverado RV – and fans can register to receive a 2022 Chevrolet Racing T-shirt.

Chevrolet and the NTT INDYCAR Series continue the 2022 season with a return to the Indianapolis road course for the Gallagher Grand Prix at 12:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, July 30. The race will air live starting at noon ET on NBC, the Peacock streaming service, IndyCar Radio Network affiliates and SiriusXM IndyCar Nation (Channel 160). Live timing and scoring will be available at racecontrol.indycar.com.

BY THE NUMBERS: Chevrolet in INDYCAR

· 1: Chevrolet’s position in the INDYCAR Engine Manufacturer standings after 12 races

· 2: Consecutive front-row starts in the Indianapolis 500 for Rinus Veekay of Ed Carpenter Racing

· 3: Active Team Chevy drivers to win on the Indianapolis road course: Josef Newgarden, Will Power and Rinus VeeKay

· 4: Consecutive victories by Chevrolet to open the 2022 NTT INDYCAR SERIES. Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin won the pole and race at St. Petersburg. Penske teammate Josef Newgarden won at Texas and Long Beach, and Pato O’Ward was victorious at Barber Motorsport Park for Arrow McLaren SP

· 5: Victories at the Indianapolis road course for Penske’s Will Power (2015, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021)

· 6: Different Chevrolet drivers to win races dating to the start of 2020. Scott McLaughlin was the most recent at St. Petersburg

· 6: Number of Manufacturer Championships in the NTT INDYCAR Series since 2012

· 6: Number of Team Chevy Driver/Entrant championships since 2012

· 14: Consecutive seasons with at least one win by Will Power, including past 11 with Chevrolet. He won at Belle Isle in 2022

· 26: Wins by Will Power since 2012. All have come with Chevrolet, giving him the most of any driver with same manufacturer

· 41: Pole starts by Will Power since 2012 in a Chevrolet-powered car, most of any driver

· 104: Chevrolet victories in NTT INDYCAR SERIES since 2012

· 112: Earned poles by Chevrolet since 2012

· 177: NTT INDYCAR SERIES races as V6 engine supplier since 2012 return to INDYCAR

ABOUT CHEVROLET

Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, available in nearly 80 countries with nearly 2.7 million cars and trucks sold in 2021. Chevrolet models include electric and fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.

Sept. 2-4 NTT INDYCAR SERIES weekend includes ARCA Menards Series West and Road to Indy

PORTLAND, Ore. (July 26, 2022) – The Grand Prix of Portland is just over five weeks away as Single Day ticket sales launch today at 10 a.m. PT for the NTT INDYCAR SERIES race weekend returning to Portland International Raceway (PIR), Sept 2-4, 2022. Tickets for the 28th running of this spectacular open-wheel racing tradition in the Rose City can be purchased online at portlandgp.com.

Ticket prices start as low as $20 for Single Day General Admission and $70 for Single Day Grandstand seats. Three-day tickets remain available for purchase and offer the best fan value. General Admission for the entire weekend is just $65, and a 3-Day Grandstand reserved seat starts at $85 which includes gate admission.

The NTT INDYCAR SERIES, featuring the cars and stars of the Indianapolis 500, headlines the race weekend. Returning race winners Alex Palou (2021), Will Power (2019) and Takuma Sato (2018) will compete once again. Including Power and Sato, the field will also include seven Indianapolis 500 winners: this year’s winner Marcus Ericsson, four-time winner Helio Castroneves, 2008 winner and six-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Scott Dixon, Simon Pagenaud and Alexander Rossi. Other drivers to watch include Jimmie Johnson, the seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, and 10-year Formula One veteran Romain Grosjean.

“We are very excited to welcome the NTT INDYCAR SERIES back to the Pacific Northwest for another thrilling edition of the Grand Prix of Portland,” said Jerry Jensen, general manager of Green Savoree Portland, which owns and operates the event at PIR. “The NTT INDYCAR SERIES has always provided exciting finishes at PIR, and we expect another exhilarating event as the championship enters its final stretch run.”

The Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires returns to PIR with all three series of the open-wheel development ladder for aspiring NTT INDYCAR SERIES drivers running races: Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires on Sunday (Sept. 4) and tripleheader races for both Indy Pro 2000 Championship Presented by Cooper Tires and Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship. Additionally, the ARCA Menards Series West stock cars will headline Saturday’s on-track action. The rising stars of NASCAR are returning to PIR for a second time this year after completing the fender-bending Portland 112 in June.

A limited quantity of 3-Day Gold Level Grandstand offering reserved seating for the highest rows are still available and include a Paddock Pass to get up close to the cars and drivers in the “locker room of motorsports.”

Additionally, Pit Passes remain available for purchase for guests 18 years of age or older. These passes provide access to pitlane during practice and qualifying sessions and can only be purchased in combination with 3-Day Grandstand tickets.

Children 12 and under receive free general admission to the event. This also includes complimentary access to the NTT INDYCAR SERIES Paddock throughout the weekend when accompanied by a ticketed adult. PIR is located less than a tenth of a mile from a public transit stop – the Delta Park/Vanport MAX Station on TriMet’s MAX Yellow Line – making a trip to the track exceptionally affordable for families.

For all ticket pricing, grandstand locations and additional festival information, visit portlandgp.com. Stay up to speed on the Grand Prix of Portland on social media all year long by following #PortlandGP.

About Grand Prix of Portland:

Portland International Raceway (PIR) is the home of the Grand Prix of Portland. PIR is a 1.964-mile, 12-turn permanent road course owned by the City of Portland and operated under the Portland Parks and Recreation. Opened in 1960 to host sports car and drag racing, the 268-acre property hosts over 550 events annually including automotive and motorcycle road racing, motocross, cruise-ins and other special events including the Rose Cup Races. PIR has been the site of many memorable Indy car races. Al Unser Jr. won the inaugural one in 1984, and the NTT INDYCAR SERIES returned in 2018 after an 11-year absence with Takuma Sato the winner and another Indianapolis 500 champion Will Power winning in 2019. The Father’s Day race of 1986 featured Mario Andretti victorious over his son Michael on the last lap by less than a second. The closest three-way road racing finish in INDYCAR SERIES history took place at PIR in 1997 when the top three were covered by just 0.055 of a second. The Grand Prix of Portland is owned and operated by Green Savoree Portland, LLC, whose affiliates also promote three additional INDYCAR SERIES races, Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding (Feb. 25-27, 2022), The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio (July 1-3, 2022), and the Honda Indy Toronto (July 15-17).

For more information, visit portlandgp.com, ‘like’ its Facebook page @PortlandGP or follow updates on Twitter @Portland_GP and Instagram at @Portland_GP using #PortlandGP.

MOORESVILLE, NC (July 25, 2022) – Team Penske has announced that Santino Ferrucci will be on standby for INDYCAR SERIES Championship contender Josef Newgarden heading into this weekend’s race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.

Newgarden was released from MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center earlier this morning and returned to his home in Nashville. Per series protocols, Newgarden will be reevaluated by the INDYCAR Medical Team on Thursday to determine his status for the Gallagher Grand Prix. Should Newgarden not be able to race, Ferrucci will take the wheel of the No. 2 PPG Chevrolet.

Ferrucci has 43-career INDYCAR SERIES starts with four of these occurring at the IMS road course where he has two top-10 finishes. His career best IndyCar finish is fourth, on four occasions, and he has made three starts in 2022, with two top-10 finishes.

About Team Penske
Team Penske is one of the most successful teams in the history of professional sports. Cars owned and prepared by Team Penske have produced more than 600 major race wins, over 660 pole positions and 41 championships across open-wheel, stock car and sports car racing competition. Over the course of its 56-year history, the team has also earned 18 Indianapolis 500 victories, three Daytona 500 Championships, a Formula 1 win, victories in the 24 Hours of Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring, along with a win in Australia’s legendary Bathurst 1000 race. In 2022, Team Penske will compete in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, NASCAR Cup Series and the FIA World Endurance Championship. For more information about Team Penske, please visit www.teampenske.com.

Team Chevy’s ninth win in 12 NTT INDYCAR SERIES races this season

NEWTON, Iowa (July 24, 2022) – Chevrolet swept the podium Sunday in the Hy-Vee Salute to Farmers 300 at Iowa Speedway as Pato O’Ward won his second race of the year in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES.

O’Ward led a 1-2-3 finish for Team Chevy in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet as the Bowtie won for the ninth time in 12 INDYCAR races this season and extended its lead in the series’ Engine Manufacturer Championship.

Team Penske’s Will Power finished second in his No. 12 Verizon Chevrolet, followed by teammate Scott McLaughlin in the No. 3 Freightline Chevy.

Felix Rosenqvist rounded out Chevrolet’s top-10 finishers with a seventh-place result in the No. 7 Arrow McLaren SP entry.

O’Ward led 80 laps including the last 65 after Josef Newgarden crashed while running first in the No. 2 Hitachi Chevrolet. Up to that point, Newgarden had led 148 laps and sought to go back-to-back at Iowa after winning Saturday’s race.

The victory by O’Ward was Chevrolet’s ninth in 12 races at the 0.894-mile short oval, and he is the manufacturer’s sixth different driver to win at the venue. Team Chevy also swept the Iowa podium for the fourth time (2013, 2014, 2016 and 2022). O’Ward set the fastest race lap as Chevrolet remained a perfect 12-for-12 in that category at Iowa.

Team Chevy and the NTT INDYCAR SERIES return next week to the Indianapolis Road Course for the Gallagher Grand Prix at noon ET on Saturday, July 30.

Pato O’Ward, Will Power, Scott McLaughlin Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: We’ll welcome in the first of the podium finishers, Scott McLaughlin coming home third. His fourth podium of the season, fifth of his very young NTT INDYCAR SERIES career.

It was up and down yesterday, up and down a little bit today. Finally found yourself on the podium.

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Yeah, thanks. Really pumped to back up. Felt like we had a car to challenge for the podium yesterday. We managed to sort of pull it off today.

Midway through the race today, the car was a bit of a handful and I wasn’t too happy. (Indiscernible) got on the radio, calmed me down, as most of those guys on pit road do to us egomaniac drivers. Kind of brought us back to life.

Managed to get my head down, did some really good pit exchanges, managed to get ourselves into P4 there before the last caution. Then P3 on Dixon, which was a fun pass. I really enjoyed that. It was a really good exchange with him all race. Hope he enjoyed it. Probably didn’t enjoy it as much as me, but it was definitely a lot of fun racing with him.

THE MODERATOR: Questions for Scott.

Q. This sport is about partnerships. Talk about Freightliner, the job that Hy-Vee has done here.

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Absolutely. Anyone has seen my car this year, it’s been licorice all sort. Stuff going on everywhere. But I’ve had some fantastic partners on my car for a long haul. Freightliner this weekend, Gallagher next weekend at the Gallagher Grand Prix. They’re promoting that a massive amount as well.

To have Hy-Vee like this weekend, all year they’ve been with Rahal, Jack Harvey, they’ve got a great driver in Jack. I think this weekend has set the bar in terms of promotion for a race.

I think if you look at this facility in the years gone by, the crowd numbers aren’t nearly as big as what we’ve seen in the last little bit. I’m glad my first race at Iowa Speedway was this one. I couldn’t believe the vibe.

I jumped out had a little bop to Gwen Stefani a little bit before the race. I think it set me up pretty well for the race, to be honest. Blake Shelton after, big names. Hy-Vee want to go bigger and bigger. I think that’s fantastic. To have that money, that investment into our sport, is something we all should be grateful for. It gives us jobs, give us a future.

I’m proud to be in a time in INDYCAR where it’s so successful right now, TV numbers, partnerships, sponsorships. Celebrities coming to the races. It’s really cool, on its way up. Yeah, really pumped with it.

Q. You took to ovals pretty quickly. Now you’ve gone a few different types of ovals. How does this compare?

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Yeah, this is up there. This is awesome. I wish we could race every weekend, to be honest. It’s just bad ass. You can throw it on the outside, run two lanes. You can take air off the guy behind you, guy will go behind you. It’s wicked, you know.

Texas was fun. It’s a bit more sort of like one-lane groove. Once we built that second lane, it was really good. Kind of like here, a bit faster, but scarier.

Indy is its own kettle of fish. Indy is INDYCAR.

Ovals for me, I’ve said it a number of times, I learned from a blank sheet of paper. Had great people around me, Will, Josef, Simon around me last year. Learned as it went.

Really, really pumped with how we’re going, our development throughout the whole season. We’re right there. Unfortunately we didn’t get those points yesterday, which would have been pretty vital. We would have been right there with the guys at the front. Didn’t happen.

I’m really pumped with our performance on the ovals.

Q. Physical condition, how difficult was this race given that you did 250 yesterday?

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Yeah, look, yesterday I didn’t run the cool suit. I’m pretty sure Pato didn’t either. A driver preference. I had one of those go dead on me in a Supercar. I swore in my life I’d never wear one again. It was the worst experience of my career. I’d rather be really hot. Just had some strategies in terms of keeping me cool, ice baths or whatever before that race.

It was pretty hot. The biggest problem here is the forced air that we have is not a fan, it’s pure air from when you drive fast. When you slow down it gets really, really hot. The cautions, when you come into pit lane, that’s when it’s the hottest.

Today I felt pretty good. INDYCAR medical, and my safety team were fantastic. They gave me an IV drip last night when I asked for one. Filled me up, juiced me up. Feel good. I got a lot of energy right now. I can’t be unhappy about that.

Q. (Question about Supercars.)

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Yeah, look, that’s where my got my first win in Supercars. I won there in front of my home fans, which is amazing. Just had some tremendous sort of championship battles throughout the year.

To be honest, I watched the Supercars for the very first time there. That’s where the fire for me shined in terms — burned. I wanted to be a race driver from the first point I saw Supercar on the hill.

Sad, some of these tracks that are built in residential areas, it’s inevitable it’s going to happen. But especially in New Zealand and Australia.

Unfortunately that’s the way it goes. We got tremendous memories there that we should all be proud of and enjoy for years to come.

THE MODERATOR: Joined also by Pato O’Ward, second win this season, fourth over. All of this in his 50th career start, becoming an old man in front of our eyes. Second win on an oval, fourth podium of the season.

Your general thoughts about getting the win? Obviously great drive yesterday. Exceeded that one better today.

PATO O’WARD: Yeah, thanks. Great weekend for us. We knew we needed to execute this weekend, just to have a shot at the championship. We’ve let a lot of points go from us because of one thing or another.

We executed. The guys were great in the pits. I did my job in the car. I knew we had the pace to win one. The problem was just trying to get up to Josef. One thing is getting up to him, and one thing is passing him. I’m glad he’s okay. We took advantage of the opportunity that presented itself. I just walked away with it. I knew we had the pace to do it. It’s just about being in the right situation.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Josef is amazing around here. What can you see from inside the team that makes him so good?

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Yeah, obviously Will did an amazing couple of laps there, very close. In qualifying it’s not too different to what we’ve seen.

Yeah, in the race, Josef is just really smart in lap traffic. You got to be really strong, pick your pass, keep your momentum up, keep your tires up. That’s what I’m still learning. I wasn’t that great in traffic today to be honest. I think I can learn from that, watch some onboard and stuff.

He’s tremendous in lap traffic, picking the right lane. He’s just got that confidence around this place. Confidence is a huge thing on oval racing, especially a place like this.

Yeah, he’s got it nailed. Yeah, been here a few years.

Q. Yesterday you had the lug nut issue which kept you from contending for the victory. Today it looked like Josef was in pretty good stead to go back to back. How much does that show how this sport, anything can happen?

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Yeah, look, I think you have to push the limit on everything these days in INDYCAR. The competitiveness. My guys yesterday, the stops have been tremendous all year. I think we were again fastest on pit road, or close to fastest on pit road today.

They did a stop. The stop before was a second faster than anyone in pit lane, that last exchange yesterday. They tried to go a little bit faster. You weren’t going to do it. Unfortunately they dropped the car too early, didn’t tighten the wheel.

Today I think there’s a little bit of a freak accident with Josef. You are pushing the limits. You are doing stuff. I think it was mechanical. I don’t think he lost that. But yeah…

THE MODERATOR: Congratulations, Scott, we’ll see you at the Indy road course.

We’ll continue with questions for Pato.

Q. The fact that yesterday you could have won the race if it hadn’t been for Josef…

PATO O’WARD: Are you telling me I wasn’t going to be able to beat him (smiling)?

Q. No. I said you put yourself in position today to beat him. If you could go over how good a race weekend your whole team had.

PATO O’WARD: We had a great weekend. Obviously we were there, we were there to take advantage of an opportunity that got presented to us. I think even with him not finishing the race, I think we still would have given him a hard time. There was still one more pit stop to go.

Yeah, I was positioning ourselves to do what we just did. Super proud of the boys in the pits. The car was fantastic. I knew it was just all about getting into the Penske sandwich because, yeah, Will was not making it any little easy on me. I knew Josef was going to do the same. It was one thing to get up there, but one thing to pass.

It just explains how hard it is, how difficult it can be whenever you’re going through the lap traffic, how you get some people, other people behind you are going to get them in a very different situation. That’s how you can lose or gain time.

You’re never going to perfect it, but trying to lose the least amount of time possible in that situation.

THE MODERATOR: Also joined by Will Power. Sixth podium of the season. 91 podiums in your career.

Your thoughts on a pretty good weekend for you?

WILL POWER: Yeah, great weekend points-wise. Would have loved to have got a win here. Tough competition, man. You can’t let up one bit.

Yeah, the car was really good. I probably could have been more aggressive in that second-to-last stint because it seemed like there’s a lot less deg. Must have cooled or the track took a lot of rubber or something. The track was really fast.

THE MODERATOR: Questions continuing for the top two.

Q. Pato, you’ve got eight podiums in your last 10 oval races. What do you attribute that to?

PATO O’WARD: I think the team has a great package in the ovals. I think that’s definitely our strong suit. We’re getting better in other areas.

But, yeah, just as a team I think we go to every oval believing that we can beat anybody and we’re going to have as good of a package as anybody else.

Yeah, going to other tracks is a little bit of a different story in terms of I think we’ve done a good job strategy-wise in ovals, whether it’s a superspeedway or short oval. We don’t seem to have that in road courses. So I think there’s some work to do there.

Yeah, great job by the team.

Q. Pato, top six in the championship, now separated by 44 points. Five races to go. Second or third place might not be what you need at the upcoming races. Describe how tight things are.

PATO O’WARD: I think the biggest thing is because everybody that’s fighting for the championship is having good weekends. No one is having bad weekends.

For us, we’ve thrown away and we’ve given away an easy hundred points just either whether it was a strategy or if it was I won’t mention the other ones. We’ve just thrown away a lot of points that would have put us in a way better position of where we are right now.

I have no other choice but to try and claw back. We can just be more risky than others. I really don’t care. Four, five and six for me doesn’t really change anything. I don’t care for sixth or fourth. We need to go for one and two because we’ve already got a four and a three.

The only way to do that is to win because you’re not going to get those points by being consistently in the top five. I think if you’re in the lead, it would be a different story, but we’re not.

Q. Pato, you were asked about your oval performances. Can you talk about your preparation? Anything you do, any particular part of your preparation that’s important coming to an oval race?

PATO O’WARD: For me, I think the biggest factor is just confidence and having a car you can attack with. It doesn’t only go for ovals, it goes for street courses. You have to put a lot of trust in the car if you want to extract a lap time.

Here in Iowa, it’s a tire deg race, it’s not a fuel race. It’s important to have a car that can last, but a car that’s good in traffic.

While you’re wanting to get through traffic as quick as you can, you need to kind of hold back just a teensy little bit because you can over-burn quite quick.

I don’t know if it’s one thing or another. I try and prepare physically as much as I can. In terms of video, I’ll watch a few minutes. Every weekend is different. All you can do, if you have a good feeling for it practice one, you just keep working at it.

Q. You have a reputation of being an aggressive driver. At Iowa it’s about saving your tires and patience. Do you think your performance this weekend shows how much of a rounded driver you’ve become or are?

PATO O’WARD: Yeah, I mean, I would hope I’m getting better. I think I am (laughter).

The more laps you do, you gain knowledge. I mean, these guys lap circles around me in terms of knowledge like Will, Scott and Josef. Whenever you’re up to fight with them, they were super quick, specifically the Penskes. The Penskes were extremely, extremely hard to fight with. Everything had to go perfect in order to either get them on a pit stop exchange or get them on the track.

Yeah, I think Iowa is just different because it’s a tire deg race. Other ones play more into the fuel, which I think personally is a lot more boring. That’s why Iowa is so good. It’s just because it really plays into you have to be smart. You have to be smart not just if you’re leading, but the leader also has to be smart because he’ll go through the traffic. I think that’s why the races here are so good.

Q. Pato, on the radio you were frustrated with lap cars in front of you, telling team that no one listens, let me do my own thing. How difficult is it to put that in the back of your mind and focus forward instead of remembering these guys are going to fight hard?

PATO O’WARD: I think what you have to do in that situation is just do what you know what to do. I think when you try and plan it too much, they were basically telling us where it was going to be I guess easier to pass some other guys. It’s just not the case. They just kept changing lanes. You can’t judge it. You just have to do what you — you kind of have to react to it once you’re in the corner already.

Every time I would prep into it thinking they wouldn’t go in that same lane, they did. It just kept moving me backwards rather than helping me. Yeah, I think sometimes too much information is just not going to help.

Q. Talk about your powerplant.

WILL POWER: I think Chevy’s done a great job this year giving us drivability and horsepower. It definitely showed this weekend, all the Chevy cars were really strong.

Yeah, just lucky to be involved with these guys. They’re very, very good at their job.

PATO O’WARD: Yeah, just a little bit to add on that. We’ve obviously dominated this weekend. It’s been an all-Chevy podium both days. Qualifying was also all Chevy. The power was there. The drivability was there. The reliability was there. Just very crucial part of the season to have that. Yeah, great to have them power us.

Q. Will, can you talk about the consistency over the weekend.

WILL POWER: Yeah, very consistent run this year really. I mean, had a lot of podiums a lot of top fours. I know we got good cars here, so it was a matter of just being mistake-free. I felt like we were going to finish in the top five. That’s exactly what happened.

Been trying to win around here for a long time. Been really wanting to win at this place, but keep coming up short. Yeah, really happy with the weekend.

Q. Do you put that down to the engine or the package in general?

WILL POWER: This weekend? The whole package. Car means a lot around this track. Car means more than engine. If you can’t get through the corners, you’re just not going to be fast. Simple as that.

Q. Will, patience was the key. How did you do that?

WILL POWER: Yeah, well, I was very patient at the start of the race. Just kind of driving to a pace to save the tire and kind of backing Josef up a little bit. Then that gave me more time, gave the guys coming around a lap to degrade a tire, you’re saving. Certainly chopped through the field very quickly when we got to those guys, so it worked.

Q. Will, if my math is right, there are 270 points possible going forward. You’ve been in a number of title fights. I think you’re only 22 points behind Ericsson. How are you going to capture this title?

WILL POWER: Yeah, just doing what I’ve been doing. Simple as that. We’ve been executing, not really doing anything special. Get on top of the qualifying thing because we cannot have what we had in Toronto. Definitely got the pace.

Yeah, putting it together for the next – how many left – five. It’s getting down to the wire, man. Better bring your A game or I’m going to take it from you young blokes.

PATO O’WARD: I think I’m still behind him, though. For sure, I was far back, man (smiling).

I’m coming for you.

THE MODERATOR: With that we’ll wrap things up.

WILL POWER: Don’t play with me. I’ve been in this game a long time (laughter).

THE MODERATOR: There we go. Good way to end it.

PATO O’WARD: Thank you.

WILL POWER: Thank you.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

About Chevrolet

Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, available in nearly 80 countries with nearly 2.7 million cars and trucks sold in 2021. Chevrolet models include electric and fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.

NEWTON, Iowa (Sunday, July 24, 2022) – Pato O’Ward won the Hy-Vee Salute to Farmers 300 presented by Google on Sunday at Iowa Speedway after dominant leader Josef Newgarden crashed out of the race with 65 laps remaining.

O’Ward drove his No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet to a 4.2476-second victory over Will Power in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet. Scott McLaughlin finished third in the No. 3 Freightliner Team Penske Chevrolet, giving the Penske team two of the top three finishers.

“We knew that we had a great car,” O’Ward said. “So, it was all about just capitalizing and being there when it counted. The guys did a great job calling when we had to pit. It was very, very enjoyable.”

Six-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Scott Dixon finished fourth in the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, while his teammate and seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson recorded the best finish of his NTT INDYCAR SERIES career by placing fifth in the No. 48 American Legion Honda.

Series points leader Marcus Ericsson finished sixth in the No. 8 Huski Chocolate Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. He leads second-place Power in the standings by eight points with five races remaining this season.

O’Ward earned his second victory of the season – he also won May 1 on the road course at Barber Motorsports Park – and fourth win of his NTT INDYCAR SERIES career. The victory, coupled with his second-place finish Saturday in the HyVeeDeals.com 250 presented by DoorDash, helped O’Ward climb from sixth to fifth in the series standings. He is 36 points behind leader Ericsson.

“Hopefully we can win a couple more,” O’Ward said. “That would be fantastic. We’ve had a good year, but we’ve dumped two wins in the past couple of months. So, it’s definitely been a frustrating but rewarding few weeks. This is the perfect momentum we need.”

It looked like Team Penske might sweep the top two spots until Newgarden spun into the Turn 4 SAFER Barrier while leading on Lap 235 of 300 in the No. 2 Hitachi Team Penske Chevrolet. Newgarden, who won Saturday on the .894-mile oval, had led 148 of the first 234 laps and was 2.8384 seconds ahead of O’Ward before the stunning incident.

Newgarden was in cruise control before the crash, maintaining a steady gap to O’Ward. As he entered Turn 4 on the “Fastest Short Track on the Planet,” the left front wheel of his car lifted off the ground after an apparent mechanical problem in the rear of the car, sending Newgarden spinning into the SAFER Barrier. His car suffered heavy rear-end damage, but Newgarden walked away from the incident.

“It was a bit of a shock,” Newgarden said. “Man, I want to cry. So sad for my team. I don’t know what happened. It was a good run. I feel terrible for us. I don’t know; something went wrong there.”

Two-time series champion Newgarden was on track to lead the championship by 10 points when he crashed. Instead, he was credited with 24th place and is third in the standings, 34 points behind Ericsson.

After Newgarden’s unexpected exit from the race, O’Ward took the lead for good. The victory was secured when O’Ward, Power and the rest of the lead-lap drivers entered pit road for their final pit stops on Lap 239. O’Ward won the race off pit road and then deftly navigated lapped traffic over the closing 60 laps.

“The No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP guys in the pits were awesome,” O’Ward said. “That’s what gave us our win. Obviously, I did my job in the car to keep her safe and maintain.

“I knew we had the pace, but it’s just tough whenever you’re going through the traffic. The guys in front of me are handling it a different way than you do, so it’s just different every lap.”

O’Ward put himself into position to grab the unlikely victory by passing NTT P1 Award winner Power as Power turned his out lap after his second-to-last pit stop on Lap 195. O’Ward gained 2.953 seconds on Power during his in lap, stop and out lap for his penultimate stop on Lap 194.

Power led 80 laps, second only to teammate Newgarden’s 148 laps. O’Ward led 66 laps and averaged 140.681 mph in a race slowed by just two caution periods for 25 laps.

O’Ward will split $10,000 with his team and his charity of choice for the victory as part of the PeopleReady Force for Good Challenge.

A busy July continues for the NTT INDYCAR SERIES with the Gallagher Grand Prix on Saturday, July 30 on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. It’s the fourth race in three weekends. Live coverage starts at noon ET on NBC and the INDYCAR Radio Network.

CHEVROLET RACING IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES
HY-VEE DOUBLEHEADER
IOWA SPEEDWAY
NEWTON, IOWA
TEAM CHEVY RACE #1 RECAP

JOSEF NEWGARDEN PUTS CHEVROLET IN VICTORY LANE AT IOWA RACE #1

CHEVROLET DRIVERS CAPTURED TOP-FOUR FINISHING POSITIONS

NEWTON, IOWA (July 23, 2022) – Josef Newgarden, driver of the No. 2 Hitachi Team Penske Chevrolet, was highly motivated to win after losing the pole to his teammate Will Power, No. 12 Verizon 5G Chevrolet, earlier today so the two-time NTT INDYCAR Series’ champion took the lead for the final time on lap 80 and never looked back.

He out-ran fellow Team Chevy driver Pato O’Ward, No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet and Power to claim his fourth victory at Iowa Speedway, his fourth win of the season and 24th of his career.

Newgarden jumped to 2nd in the points, just 15 points behind the leader with Power close behind just seven points behind Newgarden.

Today’s win was the 8th of the season for Chevrolet and 104 wins with the Chevrolet 2.2 liter twin turbocharged direct injected V6 engine. Chevrolet continues to lead the Manufacturer Championship standings 922 to 842 points.

Earlier today in qualifying for both races for the Hy-Vee Doubleheader weekend, Power captured the pole for both races scoring his 65th and 66th pole of his career, one away of tying the great Mario Andretti. Newgarden will start alongside power for Race #2 setting up the same scenario as today’s start with Chevrolet locking in the front row.

O’Ward claimed the runner-up position and Power finished third to sweep the podium for Team Chevy. Finishing fourth with a very strong run was Rinus VeeKay, No. 21 Bitcoin Racing with Bitnile Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet.

Chevrolet will serve as the official pace car with a Corvette Stingray Coupe leading the field to green.

Chevrolet and the NTT INDYCAR Series return to Iowa Speedway with two races: Race #2- the Hy-Vee Salute to Farmers 300 at 3 p.m. ET on Sunday and will air live on NBC, Peacock and the INDYCAR Radio Network. Live timing and scoring will be available at racecontrol.indycar.com.

DRIVER QUOTES

JOSEF NEWGARDEN, NO.2 HITACHI TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, STARTD 2ND, RACE WINNER:

I WOULD SAY THAT WAS A PRETTY SWEET DAY HERE IN IOWA

“I am glad I wore this cool shirt, because it was nice and easy. To be honest with you, I felt nice and cool today and this car was good. I was surprised at how hard these guys were pushing on these restarts. You know, this was a long game day and I think (Pato) O’Ward definitely looked like he was the toughest competitor today to beat. But I am really proud of our team and obviously Hitachi and Team Chevy showed up with a really good piece. I was disappointed after qualifying because I just hate losing them because I felt like we had enough to get the job done and we didn’t. That motivated me because I knew we had a car here today to win this race and in front of this great crowd. Unbelievable job by Hy-Vee, you know they are throwing concerts all weekend and they are doing everything they can amenity-wise for people out here. So, this has been a great event and its one of my favorite tracks. To be able to win here again, it’s always very special.”

JOSEF, YOU TOLD ME “WE ARE IN THE GAME FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP”. YOU GAINED SOME POINTS TODAY, YOU ARE LOOKING STRONG, HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT IT NOW?

“I feel good. We have been in the game, just not where we want to be in the game. I think if we were ahead by a good bit, that would be a lot better position to be in at this point of the year. But you know, we are in the fight, and we are relatively there and we just have to find out how to have more consistency. We are either winning or going sideways on our weekend. I know we can do better than this. Its not that we haven’t been doing good, I just know consistently we can do better than what we have been doing. We will get there, and I always have faith every weekend that I show up with Team Penske.”

PATO O’WARD, NO. 5 ARROW MCLAREN SP CHEVROLET, STARTED 4TH, FINISHED 2ND:

YOU SAID TO STAY IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP, IT HAS TO BE WIN OR BUST. THAT LOOKED LIKE YOU WERE ALMOST HEADED TO WIN. HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE DAY?

“Yeah, I mean, I was pushing Josef (Newgarden) there in the end, but we didn’t quite have it. I have to say the car was really good and we didn’t start off the day as strong, but we kept making the car better and better every single stint. There in the end, I think we just took a little bit out of it by getting by Will (Power), getting by Alex (Palou), and getting by the lappers to try and catch the No. 2. So, we will see what we can make better for tomorrow, but the car was really good. P2 is really good for where we are in the championship and for the weekend and tomorrow, I think we start eighth. That won’t be an issue because it’s all about having a good race car here. I have to thank Arrow, Mission, and Team Chevy. It’s good to be here and I am excited for tomorrow.”

WITH THE OVERNIGHT, WILL YOU HAVE A WAY TO MAKE IT BETTER FOR TOMORROW INCLUDING MAYBE THE RESTART GEAR?

“Yeah, I knew they were playing games on the restart, but then I found a way to do it without losing any ground. At first, we lost a little bit of ground to Marcus (Ericsson), but we will be better tomorrow.”

WILL POWET, NO. 12 VERIZON 5G TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, STARTED POLE, FINISHED 3RD:

WHAT CAN YOU THINK OF THAT YOU CAN WORK ON YOUR TEAMMATE HARDER FOR TOMORROW?

“Yeah, we were definitely strong there before it went yellow. Then on that next restart I had to push so hard to keep guys behind that I had a couple of good yaw moments and the rear just never recovered. I ended up maxed out on my tools, so that was just a matter of pushing. I mean it was either lose positions or really push in the dirty air of Josef. I was really stoked to be third for like hanging on like that. Man, the tires are so gone at the end its crazy. Its kind of fun because you slide these things a lot, but yeah it was a good effort for the Chevy Verizon 5G car. Another top three and you never look back on those as a bad day, so a good day.”

RINUS VEEKAY, NO. 21 BITCOIN RACING WITH BITNILE ED CARPENTER RACING, STARTED 8TH, FINISHED 4TH

“It was pretty hard out there with the high temperatures. I struggled a lot to run the high line and it would have been a lot nicer if I could play up there. But that last long stint, I could really save the tires and capitalize on other people’s mistakes. I almost got Will (Power), we were sideways coming to the checkered flag! Tough to just miss out on a podium, but I am very happy. We did everything well, the only issue was a little hold up in pit lane with (Jack) Harvey coming in while I was going out, but that happens at tracks like this. We did well, I am happy. On to tomorrow, let’s get that podium, yeet!”

CALLUM ILOTT, NO. 77 JUNCOS HOLLINGER CHEVROLET, STARTED 22ND, FINISHED 12TH:

KYLE KIRKWOOD, NO. 14 SEXTON PROPERTIES TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET. STARTED 24TH, FINISHED 15TH:

“Definitely, I think a solid day considering where we started P24 to P15. That’s a nine position gain and our car was really good late in stints. I think the way the race kind of played out if it was a lot more green running, we would have looked even better. But with all the cautions and people going to new tires very quickly put us in a position that we’re always on new tires and fresh tires. And then at the end we made hay, we passed I think I think five cars right at the end just because we went longer on a stint and our car stayed with it for a longer period. So that’s definitely good to know, for tomorrow, because if it stays a lot more green, we’ll probably be looking better from our better starting position in 20th.”

CONOR DALY, NO. 20 BITNILE ED CARPENTER RACING CHEVROLET, STARTED 3RD. FINISHED 19TH:

“It’s obviously not how we wanted the day to go. We started off quick, but the tires just go off so aggressively all race long. It was a tough situation for us, just really hard to keep the grip underneath us. We’ll try to make some changes for tomorrow. Obviously, we have a quick car on new tires, but we need to elongate that. Really, really tough day, but thankfully we have another race tomorrow where we start up front.”

DALTON KELLETT. NO.4 L-LINE TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, STARTED 26TH, FINISHED 20TH: “It was good to move up a few spots from starting on the last row to bring it home 20th for the No.4 K-Line Chevrolet so that was a good progression four day. I think overall we’re okay on pace and at the start of the run and the first third of the stand but it really seems like we’re abusing the rear tires and just making it pretty tough to hang on towards the end so we’ll have to figure out what we can do to kind of keep the tires under us longer in the stint. We went 78 laps on tires in that last and I was hanging on for dear life for the last 30 or 40 laps. So that’s a key factor here is how long you keep it underneath you without really losing the front or the rear end too much for us. We’re losing the rear so we’ll have to see what we can do to kind of protect those rears a little bit.”

SCOTT MCLAUGHLIN, NO. 3 FREIGHTLINER TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, STARTED 5TH, FINISHED 22ND:

“A pretty unfortunate day for the No. 3 Freightliner Chevy team. We were running pretty strong, and the car was feeling good, and then end up with a loose wheel after a pit stop. That took us out of contention, but we still finished and got some points. Overall, it could have been a lot better day, but we build as a team and this will make us stronger.”

ED CARPENTER, NO. 33 ALZAMED NEURO ED CARPENTER RACING CHEVROLET, STARTED 19TH, FINISHED 25th INVOLVED IN SINGLE CAR INCIDENT ON LAP 164:

“That was a difficult race. We really just struggled to get the right balance on the Alzamend Neuro car all day. Started loose, then too much understeer. I am not totally sure what happened when I lost it. There were times we had good pace we just need to make a few changes to get the balance in a better window for tomorrow. Luckily Rinus (VeeKay) had a pretty good day, we went with a little different set up than him today. We are hoping for a big rebound tomorrow.”

FELIX ROSENQVIST, NO. 7 VUSE ARROW MCLAREN SP CHEVROLET, STARTED 11TH, FINISHED 26TH :INVOLVED IN SINGLE CAR INCIDENT ON LAP 110 – “I was pretty free from the beginning and pretty early I was very conservative with my tools. I mentioned I was maxed out and I tried to hang out with the rest of the stent that were actually running pretty well. We weren’t slow but it was just very free. I just thought I could hang on but it just caught me out. I tried to hang on to it, but yeah, just a shame I feel for the guys having to to repair it. Hopefully we can get it done fairly well for tomorrow, but its not ideal. But yeah, it happens. It’s it’s tough out there. It’s I’ll get the balance completely right. It is very tough to keep on track. So tomorrow, we’ll see if we can get a better run in race number two.”

Josef Newgarden

Pato O’Ward

Will Power

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Joined by second- and third-place finishing drivers. Pato O’Ward comes home second place, and Will Power comes home third.

Pato, open us up with your thoughts on the day.

PATO O’WARD: Yeah, really solid points day for us today. I thought we had a little bit more for Josef in the end. He was really strong. All Penske cars were extremely strong.

It was all about what can we do different to them to be able to just have a shot at getting by them. I had to use my tires a bit much. I think Will was on the same train battling with me and Palou, Marcus. So I think we used up our tires a little bit more than what Josef did. He had a little bit more to give in the end.

Yeah, I was happy with my car. Didn’t really start off very good. We were just extremely, extremely loose. As we saw in the 7 car, unfortunate. Yeah, glad Felix is okay. We need to see what we can do better for tomorrow to not have that because it took a lot of pit stops to get it into a window where we could actually attack rather than just being a little bit of a passenger.

Yeah, really happy with our day.

THE MODERATOR: Will, your thoughts on the podium and the battle you had with your teammate throughout the day today?

WILL POWER: It was a good battle. Last restart is what hurt me the most, trying to keep guys behind. Had a couple of big yaw moments on the rear tire early. Pounded on that rear too much to stay ahead. Then went loose, really loose. I had some big saves.

I was happy to end up third actually. I was thinking we might fall back a bit further. Some good lessons in there for tomorrow. But it is difficult when you get attacked. You can’t do much. You want to be the leader because you’re in clean air, so much easier to conserve your tires up there.

Yeah, kind of a second-gear restart, that was a mistake. That’s what Josef got me. I should have been smarter on that.

PATO O’WARD: I did that too, mate. Retweet.

WILL POWER: It’s real life, it’s not Twitter (laughter).

THE MODERATOR: Traffic was crazy all day today. 772 total on-track passes this afternoon, 372 were for position.

We’ll open it up for questions.

Q. Will, after starting from the pole, are you disappointed with third?

WILL POWER: No. You never look back on a day when finishing third is a bad thing. There’s a few things I could have done a little better, been a bit more aggressive with the tools in the car to make sure the rear wouldn’t go off.

I felt like we had a strong car. I was a bit conservative at the start, not attacking as much as Josef was. Then when we had the restart and I was starting to attack Josef, that’s when I started to be a bit more aggressive and felt a bit stronger.

Yeah, good day. Third’s good points every time.

Q. Speaking of points, the championship race keeps changing. There’s five drivers separated by 59 points. How do you think this is going to play out?

WILL POWER: Yeah, I mean, Newgarden has four wins, probably five tomorrow, unless I can do something.

PATO O’WARD: Don’t be so negative.

WILL POWER: Go ahead, try to beat him, man.

PATO O’WARD: I tried today (laughter).

WILL POWER: Yeah, well, I’m going to try to beat him tomorrow. So is Pato.

But, yeah, it’s still close. It’s just if you keep finishing in that top four, you’re going to be right there. At some point it’s going to be clear who are the real contenders. Maybe this goes all the way to the wire, five guys.

PATO O’WARD: What he said, yeah (smiling).

Q. Pato, were you battling something with restarts with the gearing?

PATO O’WARD: Yeah, Josef had different gearing to us. I’m pretty sure he was aware of that. So the team told me to do a certain thing, which I did. It was pretty horrendous and we got passed by two guys, I think.

In the next one I did the opposite, and it worked. Yeah, it’s hard to say, right? You don’t know who’s going to be leading you. You don’t know if you’re going to be the one leading. Obviously you’re going to do the best for whatever is your pattern, gearbox pattern.

But, yeah, we only let it catch us out once. I think Will did, as well.

Q. Is that something you have to address for tomorrow?

PATO O’WARD: No. I mean, maybe yes or no. It just really depends on how bad it was. I just think knowing now what to do, it’s really not too big of an issue, I guess.

Q. Will, yesterday you said Marcus was the best driver in the series.

WILL POWER: Yeah.

Q. Today he starts 12th, gets all the way up to second. Do you see today why he’s going to be tough as the points leader?

WILL POWER: There was an example of him racing really hard. It hurt the overall finish for him because I was trying to save my tires knowing how long that stint was going to be. Those guys are attacking so hard that they are just going to fall back with someone sitting there conserving the second half of the stint.

Yeah, he’s tough on restarts. He’s a very, very good racer.

Q. Tomorrow’s race is 50 laps longer, but the temperature will be about 15 degrees cooler.

WILL POWER: 15 degrees, I’ll take that, even for 50 laps (smiling).

PATO O’WARD: Yeah, it will definitely be nicer on the deg, on the car. I think it will be a little bit friendlier.

Q. Even though he never made it all the way up to where you guys were, Jimmie had a pretty good race for most of the day. It shows he’s pretty good on ovals.

PATO O’WARD: Yeah, I think he’s doing a phenomenal job in the ovals. In Texas, where I had my issues, I got to follow him for a bit. I thought it was really, really cool to see him explore in areas where no one else was exploring. He was making the car work in areas where no one else was. I think that’s why he was so strong.

I think that NASCAR experience paid off in how those guys are just continuing to explore and see where the grip is. For us, I guess sometimes if you go off of what you know, it can be a big price to pay.

But, yeah, it was really cool to see that he was kind of thinking outside the box versus everybody else. Yeah, I think he’s just going to keep getting better and better.

Q. I would like to know, you got a message for your Latino fans that live in Iowa? What can they expect for tomorrow’s race?

PATO O’WARD: Yeah, I got to see quite a bit of you guys today. Hopefully I get to see more of you tomorrow. Come check it out. I think it’s really worth mentioning what Hy-Vee and what Penske have done for this weekend. It’s really, really cool to see. I’ve never seen Iowa this way.

I think their approach to everything has been phenomenal. I think it’s the approach that everybody else in every single event in the INDYCAR schedule should be like. So I think we can learn a lot about this weekend and how well they’ve done it.

THE MODERATOR: Will, we’ll let you go.

WILL POWER: Thank you.

THE MODERATOR: We’ll continue with questions for Pato.

Q. Pato and Josef, strong day for Chevy. Did you guys on track think you had an advantage with that engine than the Honda guys? Seemed like you did.

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Oh, yeah. No, I don’t know. I always feel very good with a Chevy behind me, don’t you?

PATO O’WARD: Yes, yes, yes.

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I mean, look, they’ve delivered this year on all accounts. Chevy power, durability, performance, it’s always there for us.

Q. What burgers were you talking about?

PATO O’WARD: We were just talking about…

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Shake Shack would be good.

THE MODERATOR: Wahlberg’s. There’s one in Newton, right here.

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I’m now very excited.

PATO O’WARD: Double-double. Let’s go.

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Love Mark Wahlberg’s.

Q. (No microphone.)

PATO O’WARD: It was wonderful. The worst part is the first two minutes. After that, whew, you’re chilling.

Q. (No microphone.)

PATO O’WARD: You wanted to see more, didn’t you? Sneaky (laughter).

Q. (No microphone.)

PATO O’WARD: Naughty girl.

THE MODERATOR: Congratulations, Pato. We’ll see you back here tomorrow.

PATO O’WARD: Thank you.

THE MODERATOR: We’re joined by Josef Newgarden, with four wins at this great oval.

Congratulations. We’ll continue with questions for Josef.

Q. At the start it looked like you and Will came together. Did you discuss that or do you have an understanding of what happened here?

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Came together?

Q. (No microphone.)

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I didn’t feel that. Probably wasn’t big. I think we probably just got close. I got a really good jump beside him. But, no, I don’t think it was too big. Then he got away. I was just kind of letting him do his thing for the first 20 laps, then we tried to pick it up after that. Yeah, I don’t think it was a big deal.

Q. What is the context of the four wins within the team? Is it easier to motivate your guys because they’ve got the knowledge you’re able to go out and win four races or is it more difficult because you’ve won four races and you’re not leading the championship?

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: It’s been a frustrating year in some regards. But it’s been tempered with great results. I mean, to your point, we’ve had four wins. I feel like we’ve showed up at most of these weekends capable of winning the race.

Fortunately four of them have worked out pretty nicely. But, yeah, it’s either working out like that or it’s just going sideways to some degree. I don’t know that I want to put that on any one specific thing. It’s been kind of bad timing in a lot of respects this year. Mid-Ohio was bad timing, qualifying and the race. Toronto we had bad qualifying with P2 going out, hampered qualifying. Bad positions on the pit stop. Even the pit cycle before that was bad timing on when we pit.

I don’t really think it’s anyone’s fault. I don’t think we have a problem in any part of the team. For whatever reason, we have odd timing on most of these weekends. The other weekends where there is no odd timing, we win the race. I think if we could find the middle ground there, we’d be handily in the points lead. We can’t seem to find that balance right now.

You have to be careful trying to find it. We can’t change much. It’s just the way it is. 2018 was similar to this year, we won three races, finished fifth in the championship. We had four poles, super good. We were either winning the race or something weird was happening.

Q. You won the second race here in 2020. The first race you were seething that you didn’t win that race. A caution or something…

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yeah, I mean, should have. Got screwed by the caution basically. We were out front. Yeah, so I was seething. I was pretty upset. It’s one of those timing things we’re talking about. You can’t control that stuff. Yellows sometimes completely bite you and you can’t point your finger or yell at anybody. Wrong place, wrong time. That was one of those races.

Q. Everybody says you’re the unquestioned favorite. When you come here, is there more pressure on you to make sure you back it up the way you did today? Now does it shift for tomorrow where maybe you demoralized the field and the pressure is off?

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I think it gets harder every year I come here. ’16 we won the race, I felt like we demolished the field. It was like taking candy from a baby. It was stupid.

Every year since it’s just gotten harder. Feels like everyone is figuring it out. You can’t have a mega advantage on somebody forever. They slowly start to figure it out.

You can see it with Will. Will has figured out how to finesse this place. Obviously there’s a certain style, a certain technique everywhere we go that you find success with.

Scott is the same way. I think McLaughlin was picking up on what I was doing around here. Not just those guys, I look at Pato. Pato was not easy to beat today. We put the hammer down with 20 or 30 to go. Before that he was coming like a freight train at 30 laps to go. I was like, Who is this McLaren coming up on me. I was asking for feedback on that because he kind of snuck up on me.

I don’t feel like it’s an easy beat-down anymore. If we mis-step, we’ll get beat. That will happen tomorrow if we are not on our game. I don’t feel like we have an advantage anymore.

Q. Yesterday Will Power said he thinks Marcus is the best racer in the series right now. Knowing that you’re battling him for the championship, what is your assessment of how strong he appeared today? Did he show something as the points leader?

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yeah, I think he’s done a great job obviously. How could you not say so, right? He’s doing a tremendous job.

He’s kind of just been level. There’s not a lot of flash to him. I would say even less so than Palou. Palou to me is like the best non-flash driver. That guy is super well-rounded, does everything well. There’s nothing much to him. You’re not seeing a lot of spark.

Ericsson is like a step below that. I would put him like maybe below Palou. They’re just having a good run. They’re doing a great job. Obviously they have a great team. You can’t do it alone in this series, they’re a great team at Chip Ganassi Racing. It’s a great combination for them.

He’s not going to be easy to beat. If he keeps doing what he’s doing, that can win championships. It’s great to win four races. Our boring days we need to be finishing second or third. We just can’t seem to do that right now. When we figure that out, I think we’ll be in the mix, we’ll be just fine.

Q. I asked the others about the championship race, how they see it playing out. Will said you’ll probably win tomorrow and take the points lead. Pato said he’s going to try to beat you. There’s five of you separated by 59 points. How do you think this is going to play out?

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I think it’s been very entertaining from a fan standpoint. No one is getting away from anybody. We’re all together. So that’s exciting.

Typically this is what’s been happening the last couple years in INDYCAR, it’s always gone down to the finale. You always have a couple horses in the race at least.

I don’t know how it’s going to play out, I really don’t. Someone could go on a streak. It could keep going up and down. That’s kind of what’s happening right now. It’s so competitive that you have people sort of winning, then having a bad weekend, then you have guys like Ericsson who is in the middle and level. So no one’s getting away.

It’s impossible to predict. I have no idea. Someone could just go on a super streak, and maybe not. But tomorrow is not a given, I can tell you that. I think we have a good car and we did a good job today, but that does not guarantee tomorrow’s race. It will be just as difficult as today. Cooler, absolutely. Hallelujah.

Q. (Question about pit crew.)

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Kyle Lapierre (phonetic), my left front, about died two days ago. He was mowing his lawn, got attacked by a hornets net. Was in the hospital 24 hours ago. Got released. I don’t know how he got here and pitted my car, but he did. That dude almost died 48 hours ago. He was ready to rock. Doesn’t care about 100-degree heat. You ask me about my pit crew: Kyle La peer, what a champion.

Q. (No microphone.)

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: He looked great. He pitted that car just fine. Write that. We should be singing Kyle Lapierre’s praises. They’re all excellent. Typically when I go into the pits, I know I’m either going to maintain or gain. That is an asset that you cannot — you can’t second-guess that. It’s certainly something that you – what’s the right word – you just can’t undervalue that. It is so critical to win these races in the pits. My team performs every time, as well as Will’s.

Like I was talking about with Ericsson, you don’t win these championships alone, you don’t perform the way he’s performed alone. You’re normally backed up by a great team. I’ve always had great confidence that we have the best team out there. It makes a big difference to win these places, absolutely.

Q. (No microphone.)

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I don’t know. We’ve got to come up with something for Kyle.

Q. (No microphone.)

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: He is the Hornet now from now on. That’s his nickname. I was blown away by the story. I showed up. Kyle is in the hospital, he almost died. What? He’s still coming, though, don’t worry. I was like, Why? Stay home. Love that guy.

Q. (No microphone.)

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yes, yes. It wasn’t like one. He got swarmed.

Q. (No microphone.)

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yeah, right? A.J. has almost died twice by killer bees.

THE MODERATOR: Among other things.

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yeah.

That was the last time they did that.

Q. (No microphone.)

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I think that was like their cousins.

THE MODERATOR: Cousins in Texas.

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Seeking revenge. We’ll finish you, A.J.

Q. How was traffic today? Seemed to be quite an issue.

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: How was the track?

THE MODERATOR: Traffic.

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: No, the traffic was I would say normal. It’s always tough around here in Iowa. You’ve got to be really good in and out of traffic. Today was the same thing. I saw more dropoff today, though, than perhaps 2020. Being a day race makes that very different.

But it’s the name of the game. Keeping after the tires and your adjustments to keep after the tires, being able to get through traffic, those are the two ingredients you need to win here at Iowa. It will be the same tomorrow. Even with cooler conditions, it will be the same deal.

Q. What about the momentum going into tomorrow? How excited are you for the race tomorrow?

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yeah, very excited. I mean, I love this place. I mean, not just because we’re good here. Obviously that makes it better, but it’s a really fun track to race at. You have two lanes to run on, sometimes three. That’s abnormal for us in a lot of ovals we go to. It’s the most exciting race we get to partake in in INDYCAR from an oval standpoint. Excited to have two of them.

Q. You sounded a little nervous over the radio when Pato was closing up to you. Did you think you had the tires to hold on?

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yeah, I was nervous with Pato there. I noticed him coming up. I thought I had a good gap on everybody about 30, 35 to go. Then I just noticed this McLaren coming on very strong in my mirrors. He snuck up on me at that point. That’s why I radioed in. Is this guy on our strategy? Is he on the same tires? Looked like he was on fresher tires when I was seeing him in the mirrors.

I was concerned at that point. I just tried to pick up my pace, make sure I could get through traffic a little bit quicker. Then we were fortunately able to sort of run away from him.

I don’t know if we can continue to do that tomorrow. He looked pretty good to me. So we’ve just got to really look at it tonight, see what we can improve on, see what the weather conditions do for us, make this thing a little bit better.

Q. (Question about points.)

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I approach every race the same. If there’s an opportunity to win, we’re going for the win. We’re trying to maximize our capabilities every weekend. When you’re doing that, you’re not aiming to make a mistake or put the car in a compromising position.

It’s the same every day. If we have an opportunity with a winning car to win the race, we’re going to go for that. If it’s not there, we aren’t forcing that. We need to maximize what the potential is.

Q. How did you manage to hold your nerve chased by everyone? What were the keys to defend your position?

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: It was very tough. I was quite surprised at how aggressive Will and Marcus were on the restarts. I just thought that was the wrong approach, quite honestly. Today was going to be a long game. You needed to be long on the tires, needed to be able to look after them. They were so aggressive on the restarts just to get track position. I think it ended up hurting them in the long run.

I just tried to stay in front. I tried to position myself where they would struggle to get by. Fortunately it was good enough today to manage them and hold them back.

Q. What do you think you can improve for tomorrow’s race?

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I think we could still make our balance better. I was up and down today. I made probably a bad adjustment in the middle of the race that we fortunately got back into the car, at least half of it. We can be better balance-wise across the stint.

It really is a balance of how you manage the tires. If you’re too aggressive on the restarts, you’re running too much front grip, you wear the rears out, and vice versa, if you’re not aggressive enough to keep the fronts working, then you just start plowing understeer. Either way you can really lose the car if you lose the front or rear aggressively with tire degradation.

Yeah, I think we can tune it up a little bit better. We just need to make the right calls for a cooler track temp, see what’s going to be right for those conditions versus today.

Q. You said on TV you were real motivated by not winning the pole. Is that really accurate?

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Unfortunately I get so annoyed these days when we miss it. I hate it. I hate losing. It’s not that I want to be a sore loser, but I’m so competitive that it is frustrating to me when we don’t execute perfectly.

It’s impossible to execute perfectly all the time. That’s the way my mind works, is that we should be able to do that. So I was very motivated to get the race win just because I knew we had a pole-capable car and we didn’t get that done. I wanted to at least finish off the race, which is the more important bit. But it’s also fun to win poles.

THE MODERATOR: There is another $10,000 for the People Ready.

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: They’re going to love that. Serious fun. Wags & Walks, they’re going to love that, absolutely.

THE MODERATOR: Congratulations, Josef Newgarden.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

ABOUT CHEVROLET:

Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, available in nearly 80 countries with nearly 2.7 million cars and trucks sold in 2021. Chevrolet models include electric and fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.