Tag: Josef Newgarden

Indy 500 Winner Newgarden Unveils Image on Borg-Warner Trophy

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From Indycar. I will have a follow up story with more photos later this morning.

 INDIANAPOLIS (Friday, Dec. 15, 2023) – 2023 Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge winner Josef Newgarden unveiled his likeness on the Borg-Warner Trophy on Dec. 15 in Indianapolis, one of the most significant honors since he won his first Indy 500 on May 28 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Newgarden, a native of Nashville, Tennessee, earned his first victory in “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” in the No. 2 Shell Powering Progress Team Penske Chevrolet. This was the 19th Indy 500 victory for Team Penske.
The unveiling ceremony took place at the Stutz Museum. Located in downtown Indianapolis, the Stutz Museum is a boutique car museum showcasing rare classic cars alongside Indianapolis automotive history.
The bas-relief, sterling silver image of Newgarden is the 110th face to be affixed to the iconic trophy, awarded annually to the winner of the Indianapolis 500 since 1936.
“It’s a tremendous honor to even compete in the Indy 500,” Newgarden said.
“Having my face added to the Borg-Warner Trophy is one of the coolest parts about winning the race. I already had a lot of respect for the trophy, but learning about the process and how detailed it is, it’s incredible what (sculptor) Will Behrends does each year.
“Finally seeing the finished product is very special. I thought I knew what it would be like to win the ‘500,’ but there’s a deeper appreciation than you can imagine.”
Renowned sculptor Behrends created Newgarden’s image, as he has for every winner since 1990.Behrends begins his creative process by studying a series of 360-degree photos of the winner to get a baseline for sculpting. 
Newgarden then visited Behrends’ studio in Tryon, North Carolina, for an in-person session where Behrends constructs a full-scale clay model of the driver’s face.
This life-size clay version is used as reference for Behrends to construct the smaller model, a piece created out of a mixture of oil-based clay. The smaller clay model is turned into a mold and cast in wax before being sent to a jeweler to be transformed into sterling silver. Behrends completes his process by polishing and buffing the sculpture before adhering it to the trophy.
“It is my absolute honor, on behalf of BorgWarner, to unveil Josef’s image on the iconic Borg-Warner Trophy today,” said Michelle Collins, global director of marketing and public relations, BorgWarner.
“This solidifies Josef’s place in history as one of the few who have conquered the tremendous feat of winning the Indianapolis 500. We extend our congratulations to Josef and Team Penske and also our thanks to our sculptor Will Behrends, who makes this all a reality.”
Originally designed in 1935, the sterling silver trophy measures over 5 feet, 4-3/4 inches tall and weighs more than 110 pounds as it carries the sculpted face of every victor since 1911.
Early next year, Newgarden will receive his BorgWarner Championships Driver’s Trophy, also known as the “Baby Borg,” a miniature replica of the large-scale Borg-Warner Trophy.
Tickets for the 108th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge and all Month of May events at Indianapolis Motor Speedway are on sale at IMS.com. 

A Few Positive Notes

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After a very rough week of bad new, there are some positive Indycar stories toshare.

Callum Ilott will drive in the WEC series in2024 for Team JOTA. The team has a sponsorship deal with former NFL quarterback Tom Brady and Hertz. Ilott will still be available to drive in the Indianapolis 500 and possibly some other Indycar events.

There will be a second season of100 Days to Indy, which will have the same production crew as in 2023. The first season of the mini documentary will also be released internationally. I hope the new season focuses on some different drivers so viewers can get a taste of al the personalities in the series.

I think the series also needs a 100 Days After Indy series. to teach the populace that the year doesn’t end with the 500.

DHL’s move to Ganassi keeps a long running sponsor in the series. It would not feel right not seeing that yellow and red car on track. I wonder how many races it will take for me to realize it’s the 10, not the 28, and that Alex Palou, not Romain Grosjean or Ryan Hunter-Reay is driving.

This afternoon the series announced that Ilmor will service the ERS units when they come on board later in the season. The units will be leased similar to the engines but will have a 5,000 mile limit. Each car would need two per full season. Nothing was mentioned about penalties should a team need a third unit. I don’t think there will be one, since they are all the same.

Friday evening at 5 pm the Borg Warner trophy’s newest image will be unveiled in a ceremony at the Stutz building in downtown Indianapolis. 023 500 winner Josef Newgarden will get his first look at his face on the trophy. Fans can watch the unveil live on the IMS YouTube Channel.

Newgarden Leads Practice

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If it’s World Wide Technology Raceway, Josef Newgarden is out front. The Team Penske driver led the delayed practice session this evening as drivers pre[ared for tomorrow’s Bommarito Automotive Group 500.

The one hour practice ran clean until about five minutes remained. Scott McLaughlin spun on the pit exit lane in turn two. Will power went high to avoid him, hit the wall, and collided with Marcus Ericsson. Ericsson will be going to a back up car.

Tomorrow’s schedule has changed because of today’s rain.

Here is Sunday’s schedule, which I will post again in the morning.

All times are Central

9 am Silver Crown Practice

10 am Indycar qualifying

2:35 pm Bommarito Automotive Group 500 (260 laps)

6 pm Silver Crown race (100 laps)

Results

Iowa Race 2- Quick Thoughts

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Josef Newgarden is the Indycar Ovalmeister with his fifth straight oval win. Newgarden has won seven of the last nine Indycar oval races, and he was one suspension failure away from winninf eightn of nine. The finalovalof 2023 comes at gateway in about a month. He is defintiely the favorite going into that race as well.

A;ex Palou managed to put some salve on the bleeding ofm his point lead. His thrid place finish today cuts his lead to 80 points as the series heads to tracks more to his liking at Nashville and the IMS road course. Palou tied his worst finish of the year yesterday finishing eighth.

Today’s race was a much better show than we saw yesterday. There were battles all through the field, with teamates going after each other, and several different challengers for the lead. The teams had he opportubnity overnight to put their cars in race trim, which helped the racing a lot. Iowa should move qualifying to Friday to make Saturday’s race better. And to make both races better, run them at night.

Race Control

I am most confused by calls from race control today. Sting Ray Robb exited the pits with an unsecured tire, which rolled onto the track at pit exit. It seemed that there was no immediate yellow. Several cars, including Newgarden, dodged the errant tire.

The stewards also looked inconsistent on wall contact. Agustin canapinombrushed the wall and brought out the first yellow of the day. later, takuma sato had wall contact, and no caution was thrown. With 12 laps to go, Ryan hunter-reay’s wall contact brough out a yellow, which led to more confusion,.

Race control decided not to open the pits except to let the lapped cars drive through. I admire their effort to finish under green, but this is not how they handled a similar late caution period at Indianapolis. The decision cost some cars the opportunity to get fresh tires for the final few laps. We have seen that move pay dividends at Iowa in the past.

In 2018 at Iowa, a crash late in the race left a green flag finish in doubt. rave vontrol told the teams that they would go back to green. several cars pitted for new rubber. The race finished under yellow, costing those that pitted several positions.

I felt a red was called for given race control’s previous actions at other places.

I have little argument with whatever calls they make as long they are consistent. I may not always agree with the call, but if the stewards are consistent, I’m fine with what they do.

Great Drives

Felix Rosenqvist finished fourth after starting 16th, but he was the last serious challenger to Josef Newgarden just before the last caution. His finish, paired with Pato O’Ward’s third place on Saturday, gave Arrow McLaren two top five finishes for the weekend.

Alex Palou had his best Iowa finish in third. Palou started 12th, and languished n the bottom half of the top 10 or just outside of it most of the day. Palou went a lap down a couple of times, but still managed to end up on the podium. Tesults like today are the kind that win titles.

The Points Battle

A weekend that could have seen Palou’s mhuge lead in the championship demolished turned out to be not so bad. He entered the weekend 117 points ahead of second place. Palou heads to the next race with an 80 point lead. He lost just one third of his lead.

The remaining schedule favors Palou. With just one oval left in 2023, Palou has the edge in tracks where he is stronger than Newgarden. I think Palou will still win the title.

Thanks for following along this weekend. I will be ay IMS this coming Friday and saturday for the IMSA test. I am excited for the sports var series tocome to the Speedway.

Quick Thoughts- Qualifying and Race 1

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First- Will Power. Not much more to say about his prowess as a qualifier. He swept the poles today for the second year in a row. 70 career poles is a record that may never be touched. Each year it seems to take Power longer to win his first pole of the season. In 2022 he won just three poles- two at iowa and at Laguna Seca.

The Race

Today was the first time I have watched a race from Iowa on television in eight years. It is definitely a better race to watch at the track. I found today’s race a bit of a snoozer. The Penske domination was fascinating but Newgarden even made a sham of the competiton between the three drivers.

At home I missed a lot of the crazy action that happens all around the track every lap. NBC having comnmercial breaks every four laps or so did not help. They also lost a lot of laps coming back from breaks as they felt a need to show the countryside around the track. Yes, it is beautiful. Keep those shots in prerace.

I will give Josef Newgarden his due. he owns this track. Heck, he owns oval racing. Only three other drivers have won four ovals in a row, and they are legndary ones- A. J. Foyt, Al Unser, and Nigel Mansell. That is aver nice club to a part of.

Alex Palou did not get hurt too badly today. His eighth place finish cot him 19 points of his lead. I’m not sure that he will get any of the points back tomorrow, but if he keeps the lead in the 90s, he will be fine.

If Pato O’Ward’s crew can figure out how to get his car to pass someone, he might have a chance tomorrow. Tomorrow and at gateway are his last two best hots at winning this year.

Chip Ganassi Racing again placed all four drivers in the top 10. Marcus Ericsson was fourth, Scott Dixon sixth Alex Palou eighth, and Takuma Sato ninth. Ericsson had one of the best drives of the race.

Tomorrow’s starting lineup should make for a more interesting race with Newgarden starting seventh and O’Ward lining up 11th. The cars will be in race trim tomorrow as well.

Thanks for following along today. See you tomorrow.

Nothing New at Iowa-Newgarden Leads Practice

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If Indycar is at Iowa.Josef Newgarden will be at the head of the field. Newgarden jumped into the lead with the quick lap on his fourth trip around the 7.8 mile oval and was never beaten. His teammate, Scott Mclaughlin, had tyhe second fastest lap late in the session, but for the most part, times didn’t improve much for most of the field.

There were two cautions during the practice session. Agustin canapino spun exiting the pits with 44 minutes left. Later, Santino Ferrucci slowed on track after going high.

Ryan Hunter-Reay, who has won this event three times, was eighth for Ed Carpenter Racing. Conor Daly, filling in for Simon Pagenaud, was ninth fastest.

Points leader Alex Palou finished 15th, while the other Ganassi entries all were in the top 10. Marcus Ericsson was third, Takuma Sato was sixth, and Scott Dixon was 10th.

The 28 car field turned a total of 2,766 laps. Next up is qualifying tomorrow morning at 9:30 Eatern time.

Results

Joyous Victory Celebration Caps Outstanding May

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The 500 Victory Celebration can at times be a bit of a stuffy low key affair, but last night’s banquet was ajoyous, lfun filled program. The mood was ectremely light hearted as anorther May in indianapolis came to close.

I don’t know if the 1,000 plus fans in attendance was a record for this event, but it was definitely a larger crowd than the previous two banquets.

As usual, Conor Daly was the star of the show. he always livens up the program when it’s his turn to come to the podium. Last night’s gem- Newgarden will not only have his face on the Borg Warner trophy but also his abs.

Pato offered fashion advice

Pato O’Ward and Lindsey Czarniak had a humorous discussion about Pato’s clothing choices. Lindsay dismissed him when he asked if she liked his shoes.

The emotional tribute to Tony Kanaan was a fitting send off toone of the most popular drivers IMS has seen. After his lettr to fans clip which was shown on the video boards Sundy played, Kanaan received a standing ovation usually reserved for the race winner. Helio Castroneves, Kanaan’s lifelong friend, joined the dais and the two reminisced for a bit.

Kanaan tried to get Helio to promise to stop dying his hair since Tony is done racing. The secret is out.

Josef Newgarden’s speech as full of humility and gratitude for the sacrifices his parents made to launch his racing career. Winning has opened a new side of Newgarden i hadn’t seen before. Like Will Power after his 2018 win, he seems less wound tight, and more at ease.

In May, 2021, I wrote a post wondering ahere the buzz around the 500 had gone. It was the first year after the pandemic, but the whole seemed to run in a rather perfunctory manner. This May, i felt that buzz and excitement from the start of practice for the GMR Grand Prix all the way through last evening. I athink track attendance was a reflection of that. This year felt a lot like the 70s and 80s.

The payout of the record $17 million purse:

Indianapolis 500 Wrap Up

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Indycar photo by James Black

I stated my thoughts yesterday on the finish, and I will just say the series is walking a very fine line between racing and entertainment. I hope in the future they decide to lean more toward the racing. It is entertaining enough. Let’s wrap up what has been one of the best overall Mays in a long time.

The Last Brazilian

Tony Kanaan’s final race did not have the outcomehe or his many fans hoped for. iy was evident eartly that he would struggle for a good result. Kanaan provided a highlight when he went into the grass to make a pass late in the race.

Kanaan summed up his day.

“I think I would do a disgrace to almost 400,000 people that
were there that made me feel the way they did to say I’m
sad. I had a laugh. Helio and I battling for 15th and 16th
on the last lap like we’re going for the lead. It was like,
who’s playing pranks with us.
We both went side by side on the backstretch after the
checker and we saluted with each other, and I just told him
actually I dropped a tear because of that, and he said, I
did, too.
It was a good day for me, man. What can I say? We cried
on the grid.
Yeah, not the result that we wanted. I went really
aggressive on the downforce to start the race. It was
wrong. Then I added downforce towards the end of the
race and it was wrong. So it was just one of those days.”

With Kanaan gone, Helio Castroneves is the last Brazilain driver in the series, which at one had almost a third of the grid representing the Sout American nation. Castroneves is 48 years old. he may e a 500 only driver next year, but fior how many years will he be here?

Rough Day for Rookies

Benjamin pederesen wasthe highest finishing rookie in 21st, taken out in a front stretch crashon the lap 196 restart. None of the rookies were running ay yjr finish. Pedersen will likely win Rookie of the Year tonigh.

R C Enerson finsihed 32nd with mechanical problems. Abel Motorsports can’t be too disappointed. It was a hug accomplishment to qualify as solidly as they did. The race was abonus for this very young program. I hope they come back nexrt year.

Agustin Canapinio ran a good race which unfortuntely ended in a collision with Pato O’Ward. he was headed for a very good result. I am impressed by how quickly Canapinoi has adapted to Indycar.

Sring Ray Robb got caught up in the marbles on lap 90, ausig the first yellow.Robb is still learning Indycar, and I hope he can turn things around in the second half of the season.

Rahal’s Forgettable May

Graham Rahal failed to qualify for the race. he got a reprieve when Dreyer &Reinbold and Cusick Motorsports asked him to sub for the injured Stefan Wilson. Rhahl’s miserable month got een worse when his car wouldn’t and had to be wheeled to his pit to change the battery. Rahal started the race two laps down and never caught up.

The entire rahal team didn’t fare much better. jack Harvey in 18th was their best result.

The Race

The ending aside, I thought this was one of the best 500s I’ve seen. I have been to a few of them. Once again, I did not see the 1911 race,-thanks for asking. Yesterday was fascinating for the great racing early and the strategy discussion I had with my friends in the stands. I loved how the first two yellows changed the pit strategy for some teams.

I agree with what winner Josef Newgarden said in his press confer3nce last night that the cars should be mnore difficult to drive, and then leader should nor be a sitting duck on restarts..

How to Celebrate a 500 Victory

Newgarden did it right. His post race celebration of unbridled joy was how winning the 500 should be handled. Yes the there are traditions, but they can wait. Indycar needs to allow the drivers to have a few moments of spontaneous exuberance after a win. We need more of this at every race rather thanhaving the driver sit inhis car until a television producer gives the okay to get out.

Pato

What does Pato O’Ward have to do to win an oval rtace? Stymied by a yellow flag in texas, only to be foiled by red flags ijn the 500. O’Ward had the strategy figured out, and if the race had not been halted, he would be the winner.

I hope he sweeps Iowa and wins Gateway. It has to be frustrating for him. O’Ward could potentially have had his third win of the season Sunday.

I have yet to watch the replay and I ight have some comments on that later this week. I’m off to the Victory Celebration in a bit, then we look to Detroit.

hank you for followingduring May. It wa sone of the best Mays I remmebr.

Quick Thoughts-107th Indianapolis 500

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I tweeted the following after the final red flag. I still stand by it.

Indycar is trying too hard to finish this race under green under 10 laps to go istoo late just to get a green finish.

If the track were blocked, if the SAFER barrier were damaged, if there is a weather situation, then yes, a red flag is warranted. But to stop the race just to have a green flag finish just isn’t right.

Yellows breed yellows, but wethe series doesn’t need to be at the point where reds breed reds. End of rant

Other than That..

This was a terrific race. The first 90 laps were green with very good racing. Fifty two lead changes is a huge number for the 500. There was passing throughout the field. The second cautionn on lap 150 caused some teams to rethink strategy. Pato o’Ward tried to pit ahead of everyone else. It might have worked had there not been another caution.

O’Ward once again became his own worst enemy with his inside pass attempt, I thought Pato was a bit slow on the restart, thus putting himself in that position.

As is typical in a 500 mile race, early contenders fallmout of contention. Alex Palou and Rinus VeeKay looked like the two strongest cars early. VeeKay made contact with Palou inn the pits, ending both their chances for the win. Palou did come back to finish fourth and retain the championship lead. VeeKay came back from the penalty to finish 10th.

jJosef Newgarden ran a very smart, steady race. He deserved the win, but would he have won with out the two red flags?As drivers often say, it is what it is.

Slaying the Dragon

It’s time for Indycar to ban the dragon move that the leaders late in the race have used the last few years. One day the leader will hit hte pit wall and possiblyn take out some cars behind him.

I would prefer to see a straight fight for the lead. i remember when drivers used to just mnake their cars a bit wider on the track.

Tether Flaw?

The accident involving Felidx Rosenqvist and Kyle Kirkwood may have exposed a flaw in the wheel tether system. I have never seen a tire sail like that since the tehers were intorduced.

Fortunately, the wheel landed in the space between the Riley suites and the grandstand and no one was injured.

I’m sure there will be an investigation and a modicfication of the sysstem.

I will have a complete race wrap up sometime tomorrow. Thanks for following this month.