Josef Newgarden: “Indianapolis is the main objective”

Leader of the general ranking of IndyCar Series during almost the entire season, with an early victory in the streets of St Petersburg, Florida, Joseph Newgarden quite logically won its second title in three years last Sunday after the final at Laguna Seca in California.

The American from Team Penske thus concludes a season marked by four victories (best total) and 14 top 10s, representing impressive consistency and a sign of a champion's journey. At the heart of this controlled campaign, only fourth place at the Indianapolis 500 could appear as a “regret” for Newgarden.

But no one seemed to be able to stop simon pagenaud to put his name on the legendary event, as the Frenchman proved himself untouchable throughout the month of May, both on the road race and the oval.

A performance that Newgarden aims to imitate in 2020, the 28-year-old driver having already announced the color. « Indianapolis is the major objective, admits Newgarden in an interview conducted yesterday.

I highlight it every year, but I'll probably highlight it three times in that time. I'm going to put a lot of resources into figuring out how to win the Indianapolis 500. This is still a box to check.

But you can't force it. There are a lot of talented guys who have never won this race and have led a lot of laps there. Michael Andretti is probably most famous for this.

He led a ton of laps and probably should have won the race, but he never did. This is a place I really want to understand. And then other than that, it's kind of a normal thought process.

You want to win everywhere you haven't yet and continue to win in the places you already have. We will seek to succeed everywhere. »

Room for improvement

With this in mind to continue an impressive momentum for Team Penske, which has won four driver titles in six years, (beaten only by Scott Dixon (Chip Ganassi Racing) in 2015 and 2018), Newgarden has identified certain areas of possible progression for American training.

“We made a big step forward on city racing overall this year and that was probably our biggest step forward, analyzes the reigning champion. I think we need a little more work on the road courses. »

Josef Newgarden will be demonstrating his DW12 – Chevrolet on the “Roval” in Charlotte (North Carolina), on the sidelines of the Chase round in Nascar, as part of an operation organized by sponsor Shell. A run in which Joey Logano, a resident of Team Penske and supported by the oilman in the Nascar Cup Series, will also participate.

Discover the full report of the IndyCar Series final contested at Laguna Seca, produced by our special correspondent in California, in AUTO issue 2235hebdo, available now in digital version and on newsstands.