Josef Newgarden has praised the varying strategies used during the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, stating that the mixed up nature of the race made it much more fun than last year’s event.
This year the race was extended by five laps in a bid to make drivers opt for different strategies from one another, after last season’s event went caution-free for only the fourth time in history with practically the entire field on identical strategies.
Eventual race winner James Hinchcliffe completed a two-stop strategy along with Ryan Hunter-Reay, while initial race leader Scott Dixon and Newgarden committed to three-stop strategies which ultimately failed to pay off.
However, Newgarden thoroughly enjoyed the 85-lap race and still managed to reach the chequered flag in third position, only just behind championship leader and St. Petersburg race winner Sebastien Bourdais.
"I think it got a lot more mixed up with the strategy,” enthused Newgarden, who has moved to Penske for 2017.
“Dixon and me were on something different than the front guys.
“I thought that added a dynamic that was more fun than last year.
“Everyone was on the same strategy last year, which let the race play out to not much action, unfortunately.
“This year was a lot more mixed up. I did way more passing than I've done in the past couple years.
“I thought it was an exciting race.
“For us on Team Penske, it was a good day. We had a strong car underneath us all day.
“Our strategy didn't play out with that last yellow. It just allowed everyone to catch up on fuel a little bit.
“We were on the same strategy at the end fuel-wise.
“Our strategy of trying to run those guys down at the end and be fast wasn't really able to play out, which is unfortunate, but that's how racing goes.
“You have to choose one strategy and hope it plays out for you.”
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