Double NTT IndyCar Series Champion Josef Newgarden detailed how losing out on the 2019 title would have been a "tough pill to swallow" given the level of teamwork involved.
Newgarden claimed his second title in three seasons in last weekend's double points finale at the WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, beating out Alexander Rossi and team-mate Simon Pagenaud.
Having led the championship after all but one of the 17 races, Newgarden believes the "phenomenal" hard work of the Team Penske crew was at the root of his consistency over the course of his title-winning season.
Given the effort put in by him and the team, not winning the championship would have been hard to take given the efforts put into the campaign.
"We went into the finale with a goal of winning as a team, however that was going to shake out," said Newgarden.
"The most important thing was bringing the championship to Team Penske.
"I'm of course very, very happy that it worked out specifically for us on the #2 car.
"But it was a team effort, as it always is, and I felt like this year has been a great validation for me personally in my career, but also I'm very thrilled for our group that we were able to win the championship just because I felt like our guys have done such a phenomenal job and really put together what was a championship-calibre year.
"If we weren't able to achieve that, I think it would have been a tough pill to swallow to not conclude the year with what I thought was everything it took to win a championship."
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