Josef Newgarden came into IndyCar’s Arlington GP weekend on a high, having won the previous round in Phoenix and sitting atop the points standings.
After two consecutive seasons that started poorly, and only got moderately better from there, the two-time champion was happy to be back on top of his game.
Newgarden could not quite get a handle of the new course, however, setting times in the middle of the pack in practice and switching to a backup car after a slow speed, yet damaging crash Saturday morning.
Sunday’s race did not improve his situation either, as he found trouble twice on the tight pit exit. One of the incidents caused him to spin out in Turn 3, which dropped him from 10th all the way down to 21st.
Newgarden worked his way up to 15th, but was disappointed his momentum from last week could not continue.
“Just a tough day,” said Newgarden after the race. “I’m really proud of the team. We had a hard-fought weekend. We had to rebuild a new PPG Chevy and sticking with it in the race and doing everything we can to maximize the day.
“Unfortunately, just had one too many things go sideways and only have P15 to show for it. Tough result, but I’m really proud of the team for working hard and trying to maximize what was in our control.
“We’ll just have to leave and study today and the performance loss that we’re seeing and try and make for the future.”
Newgarden now sits third in the points, just behind Alex Palou and 33 points adrift of Kyle Kirkwood who gained a lot of ground by winning the inaugural event.
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