Josef Newgarden took his third win of the 2022 season on Sunday at the Elkhart Lake GP, and declared his love for the unpredictability of the category
Josef Newgarden took his third victory of the 2022 season on Sunday (12) at Road America. Starting second, the Penske driver overtook Alexander Rossi in the pits and survived two late restarts to win the GP at Elkhart Lake. After missing out on a win due to an engine problem with two laps to go at the same circuit last year, Newgarden said he was fully focused on not letting the win slip away again.
"I just tried to stay focused on what I needed to do. It's been an incredible job by all the Penske guys and Chevrolet, who are killing it with this engine, so I'm very proud to be here," said the two-time Indy champion after the race.
After triumphing at the Texas oval and on the streets of Long Beach, Josef has now won on all kinds of tracks with Sunday's victory on the Road America circuit. The American received a prize of US$1 million for the achievement, and revealed that he intends to donate a good part of the money.
"I keep forgetting this, but the most important thing is to give this money to charity, half of this money is going to charity. I hope they are happy, it's a lot of money for them!" said Newgarden.
This was the second consecutive race in which the American started on the front row. But last weekend in Detroit, Josef chose the wrong strategy and finished only fourth. This time, the tactic worked, and the Penske driver had his love for Indy and its unpredictability renewed with the victory.
"That's what makes Indy so difficult, it's impossible to predict what's going to happen. I thought we had everything under control in Detroit, that it would be easy starting on the front row, and it was totally the opposite of what we predicted. That's what makes this category so difficult, but also what makes it so much fun," explained the Elkhart Lake GP winner.
"You always have to give it your all, put a plan together, even though 90% of the time you have to change it as the race goes on. To be able to win on all those kinds of circuits is amazing, and for me this is the best class in the world, I love Indy!
With the victory, Newgarden took over third place in the IndyCar Series standings with 261 points, 32 behind leader Marcus Ericsson. The series returns on July 3, for the Mid-Ohio GP.