Josef Newgarden gives an important answer in the IndyCar Series title fight and shows that he is one of the most complete drivers in the competition. Marcus Ericsson also takes advantage
Josef Newgarden has won on oval tracks, on street circuits, and on racetracks. His triumphs in three different venues in Indy earned him a US$ 1 million prize, but also gives the two-time champion an important position: he is the most complete driver in contention for the Indy title. He may not be perfect, and he may very well not be able to win the Astor Cup at the end of the year, but he is the most complete.
At Elkhart Lake, he started second and was patient. He stayed the whole first stint behind Alexander Rossi, and if Penske was wrong in its strategy for Josef in Detroit, the scenario at Road America was different. He got the pit-stop window right, not only got out ahead of his rival, but was able to open comfortable margins to win.
"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 winner of the Elkhart Lake GP.
Newgarden impresses with the way he can climb the field when needed, just as he can hold off the momentum of his opponents once he's in front. He already has 23 wins at Indy, and the one at Elkhart Lake comes at a very important moment. Apart from the wins, Josef has suffered from regularity in 2022, which is precisely why he is behind Marcus Ericsson and Will Power in the standings.
And in the championship lead, Marcus Ericsson resurfaces. The second place in Elkhart Lake came in a heroic way, overtaking Alexander Rossi in the last restart even with little push-to-pass available. Just like Palou in 2021, the Swede will take advantage of the good points earned in the Indianapolis 500 to start a strong sequence. If he continues with strong rounds like this weekend's, he will remain in this fight until the end.
And in the title race, complete damage to the trio Will Power, Álex Palou and Pato O'Ward. The Penske Aussie paid the price for a bad qualifying and was hit by the weak Devlin DeFrancesco in the opening laps of the race. There was little he could do after that, and in a scenario very similar to 2018, when he was the Indy leader after Detroit and was taken out of the Texas GP by Zachary Claman de Melo.
Palou, who has yet to win in 2022, made a rare mistake early in the opening laps. He forced contact with teammate Ericsson unnecessarily and came out foaming at the microphones. Even as one of the most regular drivers in Indy, he needs to give an important answer if he still wants to win the championship for the second time.
O'Ward, on the other hand, had a lackluster day and lost many points due to reliability problems at the end of the race. The Mexican driver needs to be at the front more often if he wants to repeat the 2021 scenario and arrive in September fighting for the title.
After a long marathon, Indy takes a breather and breaks for two weeks. The next appointment will be at Mid-Ohio, a technical track where classification and strategy gain immense values, and the final half of the championship finally begins.