March 29, 2024

Newgarden claims first IndyCar win close to home

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Josef Newgarden’s wait is over. To his relief, so is the race.

The 24-year-old Tennessean held off a hard-charging Graham Rahal on Sunday in the Indy Grand Prix of Alabama for his first IndyCar Series victory.

Things started going right on the opening lap, in fact, when he moved all the way from fifth to second behind pole-sitter Helio Castroneves.

Newgarden led 46 of the 90 laps. He got his milestone win at Barber Motorsports Park a few hours from his hometown of Hendersonville, Tennessee, with most of the major drama coming behind him.

It was his first chance to celebrate a win since Indy Lights in 2011

Newgarden had posted second-place finishes in each of the past two years before finally finishing up front for CFH Racing, a merger of Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing and Ed Carpenter Racing. He’d been off to a good start, including a seventh-place finish last weekend at Long Beach, before finally snaring a victory.

Rahal slipped past Scott Dixon on the final lap after several tries, giving the American drivers a 1-2 finish.

Dixon had his sixth podium finish in as many years in Alabama at No. 3. He picked up the 36th win of his career at Long Beach, moving into sole possession of fifth place in the series. He still couldn’t quite break through in Alabama, saying it was about tire management not fuel.

The clean-cut Newgarden then had a reason to celebrate with a bit of bubbly, whether he wanted it or not.