News

Sonsio Grand Prix
Indianapolis, IN - May 11, 2024

JOSEF NEWGARDEN No. 2 SNAP-ON CHEVROLET

START: 4TH  
FINISH: 18TH  
POINTS: 17TH (-92)
 

RACE RUNDOWN: Josef Newgarden and the No. 2 Snap-on Chevrolet team lacked their normal race pace in Saturday's Sonsio Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course, ultimately finishing in the 18th position. A strong showing in Saturday's qualifying session led to a fourth place starting spot for the 85-lap event, but that almost came undone on the first corner of the race as several of the leaders came together. Fortunately, everyone kept their wheels straight and Newgarden only dropped one position. The team's first trip to pit lane came on Lap 19 where they decided to go with the Firestone primary tire. The handling on the No. 2 Chevy did not respond well to the harder compound during the second stint in which Newgarden dropped back to the 12th position before he was called down pit road again to revert back to the Firestone alternate tire that he used to start the race. After settling into the 15th position with the handling of his Chevy still not up to par, Newgarden and the No. 18 of Jack Harvey made contact on the frontstretch with 16 laps remaining. The incident left the reigning Indianapolis 500 champion with a damaged front wing, but he chose to use his cockpit tools to adjust for the damage, making it to the finish line instead of giving up more track position to come in for repairs. 

NEWGARDEN'S THOUGHTS: "Tough day for the Snap-on Chevy team. We just didn't have the pace today and we were particularly off on the primary tires. Definitely need to do a deep dive and see where we missed it, but I'm excited to get onto the oval next week. The confidence is high with this team and with Chevy power we know we'll be in the game for the (Indianapolis) 500."

SCOTT MCLAUGHLIN No. 3 SONSIO CHEVROLET

START: 13TH  
FINISH: 6TH 
POINTS: 6TH (-64)
 

RACE RUNDOWN: Scott McLaughlin and the No. 3 Sonsio Chevrolet team rallied from an incident on the opening lap of Saturday's Sonsio Grand Prix on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course to finish in the sixth position. During a very close time trial session on Friday afternoon, McLaughlin narrowly missed out on making the second round of qualifying by .005 seconds. The most-recent NTT INDYCAR SERIES race winner at Barber Motorsports Park, McLaughlin started the 85-lap event from the 13th position. On a chaotic, opening lap, McLaughlin was sandwiched between two competitors upon entry into the first corner. After almost coming to a complete stop, McLaughlin rejoined the action in 20th place. From that point, a determined McLaughlin used the speed in his No. 3 Chevy - along with a timely caution on Lap 66 - to cross the finish line in the sixth position and continue his climb back into championship contention.

MCLAUGHLIN'S THOUGHTS: "It was a tough afternoon for the Sonsio Chevy team. The race started pretty bleak for us with all of the contact on the start. That really put us behind from the get-go, but we were able to rally well for a sixth-place finish after dropping down to 20th or so. A finish like that really shows the tenacity of the team. No one gave up and I'm very proud of them."

WILL POWER No. 12 VERIZON CHEVROLET

START: 3RD 
FINISH: 2ND 
POINTS: 2ND (-12)
 

RACE RUNDOWN: Will Power, driver of the No. 12 Verizon Chevrolet, finished second for the third consecutive NTT INDYCAR Series race this season at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course to kick off the month of May. Power started third and made it clean through the challenging turn 1 section as the early part of the 85-lap race unfolded. Prior to his first pit stop, Power would call for a slight wing adjustment on the Verizon Chevrolet. He would pit on Lap 18 for sticker alternate tires. Power would utilize his-up-to-temperature alternate tires to pass Alex Palou to move up to second with the undercut. Power, Palou and Christian Lundgaard would continue to trade positions throughout the final cycle of stops. Strong service by the No. 12 crew got Power in front of Lundgaard. A late caution set up a shootout to the finish. Try as he might Power would come in second spot at the race's end.

POWER'S THOUGHTS: "This is what was available today. Yes, you do get sick of finishing second. You're just racing very tough people. If you're not exactly perfect, you won't win. I wasn't exactly perfect in qualifying, and I didn't win. I think if we had gone longer on that second stint, it would've kept (Alex) Palou behind us. He wouldn't have been able to use his speed. Then, maybe we jump (Christian) Lundgaard on the pit stop. I mean, I don't know. We thought that was the best option at the time. I thought that too. I thought the undercut would be good. It was slightly cold today, so the overcut wasn't bad. All you can do is your best. I'm driving really well, and my crew is the best on pit lane. We're the quickest guys on pit lane, so every time the Verizon Chevy stopped, we had a good shot at jumping someone. That's actually what happened to get second. I'm looking forward to the (Indianapolis) 500. Chevy has done a very job, and the whole team has done a really good job on everything. We have a good shot at fighting for a pole, and it's been a long time since we've fought for pole, and fight for a win."

The NTT INDYCAR SERIES moves to the famed 2.5-mile oval for PPG Armed Forces Qualifying weekend. Coverage begins Saturday, May 18 at 11:00 am ET on Peacock and concludes Sunday May 19 on NBC at 3:00 pm ET.