Josef Newgarden Wins Phoenix Grand Prix

Article by Jeff Demers, Heroes Media Group, April 8th, 2018

Josef Newgarden wins the Phoenix Grand Prix at ISM Raceway. He was followed by Robert Wickens (far left) and Alexander Rossi (far right). Photo by Jeff Demers for Heroes Media Group.

In the final race of the “old” ISM Raceway (formerly Phoenix International Raceway), Josef Newgarden would take home the victory in the Phoenix Grand Prix!  Newgarden would take his strong qualification, and turn it into his first win of the season.  He initially qualified 7th, and remained in the top-10 for the majority of the race, including during his pit stops.

Josef Newgarden would lead 30 laps of the 250-lap Phoenix Grand Prix.  He would finish just seconds ahead of Robert Wickens, and third-place finisher, Alexander Rossi.  Wickens actually led 40 laps of the race, while Rossi would lead a single lap due to staying out longer during the pit rotation toward the end of the race.  Rossi also overcame a pit-road penalty in the final laps to move all the way back up to finish in the top three.  Without the penalty, Rossi would have undoubtedly gave Newgarden a bit more competition for the win.

Josef Newgarden also gave Chevrolet their first win of the season after Sebastien Bourdais gave Honda the first victory of the season in March at the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.

Josef Newgarden is off to a very strong start to the season after finishing 7th in St. Petersburg.  He now leads the standings with 77 points, five ahead of Rossi, followed by Bourdais, Rahal, and Ryan Hunter-Reay (to round out the top five).

The next race for the IndyCar Series is this coming weekend, April 15th, at the Grand Prix of Long Beach.  The next race at ISM Raceway, correction: the NEW ISM RACEWAY, will be during Veterans Day weekend as the track does a grand RE-OPENING with a complete re-design of the track, which includes moving the start-finish line to just before the dog-leg (formerly turn 2).  The new seats are already being put in as there will no longer be benches, but seats with cup holders and wi-fi for a better fan experience.  That’s just a taste of the new track as you can go to the link below to check out everything the the NEW ISM RACEWAY will have for fans.  It should turn out to be one of the best fan experiences in all of NASCAR and racing as a whole.  Check out all the upcoming upgrades here:

http://www.ismraceway.com/Raceday-Extras/Fan-Zone.aspx

SIDE NOTE: We always want to give a shout out to drivers who partner with military-affiliated organizations.  And in the Phoenix Grand Prix, the third-placed finisher, Alexander Rossi, teamed up with Military To Motorsports.

Military to Motorsports provides the most qualified United States Armed Forces veterans with the opportunity to earn a role working at Andretti Autosport.

You can learn more about Military to Motorsports by going to the following link:

http://www.militarytomotorsports.com