INDYCAR: Team Penske Prepared For Qualifying at Indianapolis
Josef Newgarden has been a title contender since the day he signed his contract with Team Penske. While the Tennessean has won two championships, his success at Indianapolis has yet to come. Newgarden is trying to make his 12th career Indy 500 start this month, and his 7th with Penske. He has an average finishing position of 14.2 in the race and has only led a total of 38 laps around the 2.5-mile oval.
The best performances for Newgarden at Indianapolis have not even come with Penske. His best career finish (3rd) and only front row start (2nd) both came while he was driving for Ed Carpenter Racing.
That may come as a surprise, considering the monumental success that Roger Penske's team has had at the speedway. The organization has won this iconic race 18 times. No other team has won here more than six times. Newgarden's absence from the spotlight at Indy is a reflection of the difficult times this team experienced in the last few years.
Ever since Roger Penske bought the speedway, his team has struggled here. After back-to-back victories in 2018 and 2019 with Will Power and Simon Pagenaud, the 2020 race without fans did not go well for The Captain. They struggled to find speed in qualifying, with none of their four cars qualifying inside the top 12. They finished 5th, 11th, 14th, and 22nd that year.
The 2021 race was more of the same, with Pagenaud being the only Penske driver that was relevant on race day. The other three cars finished 12th, 20th, and 30th respectively. Power struggled to even qualify for the race, and started on the last row as all four cars missed out on the top-nine once again. Last year the team was out to lunch again and ended up finishing 13th, 15th, and 29th.
The Penske organization failed to lead a lap in the 500 last year, and have only combined to lead a total of 19 (of 600) laps in the last three years here.
It has been a very strange stint for the team that once dominated this event. While some would like to link it to Roger taking over the series and the speedway, there is more to it than that. The biggest thing this series has hung their hat on is the competition level from top to bottom. Other circumstances can certainly come into play, but it is important to remember that Indy is its own animal.
The prime example was 28 years ago with this same team. After spanking the entire field with their top secret Ilmor engine in 1994, both Penske cars (Al Unser Jr and Emerson Fittipaldi) failed to qualify for the 1995 race. History won't repeat itself this year but the team is certainly in need of a turnaround.
Newgarden would seem to be the driver to make that happen. Looking at the series champions since 2000, the only drivers that have not won the Indy 500 are Newgarden and Alex Palou.
Newgarden is confident that things will be much better this time around. "I think Indy, there’s a lot of recipes that can work here, and I think our approach of trying to get the details right has always been true at this team. I don’t think we’re going to change that. This team knows how to win this race. They’ve won it more than anybody.”
“I think the core principles need to stay the same as always, but we know we need to elevate our game with regards to speed and we’ve been chipping away at it. There’s been a tremendous amount of effort from everybody. There’s no shortage of effort. We’re excited for this weekend. Hopefully we’re going to have enough, and then obviously the big show is next weekend, so let’s see where we land."
Last year was a sensational year for the Penske organization. They won more than half of the IndyCar races and Power broke the record for all-time poles on his way to a second championship. On the NASCAR side of things, they won the inaugural Clash at the Coliseum, the Daytona 500, the All-Star race, and Joey Logano also earned his second title.
That was the first time in history the same team won the IndyCar and NASCAR championships in the same season, yet the big empty hole in that accomplishment for Roger was their disappointing performance at Indianapolis.
The biggest race in the world takes place in his back yard, and while the 18 Indy 500 victories are a legendary accomplishment, Penske is only concerned with the present and the future. All three of his drivers are fully capable of winning this race. Whether or not that happens is anyone’s guess.
The track always picks the winner, even if it is owned by a motorsports icon.
