CHEVROLET RACING IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES
STREETS OF ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA
TEAM CHEVY WINNER QUOTE – JOSEF NEWGARDEN
MARCH 10, 2019
JOSEF NEWGARDEN, NO. 2 HITACHI TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET – Race Winner
WHAT A BIG WIN FOR YOU AND TEAM PENSKE. YOU START 2019 THE RIGHT WAY HERE IN VICTORY LANE AT ST. PETE. TALK ABOUT HOW YOU AND TIM CINDRIC FLIP THE TRACK POSITION AND ALSO HOW KEY WAS THAT RUN ON THE REDS TO MAKE A GAP ON SCOTT DIXON
“We were literally talking about it right before the race. We were trying to figure out should we go used or new reds and we made the call at the last minute was to stay used. We’ll have that advantage if we need it, and we used it. It just worked out perfectly. I just can’t thank Chevy enough for all their support and what they put in this weekend. We had an incredible engine, we had everything we needed in fuel mileage and reliability and all the power. I’m telling you, we really figured things out on Saturday and it was a rocket ship. I’m so thankful to our group. We have the best of the best working at Team Penske.”
DURING THE OFF-SEASON, YOU SAID STREET COURSES WERE THE NUMBER ONE PRIORITY. IT LOOKS LIKE YOU’VE FIGURED THAT OUT
“Well, we’ve started on the right foot, for sure. I think we made a big step. We felt positive about the step that we made, so I’m really looking forward to the rest of the year. At street courses I think we feel better on. We’ve got to convert that to road courses now at COTA and then obviously, Indianapolis is going to be a priority. Let’s see where we’re at a little later on in the year.”
HOW TOUGH WAS THAT LAPPED TRAFFIC TODAY? YOU HAD TO USE A LOT OF PUSH-TO-PASS TO GET AROUND THEM
“I’m telling you! It was definitely manufacturers playing good guys with each other, but it was really tough. I just didn’t want to see people in front of me. I wanted to keep running my laps. I knew I had the pace to keep in front of Scott (Dixon), but I was just worried about something going wrong. And when you have that many cars in front that can happen. But, everyone was kind enough, I would say. It was still hard, but kind enough.”