CHEVROLET RACING IN THE NTT INDYCAR SERIES
ABC SUPPLY 500
POCONO RACEWAY IN LONG POND, PENNSYLVANIA
TEAM CHEVY RACE RECAP AND PODIUM FINISHERS TRANSCRIPT
AUGUST 18, 2019
Chevrolet registers eighth victory of the season
Will Power earns third win at Pocono; Josef Newgarden extends points lead
LONG POND, Pa. (August 18, 2019) – Chevrolet drivers made it four for four in NTT IndyCar Series oval races this season as Will Power won the rain-shortened ABC Supply 500 at Pocono Raceway.
Drivers completed 128 of the scheduled 200 laps on the 2.5-mile tri-oval before severe weather ended the race under a red flag.
Power, who started fifth in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet based on entrant points when inclement weather canceled qualifications, recorded his third victory at “The Tricky Triangle” since the NTT IndyCar Series returned in 2013. He was also runner-up in 2018.
“I had a few issues during the race, but we just kept coming back. Full credit to the team. We had a great car and we just kind of hung there and saved fuel and when it was time to go, I went,” said Power, who has at least one win in 13 consecutive NTT IndyCar Series seasons. “I was so determined, and I really wanted to win. I just wanted to win a race for Verizon and these guys who have worked their butts off all year and just haven’t had the results.”
Power led six drivers powered by the 2.2-liter, direct-injection, twin-turbocharged Chevrolet V6 engine who finished in the top 10. Scott Dixon was the runner-up in a Honda.
Simon Pagenaud started and finished third in the No. 22 Penske Truck Rental Team Penske Chevrolet. Josef Newgarden, who started from the pole, finished fifth in the No. 2 Hitachi Team Penske Chevrolet. Newgarden increased his championship points from 16 over Alexander Rossi to 35 as Rossi was involved in a five-car, first-lap incident. All drivers were checked and released. Pagenaud is 40 points behind the front-runner.
“Coming out of here with a decent finish allows us to now focus on the last three events,” Newgarden said. “I think we will have a good car. I always feel confident with Team Penske, and Team Chevy has been pushing hard so I’m looking forward to it.”
Power’s victory was the eighth for the Bowtie Brigade in 14 races this season and 36th of his career. Oval wins earlier this season were secured by Pagenaud in the Indianapolis 500 at the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Newgarden at the 1.5-mile Texas Motor Speedway and .894-mile Iowa Speedway.
The fifth and final oval of the 17-race season is under the lights August 24 at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway. Power and Newgarden have won the races at the 1.25-mile oval since the NTT IndyCar Series returned to the racetrack after a 14-year absence.
The Bommarito Automotive Group 50 will be telecast live at 8 p.m. ET August 24 on NBCSN.
An interview with race winner WILL POWER, NO. 12 VERIZON TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, and third-place finisher SIMON PAGENAUD, NO. 22 PENSKE TRUCK RENTAL TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET:
WILL, THIS EXTENDS YOUR NUMBER OF SEASONS WITH AT LEAST ONE VICTORY TO 13. A HUGE RELIEF FOR YOU?
“It is, yeah, absolutely. Big relief. Just one of those years that hasn’t flowed very well for me. I’ve been quick, I’ve been there. A few errors on my part, things not falling our way. Absolutely over the moon to finally win a race this season. Yeah, the guys working on the car, they’ve worked their asses off this year. Just had bad runs. Yeah, awesome, awesome. Great feeling.”
SIMON, A BOLD MOVE TO TAKE THE LEAD ON THE OPENING LAP. YOU HAD A STRONG CAR.
“Well, it’s a great day. Very happy for Will and Team Penske to get another win here in Pocono. It’s pretty awesome. I think we showed our cars were the strongest today. Overall it’s a pretty good points day for us on the 22 car this weekend. Obviously, yes, I did think we could have done a little better. At least we would have tried. I think we had the car to do so. But Will found a way to the front. As he always does here, was definitely the (indiscernible) of the team at the end. Who knows what would have happened, but I think we could have challenged at least. At the end of the day it’s not a bad day. We’ll take it. Go to the next one, keep pushing.”
WILL, THE DETERMINATION YOU HAD TO GET BACK IN VICTORY LANE IS UNMATCHED.
“I was very determined today, especially knowing I had the car to do it. Kind of sat back and saved fuel a lot. When I got shuffled back second or third stop with the yellow, we were able to move forward pretty quickly and get back to these guys. Yeah, got the car right. The car was very fast, as well. When my spotter said, The rain is coming, I just turned the fuel up and I went as fast as I could. Yeah, it was good, good day.”
WILL, DID YOU KNOW YOU HAD A CAR THAT COULD DO WHAT YOU DID IN THIS RACE?
“We weren’t struggling at all. Just some people run light fuel. We were straight into heavy fuel running, really understanding the car. I think we just tried a lot of things to get an understanding of what we needed for the race, particularly the downforce level we need to run, which everyone in the field ended up on anyway. As soon as the race started, I knew we had a good car. I knew we had a good car going in. Yeah, we just made some adjustments, kind of had a lot of push. Obviously back in traffic there, I ended up trimming out a little bit at the end there. All the right moves.”
DID YOU CAR REALLY COME TO LIFE AFTER YOUR FIRST PIT STOP?
“We didn’t. I actually had just leaned out as much as you could and sat in the train. The train wasn’t that spread out. I knew if I could get a few laps on fuel, plus we topped off, that I could pump out some really fast laps at the end. Actually made it back to second in that stint. I don’t know what position I was when I pitted, but made a lot of positions. Clear track, ran hard, yeah.”
WILL, WAS THERE ONE THING THAT CLICKED?
“When I was told it was going to rain, I could see it coming, but my spotter said, There’s rain about 20 minutes out, you need to go. I was full rich. I knew I had only one chance to get Scott (Dixon). Our tires were good. I pushed very hard to do that. Tried to get a gap.”
WAS THERE ONE THING THAT CLICKED IN 2013 ABOUT SUPERSPEEDWAYS?
“I don’t know. I mean, honestly, the first superspeedway win was Texas, but really it was at Fontana. I always did reasonably well on ovals, it’s just that I did extremely well on street courses. Won all my races there. Look at the contrast. No one else is winning on superspeedways really. No one dominates. Just got a lot of experience on the them now, know what I want from the car, can always get it pretty good, know when to take the risk and when not to. You can’t beat experience on these sort of tracks. It’s not easily learned because going in the wall hard is kind of how you learn.”
HOW DOES IT FEEL TO GET YOUR THIRD WIN AT POCONO?
“Yeah, over the moon to get the win obviously. Just very frustrating when you go a long time without a win. Especially when you have the speed, the capability to do it. High expectations from Roger Penske. We’re expected to do well and expected to win. Kind of a relief.”
SIMON, YOU’RE 40 POINTS OUT OF THE LEAD. DO YOU STILL FEEL IT’S PRETTY WIDE OPEN?
“Yeah, personally I’m pretty excited that we gained points on Josef for a few races now. It’s a championship, the best may win over the year. Obviously he’s my teammate. I can only think of good things for him. But I also want to win, so does Scott, so does Rossi. I want to win, he’s right. We all want to win. It’s good to be in it. I think there’s three races to go, all the chances in the world for our team. We’re going to keep pushing. That’s what we’ve been doing. Just keep pushing, doing what we do, try to win races. That’s going to be the name of the game till the end. I love it.”
SIMON, YOU TOOK THE BNORG-WARNER TROPHY TO PARIS RECENTLY. WHAT WAS THAT LIKE?
“First of all I want to thank Borg Warner and INDYCAR for organizing this French media tour. It was honestly an honor to be able to bring the most valuable trophy in the world in my home country. Even though I’ve been racing here for 14 years, you guys have welcomed me like your son, I appreciate that. But it was good to bring awareness about our sport. I think the Indy 500 doesn’t need the awareness. I think everybody knows it’s the biggest race in the world. When you keep saying it, keep saying it, bring this amazing trophy with all the faces on it, it just wakes up people. It helps enhance what it’s all about. The fact that it’s the one fastest race in the world, that a Frenchman won it, I was very, very proud. I can’t thank Borg Warner. Honestly, it sounds like a (indiscernible) speech, but they are an incredible partner of the series making sure we keep those traditions, making sure we keep on building. That’s what makes this race so special. I was very excited to be there with that. Personally, I think we gained a lot of followers in France, so that’s a good thing. It was the first time actually that the likeness of a driver was unveiled outside the U.S. Again, a big step for Borg Warner and INDYCAR. But we don’t forget the U.S. don’t worry about that. It was just a way to bring more people in. I think we accomplished that. I was very grateful for the situation.”
WILL, YOU HAVE TWO TOP FIVES IN A ROW. HOW GREAT IS IT THAT THINGS SEEM TO BE COMING TOGETHER?
“Yeah, kind of too far out now. But it turns around eventually. If you keep performing and doing the work, eventually it turns around for you. Can’t have bad luck all the time. It’s not all bad luck, believe me. There’s always a reason. It’s rarely bad luck, honestly. Always put it down to something that wasn’t done right. This sport has become so tough these days, you can’t leave anything on the table in any way. If you do, you’re simply not going to win.”