Josef Newgarden put in one of the more dominant oval displays in recent years as he led 282 out of a possible 300 laps at Iowa Speedway, which is made all the more impressive as the Ed Carpenter Racing driver was still driving with a broken hand and fractured clavicle, remnants of his horror crash at Texas last month.
The American took the lead on the opening lap and was in sublime form, at one point lapping everyone except Simon Pagenaud, and was even untouchable during the three restarts following caution periods, to win by 4.2828 seconds from Will Power.
Newgarden was delighted with his performance around the 7/8 mile oval after securing the first career oval victory, and praised his team for providing him with a car he could trust in, regardless of where he placed the car on track.
“I’m just so elated that we were able to get that oval win,” said Newgarden. “We’ve been so close finishing second here twice the last couple of years and second at other ovals but this team, they got it done.
“They gave me an amazing car and made it easy on me. I could go anywhere with the thing so it made it easier with everything I was dealing with. I’m just so happy for Fuzzy’s Vodka. They do such a great job. It’s just a privileged to be here with these guys.
“Thanks to Firestone for giving us the ability to race these guys like we do. We could just hang in a little bit better than everyone else it felt like.”
