IndyCar finds young face it needs in Sonoma winner Newgarden
By Jenna Fryer Updated 7:08 pm, Monday, September 18, 2017

(Pagenaud won the race, Newgarden the championship with 2nd place.)

SONOMA, CA - SEPTEMBER 17: Josef Newgarden of the United States driver
of the #1 hum by Verizon Chevrolet shows off his Championship ring after winning the 2017 Verison IndyCar Series on day 3 of the GoPro Grand Prix
of Sonoma at Sonoma Raceway on September 17, 2017 in Sonoma, California.
(Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images) Photo: Lachlan Cunningham,
Getty Images
Photo: Lachlan Cunningham, Getty Images
IMAGE 1 OF 2 SONOMA, CA - SEPTEMBER 17: Josef Newgarden of the United
States driver of the #1 hum by Verizon Chevrolet shows off his
Championship ring after winning the 2017 Verison IndyCar Series on day 3
of the GoPro ... more

Before Sunday, it had been five years since IndyCar last had an American champion. This time, the series is far better positioned to properly
wield its newest face of the series.
Ryan Hunter-Reay was largely ignored after his 2012 title, lost in the
shuffle as IndyCar went through a tumultuous leadership change. With a
stronger infrastructure and the power of the Penske brand, IndyCar has a
shot to really push new champion Josef Newgarden to its audience.
Newgarden, in his first season driving for Roger Penske, won his first
IndyCar title Sunday with a steely showing at Sonoma Raceway. He’s only
the third American series champion in the past 11 years. At 26, the
Tennessee native is the youngest champion since Sam Hornish Jr. in 2002.
With almost six months before the 2018 season begins, IndyCar should
have Newgarden carry it through the offseason.
“Look, I’ll carry the flag happily. I love the IndyCar Series,”
Newgarden said. “I think it’s got the whole world in front of it. I’ll
do the best that I can to help spread the word and show people how great
this sport is.

“I think people have been catching on, to be honest with you, over the
last couple of years. It’s not one big step. It’s going to be little
steps at a time, and I think in the next five years, hopefully, we can
be in an amazing place. I think we’re in a good place right now, but we
want to be in an amazing place.”
A fresh face in Newgarden is a start, but IndyCar has a lot of work ahead.
The series will introduce a car next season, and the driver lineups
could look considerably different.

Helio Castroneves appears headed to sports cars in a Team Penske
shuffle, and the move will cost the series one of its most popular
drivers. The Brazilian is a 20-year series veteran, a “Dancing With the Stars” winner and a three-time Indianapolis 500 champion. Indianapolis
Motor Speedway might be the only place he represents IndyCar next season.
Tony Kanaan, also in his 20th year, is ending a ho-hum tenure with Chip
Ganassi Racing that produced only one victory in four seasons. Also one
of the most popular drivers, Kanaan at least appears to be staying in
the series, albeit with a smaller team in A.J. Foyt Racing.
The Ganassi organization could go from four cars to two. There’s massive jockeying for seats in the paddock and movement is afoot, even for
Indianapolis 500 winner Takuma Sato, who is leaving Andretti Autosport
after just one season.
Penske understands that it’s difficult to groom young drivers in
IndyCar, which doesn’t have the deeper feeder system of NASCAR. He
planned accordingly for a changing of the guard in NASCAR, and next
season, he will field three cars at the top level, with 33-year-old Brad Keselowski at the top of the age group.
Penske made the move a year ago to snag Newgarden in free agency, even
though it meant taking a seat away from Indianapolis 500 winner Juan
Pablo Montoya. It was a move done for the future of his organization,
and it resulted in a 15th IndyCar title for Penske.
The team also won 10 of 17 races, had 11 poles and all four of its
drivers finished in the top five of the final standings.
“The quality of the drivers coming up, we want to see that, and we have
to be the catalyst to go out and look for this young talent because we
don’t want to be changing drivers every year,” Penske said. “We need to hook ourselves into these young people, and I think you’re going to see
a lot of them.”
Jenna Fryer is an Associated Press writer.
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http://www.sfgate.com/sports/article/IndyCar-finds-young-face-it-needs-in-Sonoma-12207410.php

also
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2017_IndyCar_Series

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