Last year, Newgarden led 229 laps but faded at the end of the race when he was passed by eventual winner Hinchcliffe. Newgarden’s Team Penske squad threw away a guaranteed podium finish by pitting under yellow with less than five laps left believing the race would be restarted for a final dash to the checkered flag.
But the race ended under yellow and Newgarden finished fourth.
“We redeemed ourselves from last year, too,” Newgarden said. “Last year I felt we had the car. It honestly fell apart with the 100 laps to go. Why did it fall apart last year and how do we make it right again?
“I think we achieved that tonight.”
It was Newgarden’s fourth win of the season and the 14thIndyCar win of his career. It’s the fourth year in the past five that Newgarden has led the most laps and he has led more than 100 laps in all four of those races.
The race was supposed to be an early evening start at 6 p.m. local time but a heavy rain storm with lightning delayed the race for over four hours, making it a true night race.
Little did many of the drivers realize it would end up being a morning finish.
“It was fun that we raced under the lights,” Newgarden said. “If the weather didn’t happen, it wasn’t really going to be a night race. It was actually kind of nice that the weather delayed it from that standpoint.
“Every other standpoint, it wasn’t a good thing. No one likes waiting around. We certainly don’t like making the fans wait. The ones that went home, completely understandable, got pretty late there. The ones that stuck with us, it was really nice they got to see a full show. I think we’re all pretty pumped about that.”