Page 19 - ARUBA TODAY

A19
SPORTS Tuesday 24 april 2018
Newgarden wins

Indy Grand Prix of

Alabama for 3rd time

By JOHN ZENOR been their race to win if
AP Sports Writer it stopped raining at that
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — point because they would
Josef Newgarden banked have been able to make it
on the rain at Barber Mo- work.”
torsports Park, and it was a That’s why Team Penske
pretty safe bet. president Tim Cindric told
The defending series Newgarden on the ra-
champion started on the dio they were racing the
pole for the Indy Grand weather at that point, not
Prix of Alabama and led other drivers.
almost the entire way, win- “The rain was either going
ning the rain-delayed race to come more and work
on Monday for the third out for us or it wasn’t,” New-
time in four years. IndyCar garden said. “Fortunately,
had pushed back comple- it just kept coming down.
tion of the race because of The more it came down, it
heavy rain Sunday. With a just played into our hands.”
sizable lead and showers He won for the second time
starting anew, Newgarden in the first four races of the
made his second pit stop season. Bourdais stayed on
with about 15 minutes left the track, trying to keep a
in the timed race to switch grip on both the lead and
to rain tires. Contenders the 2.38-mile (3.83 kilome-
like Sebastien Bourdais ter) course. He finally re-
and runner-up Ryan Hunt- lented for a pit stop and
er-Reay remained on the Newgarden built a 25-sec-
track while the rain soaked ond cushion that wasn’t
the course. “We could challenged. He finished 10
have stayed out like them, seconds ahead of Hunter-
too, but for us it made no Reay, followed by James
sense,” said Newgarden, Hinchcliffe , rookie Rob-
who took over the points ert Wickens and Bourdais.
lead. “We had everything Alexander Rossi entered
to lose, they had every- with the points lead after
thing to gain. So I don’t winning at Long Beach
blame them with what but finished 11th. Hunter-
they did. It would have Reay said it boiled down
to balancing the pit strat- got his ninth career victory
egy just right. “Newgarden after leading 72 of 83 laps.
was right on the cusp,” he “It was more hectic than
said. “Had it gone another you would want at the
three or four laps, he might end,” he said. “It seemed
have been in trouble with like it was pretty straightfor-
the time that he pitted, be- ward all day. We weren’t
cause it was still a little bit having yellows, it was dry
dry when he took his rains. and then that rain just
“We were coming there at made it very nerve-wrack-
the end. We had a really ing. We did the only thing
good rain pace, catching we could. We went to rain
Newgarden by a bunch tires as soon as it intensi-
every lap, but just a little bit fied.”
too late.” WHO’S HOT
Hinchcliffe, meanwhile, got Bourdais, coming off two
his first podium at Barber. 13th-place finishing fol-
“I feel like we kind of almost lowing an opening win at
flirt with it every year,” he St. Petersburg, had a big
said. The final result was fa- weekend. He has led laps
miliar: a Newgarden victo- in each of the season’s first
ry on the picturesque road four races.
course a few hours from WHO’S NOT
his Tennessee hometown, Two-time Barber winner Will
often labeled his “home Power came in on a high
track.” Well, home sweet note with a second-place
Second place IndyCar driver Ryan Hunter-Reay, left, and third placed James Hinchcliffe of home. It was the sixth win in Long Beach finish after two
Canada, right, spray champagne on winner Josef Newgarden after the Honda Indy Grand Prix of nine years in Alabama for subpar performances by
Alabama auto race at Barber Motorsports Park, Monday, April 23, 2018, in Birmingham, Ala.
Associated Press Team Penske. Newgarden his standards. q