Fansided

3 IndyCar takeaways from the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama 2019

By Brittany Frederick

From left: Scott Dixon, Takuma Sato and Sebastien Bourdais celebrate in Victory Lane at the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama. Photo Credit: Joe Skibinski/Courtesy of IndyCar.
From left: Scott Dixon, Takuma Sato and Sebastien Bourdais celebrate in Victory Lane at the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama. Photo Credit: Joe Skibinski/Courtesy of IndyCar. /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 3
Next
IndyCar
Josef Newgarden on track during the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama. Photo Credit: Matt Fraver/Courtesy of IndyCar. /

2. Josef Newgarden is poised to repeat

Okay, so Josef Newgarden didn’t win another Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama this year. The odds of him getting his third in a row and fourth victory at Barber overall took a huge hit when the No. 2 Team Penske Chevrolet qualified in the middle of the pack. But what he was able to do with that adversity must feel like a victory on its own today.

Barber Motorsports Park is a track where starting position is critical; it’s incredibly hard to pass on. Yet at his home race, the Tennessee native muscled his way from mid-field up to fourth, with pure guts and some great work in the pits from his Team Penske crew. The true test of driving skill isn’t being able to win when you’ve got a great car; it’s being able to succeed when you don’t have one, and that’s what Newgarden just did. He toughed it out and achieved the best result for Penske in a weekend that was uncharacteristically rough for the entire squad.

Newgarden clearly has some room for improvement when it comes to qualifying; he’s got a better car than his recent qualifying results indicate. But based on the current sample size, he should be a clear favorite to win his second IndyCar championship. He’s finished on the podium in two out of three races so far, and was one position away from making it all three. Definitely keep one eye on him going forward, because if this is what he’s doing now, who knows what he’ll be capable of as the season moves on?