The belle of the ball during the MPG Drive Day 2022 - the Corvette C8 in front of the iconic Ferris Wheel at Calamigos Ranch Event Center. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2022)
Shared Ride & Drive In A Corvette C8 Defined American Supercar On
Public Roads
The Motor Press Guild hosts many events and meetings throughout the year. Yes!
These last couple of years have had their share of protocol challenges, but to
have an opportunity to drive many types of cars on everyday roads as opposed
to Tracks or Autocross set environments, allows one to judge and share a
special experience in drivetime that few other events can hold.
On June 7th, 2022, the Motor Press Guild (MPG) held a long delayed
get-together that was originally titled Droptops & Dirt and combined it
with the multi-year delayed annual awards meeting that was formally known as
"The Dean Batchelor Awards" that now goes by the recognition name of "Excellence
In Automotive Journalism MPG Awards" The driving experience meeting was
typically held in the Spring and the awards recognition event was normally
held as a 2-Fer AWARDS & Holiday Season event around mid-December.
Welcome to the views of longtime friend, colleague, and rounded Motor Culture raconteur Lou Leto on the MPG Drive Day twisty roads of the Malibu mountains in the Corvette C8:
Corvette C8 Exterior color is listed as Sebring Orange Tintcoat. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2022)
BEGIN
Handling was excellent in any of the modes that were available at the turn
of a knurled selector knob.
And the modes were uniquely felt and heard, as the magnetic shocks changed
stiffness and the exhaust note increased with more performance oriented
selections. The default Touring mode was efficient. The Track mode the most
stiff, of course. Got to be a performance guy to drive in Track mode all the
time.
Drive Day Loop Guide for some time on public surface streets. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2022)
As I felt both as a passenger and then behind the wheel, with the available
torque of this naturally aspirated engine, this was a second-and-third gear
vehicle through the short straights and radical turns. This is no different
than my experience at most road race race tracks; third is always the
"sweetheart gear." Paddle shifts are very responsive and quick. The
different modes will increased holding a gear longer and at higher revs
prior to an upshift while in Drive. Could really squirt the car forward in
literal leaps, then the brakes hauled it down quickly and without fade time
and time again.
Corvette C8 Interior color is listed as Sky Cool Grey. A really great re-imagining of the 1950's push button automatic transmission has been engineered by GM for this sportscar. This system uses a combination of actions depending on the function needed. Corvette's first push-button shifter - Park is at the top, with a pull switch for Reverse behind it, a button for Neutral behind that, and then another pull switch for Drive behind that. Below Drive is another button for Manual shifting mode. Image Credit: Mid Engine Corvette Forum (2022)
The cockpit makes one feel a bit separated (isolated); more like a capsule,
and the engine behind is so very quiet, even in higher performance exhaust
modes. The digital dash offers much info, and forward sight is awarded with
the small fender peaks (like a C3 'Vette) for cornering reference. Handing
is solid and neutral. Vehicle feels lighter and smaller than it is. Until
you look in the side mirrors and see the wide rear fenders, and then wonder
if the car will clear the the narrow roads hugging the jutting rock-filled
corners on the mountain side. The other side is the severe drop-offs without
guard rails...
Rear Camera Mirror is a General Motors safety technology that replaces the traditional rear-view mirror with high-resolution video streaming to a display in the rear-view mirror, thereby improving on the traditional inside rearview mirror by providing a wider, less obstructed field of view. - Display: the in-mirror 1280 by 240-pixel TFT-LCD display with 171 pixels per inch. One may observe that the glass protecting the display catches a diffusive reflection that compromises or distracts from the possibility of a best image presentation for the driver (look at edges of mirror image). Image Credit: Corvette Forum (2022)
The inside rearview mirror is a camera, and the imaging appears as is
too... remote and off contrast. I guess that with this much power and
handing, that rear view is non-important. Just nail it and go to the opening
an eighth mile ahead that comes up in one heartbeat. I did use it for
backing up. Works as well as my MINI or the Sheriff's "blind-spot special"
Explorers that I drive to the car wash..
Ferrari Dino 246 GTS - The Dino line was created in honor of Enzo Ferrari’s son Alfredo Ferrari who was championing the V6 engine before his untimely death. The series began with a number of 206 sport prototypes and eventually the 246 road cars. Over 1200 examples were produced over a two year period between 1972 to 1974. Image Credit: Super Cars (2022)
The Corvette is a bit too quiet for me. I long for the days [driving]
in my Dino 246 GT when I could hear (and feel) the chain driven cams
whirring, the three huge dual throat Webers sucking hard for A/F mixture,
and the other mechanical sounds at 7,000 RPM+ contributing to the
symphony.
** Activate Video Asset With Left-Click **
My reality check that I am struggling with: do I want one with this size,
power (and cost) as my intended everyday driver? At my age, my
car-centric evil mind says YES. My other mental gremlins are sneakily
questioning; is a 2014-2016 mid-engine naturally-aspirated flat six-powered
Porsche Cayman S a better (sized, power, carrying space ) daily driver
choice? Rest assured, either will be bright red...
ENDS
Let's be clear, people meeting - in formal association - with like-minded folks is
both affirming in cultural values and civil pursuits. We must never loose
sight of how important it is to commune with Humanity on these many levels of
town and country - in motion.
Thank you Lou Leto for sharing both the day, and these written reflections on
our two rides in this American Supercar together - for each, one a ride and
the other a drive - at MPG's Drive Day held in the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area in from Malibu on Kanan Road from
Calamigos Ranch Event Center ... truly captured the day.
Josef Newgarden takes the win on a Road Course and takes home the
$1,000,000 prize put forward by The PeopleReady Force for Good
Challenge. By posting a win on at least once this season on the
three types of tracks that comprise the NTT INDYCAR SERIES schedule
– road course, street circuit and oval – a Driver will share
$500,000 with their team and donate $500,000 to that driver and
team’s chosen charity. Newgarden, who previously won this season on
the Texas Motor Speedway oval and the Long Beach street circuit, has
chosen two charities to split the $500,000 portion – SeriousFun
Children’s Network and Wags and Walks Nashville. Image Credit: Penske Entertainment via FB/META (2022)
J-New Re-Enters Championship Picture Winning The Sonsio Grand Prix at Road
America
Team Penske's Josef Newgarden takes the win at the Sonsio Grand Prix at
Road America presented by AMR making this his 22nd career INDYCAR victory and
his second at Road America - all behind the wheel of a Chevrolet-powered car.
This win moves Josef Newgarden to P3 in the season points race from P5 - leapfrogging over Pato O'Ward and Alex Palou respectively.
P2 - Marcus Ericsson and takes over the season points lead from Will Power who, with his altercation aided finish at P19, is P2 in the season challenge.
P3 - Pole sitter Alexander Rossi survives to be on the Podium but remains in play for the championship at P7.
This race marks the end of the first half of the 2022 season where not one driver has repeated as the NTT P1 Pole Award winner - NTT P1 Pole Award Winner for the Sonsio Grand Prix at Road America presented by AMR, Alexander Rossi, Andretti Autosport Honda - 7th career and first pole in 3 years - 8th new NTT P1 Pole Award winner in 8 races this season.
Pre-Race Top Six NTT INDYCAR SERIES Season Championship Points
Standings
Post-Race Top Six NTT INDYCAR SERIES Season Championship Points
Standings
This excerpted and edited from NTT INDYCAR SERIES -
FIFTH GEAR: SONSIO GP AT ROAD AMERICA PRESENTED BY AMR
By Curt Cavin | Published: Jun 13, 2022
The number of interesting aspects to the Sonsio Grand Prix at Road America
presented by AMR were almost too numerous to count and are the foundation of
today’s Fifth Gear.
----
Let’s get right to it.
Newgarden Again Dominates Road America
----
Two-time series champion Newgarden won this race by 3.37 seconds over Indy
500 winner Marcus Ericsson (No. 8 Huski Chocolate Chip Ganassi Racing Honda)
as Ericsson passed Andretti Autosport’s Alexander Rossi (No. 27 NAPA AUTO
PARTS/AutoNation Honda) on the final restart. Rossi was bidding for his
first race win since 2019, coincidentally at Road America.
Newgarden pushed his season win total to three races and is third in the
standings, only 32 points out of the lead as the season approaches its
official midpoint. Newgarden won for the 23rd time in his NTT INDYCAR SERIES
career, tying him with Tommy Milton for 19th place on the sport’s all-time
list. The next win pulls him alongside Ralph DePalma and Bobby Rahal. Two
more ties him with Gordon Johncock.
----
Standings Shakeup at the Top
With series leader Will Power having two moments of trouble and finishing
19th, Ericsson regained the points lead for the second time this season. The
Swede’s margin over Power is 27 points.
Eight of the top 10 positions in the standings changed hands this weekend,
but what should concern the title hopefuls is Newgarden moved up two
positions. He stands to gain more in the weeks ahead.
Newgarden is the defending champion of the race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car
Course, where he has won twice overall. He also has two career wins at
Toronto’s Exhibition Place – site of the Honda Indy Toronto on July 17 – and
could be in line to sweep the Iowa Speedway doubleheader sponsored by Hy-Vee
on July 23-24 as he has won three races at the short oval track. Two races
after that comes the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 presented by Axalta and
Valvoline, an event Newgarden has won three times, including the past two.
Ericsson has become a legitimate threat to win the championship. He has
finished fourth, first, seventh and second in the past four races.
----
Two title contenders took big points hits Sunday, gaining only five points
each. Pato O’Ward (No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet) finished 26th when his
car had a mechanical failure nine laps from the finish. Chip Ganassi
Racing’s Alex Palou (No. 10 The American Legion Honda) got back on track
after early contact with Ericsson – more on that in the next item – but
still finished last in the 27-car field.
----
Team Battles Highlight Road America
Ericsson found himself amid a dustup with Palou, his Ganassi teammate, in
Turn 5 on the race’s fourth lap. Their slight wheel contact led to Palou
driving into the gravel trap with damage, something the reigning series
champion wasn’t happy about.
----
Although replays suggested Ericsson simply capitalized on an opening to gain
a position, Palou’s comments added spice to the race and provided intrigue
for how they work together moving forward.
Michael Andretti’s team had some hotly contested racing between Romain
Grosjean (No. 28 UniFirst/DHL Honda) and Colton Herta (No. 26 Gainbridge
Honda), but it lacked the comments delivered by Palou. However, it was fun
to see three Andretti drivers dueling in the final laps, with Rossi holding
off Grosjean for third place, with Herta giving the team three finishers in
the top five.
Andretti Autosport is a team to watch in the second half of the season.
Rossi has strung together three straight top-five finishes to climb to
seventh in the standings, and Herta, who won the GMR Grand Prix at
Indianapolis Motor Speedway, will be the defending champion of the
season-ending Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna
Seca (Sept. 11).
----
More Competitive Racing
Sunday’s race featured another large dose of thrilling action, particularly
behind Newgarden and Rossi, who combined to lead 42 of the 55 laps – and
more given that all the other laps led were by drivers who were out of pit
sequence.
The exchanges mid-pack were tremendous, especially with so many different
fuel strategies in play. The result were 226 total on-track passes, just off
last year’s series record 231 at this track. For position, there were 191
passes, just off last year’s record of 194.
The action came on the heels of a similar race at The Raceway at Belle Isle
Park, where there were a circuit-record 280 total on-track passes, with 148
of them for position. Fifty-nine passes were in the top 10, with 23 in the
top five. INDYCAR president Jay Frye called those “big numbers for a street
course.”
Several drivers had noteworthy runs, including Felix Rosenqvist (No. 7 Vuse
Arrow McLaren SP) who continued to impress with his fourth consecutive
top-10 finish. He led seven laps en route to finishing sixth. Rahal
Letterman Lanigan Racing had one of its best races with Graham Rahal (No. 15
Fifth Third Bank Honda) finishing eighth, rookie Christian Lundgaard (No. 30
Fleet Cost & Care Honda) 10th and Jack Harvey (No. 45 Hy-Vee Honda)
13th.
Simona De Silvestro (No. 16 Paretta Autosport Chevrolet) achieved her goal
of completing all 55 laps. She finished 21st in a competitive 27-car field.
She will compete at Mid-Ohio and in the Nashville street race on Aug. 7.
Up Next: Second Half of Season Begins
After five consecutive on-track weekends, the NTT INDYCAR SERIES now takes a
two-weekend break before the second half of the season gets rolling with the
Mid-Ohio race on July 3.
Newgarden won last year’s race after leading 73 of the 80 laps. Ericsson and
Palou finished second and third, respectively, with Scott Dixon (No. 9 PNC
Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda) fourth. Dixon has won a track-record six
races at the track, most recently in 2019.
The Mid-Ohio race will be the ninth of 17 events scheduled for this season.
There is still a variety of races to come, with four held on permanent road
courses, three on ovals and two street races. The season ends Sept. 11 at
WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.
THE MODERATOR: Second and third place have arrived, Marcus Ericsson
finishing second, as well as Alexander Rossi finishing third. Marcus' third
podium of the season, seventh career podium. Alexander Rossi, second
straight podium finish after also finishing there last week at Belle Isle,
third straight top five, 27th career podium.
Marcus, primarily the restart there at the end, being able to pass Rossi,
how difficult, how satisfying?
MARCUS ERICSSON: Yeah, it was a really good race for us. We were strong all
weekend. Already on Friday the car felt good. Had a good qualifying
yesterday. Was my best qualifying of the year with P4.
I think the race was pretty straightforward. Pretty good from our side.
Obviously a lot of cautions that got you out of rhythm. Yeah, car felt good.
Got some opportunities there in the end to try and get a better position.
Alex had a bit of a slide out of the last corner so I got a run on him and
managed to get by.
Overall good day. P2 is a really good result for the championship, back in
the lead. Super happy. The team did a really good job on pit stop strategy,
so really thankful to the No. 8 Huski Chocolate Honda Ganassi crew.
THE MODERATOR: 27-point lead over Will Power as you take the lead in the
overall standings.
Alex, your thoughts on another podium finish for you?
ALEXANDER ROSSI: Yeah, probably a little disappointing when you start on
pole and can't convert. It was generally a good day I think. I think Josef
had a little bit better pace than us. I think we were the second best car.
Pretty aggressive on the restart there to try and do something. Just kind of
overstepped a little bit. That's what allowed Marcus to get by.
Ultimately I don't know that we would have been able to win. Got held up
with Scott McLaughlin a little bit coming into the pits when we were trying
to leave on the first sequence. With the lap cars, Josef was the first to
get to him. From there on it was trying to close the gap that got started
there.
A little disappointing, but all in all I think it was a very positive
weekend for us for obvious reasons A good run of races, look forward to
going to Mid-Ohio.
THE MODERATOR: Almost two shots at Josef there. Can you talk about those.
ALEXANDER ROSSI: He went pretty early on the first one. I went with him on
the second and actually got too close.
Yeah, he executed well. It was my mistake, which allowed Marcus to get by.
You got to try in those situations to go for the win.
THE MODERATOR: Questions.
Q. Marcus, Alex said basically tried to win going into turn five. What was
that move like from your perspective? Talk us through that situation.
MARCUS ERICSSON: Yeah, from inside the car, the door was open there. I went
for the move. Alongside him at the apex, made the corner. From my side he
turns into me from the outside lane. You hate to see your teammate retire
from a contact with you. That's the last thing you want to do.
I don't see I did anything wrong. It was a fully race move. Might have been
early in the race, but this race is a track-position race. If you get an
opportunity, you need to go for it.
As I said, there was nothing wrong with that move. That was clear on the TV
pictures.
Q. Is this sweeter knowing that the championship leader had a bit of an
issue early in the race as well?
MARCUS ERICSSON: Yeah, I haven't even looked. Obviously a lot of cautions
and stuff. I knew you had to try to capitalize on that. We lost the lead
last weekend, but it was nice to get that back and get P2.
Coming into the small break we have now with some good confidence. We're in
a good position for the second half.
Q. (No microphone.)
MARCUS ERICSSON: Yeah, I would like to stop that (laughter).
I think, no, yesterday was the eighth different polesitter in eight races I
think, if I'm correct. I think that says a lot about INDYCAR at the moment.
It's the most competitive series in the world. We have 27 cars this weekend.
I think that's incredible. Out of those 27 cars, it feels like at least 15
of them cars can win the race if they have their day.
It's really fun to be part of that. Yeah, I think it's going to be tough all
year. Miss a little bit one weekend, you're P10 or P15. It means you need to
be on top of things all the time.
Last weekend was a good example. A bit off on strategy, didn't work our way.
We managed to finish seventh. That's the results we need to if we want to
win the championship.
Q. (No microphone.)
MARCUS ERICSSON: Like I said, from inside the car it was clear. I was
alongside him at the apex. I was surprised that we hit at the middle of the
corner. Like I said, I made the corner, didn't go up on the curb. It was not
like I was oversteering or anything like that. I was surprised to get the
hit there.
I don't know what more to say. I only saw it once on the TV. It looked like
a good move to me. Again, I hate to see my teammate retire from a contact
with my car, but I don't feel that was on me. I feel like it was more on his
side there.
Q. (Question regarding the issue in the pits with Scott McLoughlin.)
ALEXANDER ROSSI: I honestly don't remember. I think Brian was telling me to
wait. There's nothing you can do about it. That's just an unfortunate
sequence that happens. I think it certainly cost us the lead there.
That being said, I do think Josef had a really strong car today so I don't
know necessarily that we would have been able to beat him. Maybe, I don't
know.
But it's neither here nor there. That's just part of the way it works.
Ultimately it's good to avoid contact and lose a little bit of time.
Q. Marcus, you're back in the points lead, up 25 over Will Power. You get
two weeks off. How do you feel the rest of the points race is going to shape
out for you?
MARCUS ERICSSON: It's going to be tough all the way. Like we talked about,
it's so competitive in the series at the moment. Any given weekend can be a
new winner. It's hard to be even in the top 10 if you don't get everything
right.
I think it's going to be a tough season, a long season. We put ourselves in
a really good position now, leading. So we just got to keep doing what we've
been doing. The last 12 months we were the top scorer in the championship. I
think that says something about where we've been performing since Detroit
actually last year, it was actually 12 months ago today.
Yeah, I think we're in a strong position, but it's going to require a lot of
hard work, keep doing what we've been doing.
Q. You're all teammates, but do you feel you're the lead Ganassi car at the
moment?
MARCUS ERICSSON: I think we're all equal, to be honest. We have Scott Dixon,
which is a legend, one of the best ever. Obviously Alex, Jimmie.
The cool thing with Ganassi is we all get treated the same way.
(Indiscernible) enough to continue. Yeah, that's how I see it.
Q. Marcus, how beneficial is this result for you given you're back in the
lead in the championship going into the break?
MARCUS ERICSSON: Yeah, it's very big. I think we had a decent day in
Detroit, but obviously it's never nice to lose the lead. So that was one of
the goals going to Road America, to regain that lead.
Obviously Will and Pato and Alex, I think all three of them had bad days.
That's good for us, since they were the closest ones in the championship
going in.
But, yeah, like we said, it's going to swing a couple more times. It's a
matter of being consistent now, bringing home the results. Today P2 was
definitely a very good result for us with the way the race played out.
Q. Alex, what went through your mind when you saw Josef in front of you
after that pit stop? Do you think you had the pace to chase him down or you
lost the race on that move?
ALEXANDER ROSSI: I think through the subsequent three stints we were
catching him. The last stint we were coming pretty hard at him. It was going
to be really hard to pass him, I think.
But, yes, I think that certainly cost us a lot of time, A, because we lost
the lead but 'B' he was the first to hit the lap traffic. It's always a
little bit easier for the first car to get through the lap car as you come
up on them.
Ultimately, yeah. But again, I don't want to take anything away from the
pace and performance that he had all day. Like, we were a little bit off on
the balance to start, and it took us a little bit to get it back in the
window. Then the pace was good.
But, yes, it didn't help. I don't know ultimately what the end result, if it
would have been any different.
Q. Alex, is there anything that you or the team can do to get over that
proverbial hump that you're kind of stuck behind the last few weeks?
ALEXANDER ROSSI: I don't know. Is there anything I'm stuck behind?
Q. Is there a hump.
ALEXANDER ROSSI: Sorry, it's breaking up.
THE MODERATOR: Are you over the hump?
ALEXANDER ROSSI: Are we over the hump? Well, I am 30, so... I guess
(laughter). It's not awesome.
Yeah, I mean, I think you get a little bit of confidence as results come.
Yeah, I mean, I guess we're still looking for a win.
But, yeah, I mean, it's certainly been a lot different these past couple
races than it has been for the races preceding that. That's a good thing.
There's still areas we can improve and need to be better. We'll certainly
look at that and analyze that going into Mid-Ohio.
Q. Definitely have to be looking forward to the break until the beginning of
July.
MARCUS ERICSSON: I want to go racing again (smiling). I love what we're
doing. It's fun that it's been so hectic the last few weeks.
But I think for sure for all the crews and everyone, it's good to get a bit
of a break here before the second half. Also personally it's been pretty
full on since the 500 win a couple weeks ago, so it's definitely going to be
good to sort of get a couple days off, recharge, then refocus again for the
rest of the season.
THE MODERATOR: We'll go ahead and let you guys go. Congratulations. We'll
see you at Mid-Ohio in just a few weeks' time.
[ht: FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports]
NTT INDYCAR SERIES News Conference
Press Conference - Sunday, June 12, 2022
P1 - Josef Newgarden
THE MODERATOR: Congratulations, Josef Newgarden. The second win here at Road
America. Third win of the season, 23rd of your career. Now ties the great
Tommy Milton for 19th on the all-time list. Most importantly today the
People Ready Force For Good Challenge, $1 million. Half goes to your
favorite charity. A spectacular day.
Tell us about it a little bit.
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: It was a great day. Great, great day. Felt really good
going into it. Felt like we had a car to win today. It was just about
executing.
My team really put me in position on that first stop. Rossi was not going to
be easy to beat today. I felt like he was very strong. I felt like we were a
little bit better than him, but he was by no means going to be simple to go
by.
That first stop is really what set the tone for us. Once we got in position,
it was about getting through the lap markers, the alternate strategy quicker
than him, building a gap, maintaining it. I felt like our PPG car was hooked
up and had it from Team Chevy on the power side pretty much as always this
year.
Really comfy. To be able to win this million bucks, give half of it to
charity, is very cool. Very, very cool. I'm sure our recipients are going to
be thrilled with that.
THE MODERATOR: On the Zoom joining us are your friends that are going to be
the recipients.
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Fantastic.
THE MODERATOR: Kathryn Hurley is the founder of the Nashville chapter of
Wags & Walks.
Kathryn, say hello.
KATHRYN HURLEY: Hi.
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Kathryn.
KATHRYN HURLEY: Hi. We are absolutely thrilled. Congratulations, Josef. I
mean, you know what we're going to do this year with all the dogs here in
Nashville. That was bigger than me winning the Super Bowl for the Detroit
Lions. We are absolutely so, so thrilled.
It's going to impact literally thousands of dogs here in Nashville and allow
us to build an amazing adoption center. Congratulations to you, Ashley and
your little one at home.
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Thank you.
For people don't know, our dog Axel was adopted through Wags & Walks.
Kathryn really started the charge in Nashville. Wags & Walks started in
L.A. Kathryn started the Nashville chapter for it. They've been doing an
amazing job. They work with a lot of great people in Nashville. They save
all sorts of dogs. All sorts. You should hear some of these heartbreaking
stories that these guys through to find these dogs homes. We need more of
that.
We're very happy to be able to get some money to this group because they've
done a lot for us and for a lot of people in Nashville. Very thrilled.
Thank you, Kathryn, for all your work.
KATHRYN HURLEY: Thank you so much. Congratulations again.
THE MODERATOR: Thank you for joining us. By the way, the $10,000 for each
and every race continues through the rest of the season. You may not be
done.
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: We'll work on it more.
KATHRYN HURLEY: The good news continues.
THE MODERATOR: Blake Maher is the CEO from the (indiscernible).
BLAKE MAHER: Congratulations, Josef, on a big win for you and your whole
team. Couldn't be more grateful for the win today and all you do for
SeriousFun, a true champion for us.
(Loss of audio.)
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: We want to help these groups as much as we can. To have
something like this challenge I think fires you up more competitively, that
you want to get it done for them. You know it's just a bonus and a plus for
these two groups.
Yeah, not quite as emotional. I just know how impactful it is, so I get
really competitive and want to make it happen.
THE MODERATOR: Tremendous day. So congratulations many times over.
Questions.
Q. What type of dog is Axel?
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: He's a mutt. He has a lot of different breeds. He's a smart
little fellow. Cute, adorable. 30 pounds. He's a lot of things. He's got
Shepard in him. All sorts of stuff. I couldn't even tell you.
Q. You said on the TV interview you had forgotten about the $1 million
prize. How can you forget about something like that?
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I do forget about it at points. Like, I didn't think about
it coming into this weekend. I totally forgot that that was a thing. There's
a point you get reminded about it. You're like, Oh, yeah, that's right.
But for me, it's not something you really dwell on because it doesn't matter
ultimately at the end of the day. I'm not going to try to win this race
because this is on the line. You never approach any race that way.
I want to win the race because I want to win the race. It's a great little
bonus. It's not a little bonus, that's a big bonus. It's just one of those
things that kind of comes with it.
It's not motivating for me that I have to do something extra because of
this. I'm putting my best effort forward every weekend. I know if we can
just focus on our job, get the job done, at times I get reminded, This is
also going to come with it. That's very, very cool obviously.
THE MODERATOR: Blake, do you have anything else to say? We lost you there.
BLAKE MAHER: Josef, I just wanted to make sure you heard our
congratulations. We're so excited for you and the team. Thank you for being
a champion for SeriousFun, whether you're at camp, welcoming kids to the
racetrack, your ping-pong tournament. This, of course, is such a huge
feather in your cap. We're so proud to work with you and thankful for all
you do for all the kids at the camps around the world.
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Thank you, Blake. We're so fortunate to have people like
you and SeriousFun Children's Network. Keep up the great work as always.
BLAKE MAHER: Hope to see you soon. Take care.
THE MODERATOR: Blake, thanks. You've been a great friend for INDYCAR in the
past and for years to come.
More questions.
Q. It seemed like the first pit stop was the key to the race. You were able
to beat Rossi out. From that point on it seemed like every time...
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: It was going to be that point or another point. Truthfully
I was hoping for an all green start, no cautions, because I felt that's
where we could find the exposure in Rossi's game.
I was kind of biding my time but felt like I had the straight speed
advantage with him. I felt like my Chevy was much quicker than him on the
straights. I was going to wait for an opportunity.
All the yellows really took away that potential. We were running most of the
laps under caution, so the reds weren't going to drop off as much. We needed
to make the difference somewhere else. We came in right on his tail. I made
sure, Look, I'm going to give my team ample opportunity, get as close as I
can to Rossi on the pits.
If it wasn't going to happen on the pit stop, it was going to be an out lap
or a back end of a stint (indiscernible). The pit stop is what ended up
being the pivotal point for us. If that wasn't the point, I think we could
have made that point somewhere else today.
Q. Pit selection seemed to work in your favor. I believe you were the last
pit out.
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yeah, yeah. We were first out, if you will, first box,
which always helps. You got a clear out. You don't have to worry about
typically a lot of the mess going on in the middle or wherever you're
located at.
It does pay to start up front.
(Loss of audio.)
Q. Obviously the difference on a late restart this year versus last year was
considerable. Can you forget that stuff?
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I don't really think about it. If you want to talk about
last year, it's not anything anyone did wrong. It's a part that failed that
I think was a $50 part. No one has ever seen it fail. It's not like it was a
prep issue.
I couldn't have affected anything. I or the team couldn't have affected
anything to make it different. Had no thought about it. I was just focused
on today.
The thing I focus on is we're in position. You don't have many opportunities
to be in position to close. I just want to close. That's where my head was
at today, yep.
Q. With the two late restarts there at the very end, were you surprised on
both cases how much you were able to gap Rossi going up the hill with the
green flag there?
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Not after watching him. I kind of knew where the strength
and weakness was. I felt like we had a good advantage on him in certain
areas. We tried to exploit that as best as possible.
It was two really good starts, great attack mode from Team Chevy. All of
that contributes to being able to push the gap. I was hopeful we could do
that, but I can't say I was surprised. I felt like we had that potential. I
knew if we just do our job, we can do that, and was happy to see it kind of
come to fruition.
Q. You get a good cut of it the bonus. After buying some baby stuff for the
newborn, what is the first dumb thing you're going to buy with the money?
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I don't know. I don't know. Probably a bunch of McDonald's.
Probably over a hundred dollars worth of McDonald's at least. That's
probably stop one. After that, I don't know. We'll have to see.
Q. Will had a line in the interview that it's hard to get wins except for
Josef, he's got multiple. How hard is it to win now compared to earlier in
your career? What do they mean now?
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: It's extremely difficult. It's hard to win a pole. Hard to
win a race. The landscape is not constant these days. I think 10 years ago
you used to have sort of consistent trends. When a team would find a
performance edge, they would typically carry that edge across the entire
year.
Whereas now I think people find these little edges on each other like every
weekend. It's going up and down all the time.
You see a McLaren strong at one track, Andretti strong at another, Ganassi
pops up, ECR pops up, we're in the mix. Then a Shank pops up. It's never
ending.
We say every year it's the closest competition we ever had. Somehow it keeps
getting tighter. It must be just the development of this car has really hit
a fine point. You're just constantly tuning little things now, millimeters
of changes.
The driving style is getting tighter, with simulators, all this stuff you
can analyze. It's impossible to hide something from the competition.
Yeah, it is very difficult to win these races consistently. To be able to
put multiple on the board, it's a job well done to everybody in the 2 group.
Q. Three wins is like what drivers are looking for, if you want to win the
championship, you have to win three races. Do you feel like you've got the
momentum in the championship or is that still with Marcus after the 500 win?
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: It's been a little bit too up and down for us. Kind of
feast or famine. I think we genuinely had the potential for four or five
wins up to this point. So we've done three of the potential five, let's say.
The other ones that we weren't winning, we were finishing too far back.
We've got to up our consistency. It's a little abnormal for us. I feel like
we're a fairly consistent group. So I'm not going to lose sleep on why that
was happening. Sometimes you get in these little micro trends where we
didn't have the consistency we needed.
Number one, we need to clean that up. We need to win a couple more races
before the year is out because of the way the first part of the season went.
We definitely have wins on the board. But definitely more than wins,
consistency is going to rule the day this year, for sure.
Q. (No microphone.)
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yeah, I mean, I felt good coming into the season. I felt
good about last year. I remember we were getting hounded, up to this point
last year we were getting hounded on why we hadn't won a race.
For me it was funny because I'm like, You guys must not be inside our
internal network and seeing. We're just totally fine, totally fine. There's
not a problem with the team. We're where we need to be. Just wasn't clicking
off for some reason.
I felt that way going into this season and I feel that way now. I think
we're in a good spot. We have to clean up the consistency. For one reason or
another that didn't happen up to this point. I know if we keep doing our
normal thing, that will come.
We just need to keep on a good track here till the finish. Feel very
positive about our group. I mean, we don't have anything negative going on.
Honestly, there's nothing that I could be complaining about. We got a really
strong team, everything is in a good place, great partnerships with Tammy
Chevy and everyone else. Yeah, feel good about it.
Q. (Question about the late caution.)
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yeah, I mean, I think I cooked my stuff a little bit too
much on that second stint. I was aggressive with traffic. That's where I
think I got the gap, was I was more aggressive than he was cutting through
either a lap marker or an alternate strategy. So that ripped a really nice
gap for us.
After that it was more just trying to manage it. I kept watching my gap to
him. I was trying to study where he was strong and where I was weak. I just
kind of focused on tire management after that point.
I could tell he was very good in the beginning through 75% of the stint. I
think we had the edge in the last 25%. Look, we have a good gap here, got
more overtake, let's just try to manage tires. That was my game plan as I
got to middle to finish. I think that worked well for us.
I was surprised. We didn't get to see what was going to happen in the first
stint because of all the yellows. That's where I thought I was going to find
the exposure for him. I was a little bit worried, we missed that
opportunity, but let's see what happens on the primaries. It worked out. I
think we had a fast car all around.
Q. Can you explain how restarts work here.
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yeah, typically in INDYCAR now the rule is there's a
restart zone that's designated. Typically it's around the final corner,
sometimes sort of encompassing the entire final corner, sometimes it's a bit
more.
In our case, it's kind of 13 to 14, that lead-up into 14 is the restart
zone. So the procedure for us is the pace car lets us get temperature, does
a pretty quick lap, then slows us down. By the time we get to the carrousel,
packs us up. As we get to turn 12, he tries to get away. We let him get away
to where we can start 13 to 14. That's our process.
Q. (No microphone.)
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Rossi was as tight as he could be to me when I got on the
gas. He definitely wasn't getting jacked up, to use your words. It's just
the point. INDYCAR sort of designates the restart area or zone that you can
start in. We know that. That's what I did today.
Q. From our point of view once you got the lead, it seemed like you were
pretty comfortable. Was it that comfortable to you? Anything you think you
could have done better?
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I would say it was only fairly comfortable today. I didn't
feel like we were lights out better than anybody. But I felt like we were
just as good. I felt we were kind of toe-to-toe with Rossi today. It was
just about managing the tires the best.
I think raw pace on the primaries, we were probably similar. It was a matter
of when you wanted to push them.
Yeah, what can we learn? There's always a lot of little stuff. We're going
to go back and analyze the sectors, look at straights versus corners,
mechanical changes that we made. We're going to analyze all of it and see
where we can optimize for next year.
At this point the broad strokes are very good for this track, these
conditions. Now that I'm also saying that, we're going to come back next
year and it's going to be a completely new challenge, they're going to
resurface this place. We are still going to analyze and learn what we can
from this season, but pretty open book next year.
Q. This track could be quite a bit different. Do you think that's a good
thing? Do you think it needs it or rather it stay like it is?
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I'm indifferent. If it's up to me...
(Loss of audio.)
[ht ; FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports]
Next up???
Mid-Ohio - The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Presented by the All-New 2023 Civic
Type R on Sunday, July 3 (noon ET, NBC, Peacock Premium, INDYCAR Radio
Network).
TAGS: Josef Newgarden, The PeopleReady Force for Good Challenge, 1 Million
Dollars, Marcus Ericsson, Will Power, Team Penske, Chevrolet-Powered, Road
America, Halfway, Sonsio Grand Prix at Road America presented by AMR,
The EDJE
Will Power celebrates his third win at the park setting (41 career
wins/5th all-time) in the fountain at Belle Isle, a street course
race track that come to its end after 30 years of history and
service. Image Credit: Penske Entertainment (2022)
A Mature And Focused Drive By Will Power Delivers 100th Chevy INDYCAR
Win
While not qualifying well, as is the Will Power template at this parkland
concrete "winterized" track, Team Penske set out a strategy that worked
perfectly here during this, the last running of the Chevrolet Detroit Grand
Prix presented by Lear at Belle Isle, Detroit.
After an appreciated 30 year run, the Detroit city fathers and Detroit Belle
Isle Grand Prix Inc. have decided to bring this Grand Prix challenge back to
the streets through a temporary downtown circuit that will be slower, be
shorter, have fewer turns, but will bring racing engine sounds bouncing off of
the glass enclosed skyscrapers that make up the city of Detroit landscape.
Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix Inc. informed the Detroit City
Council panel that they wished to move the event off from the island
park and into the city's downtown. Under the Grand Prix's
proposal, the race will be held on Detroit streets from 2023 through
2025. The 2023 race track is proposed to run on Jefferson and
Atwater, essentially between Rivard and Bates, and have it proceed
past the monument to Joe Louis. The track will be counter-clockwise,
10-Turns, 1.7 miles (shorter than Belle Isle’s clockwise, 14-Turn,
2.3-mile circuit). The racetrack will include dual pit lane and a
U-turn at the Joe Louis fist in the heart of downtown. Image Credit:
The Detroit News (2021)
NTT INDYCAR SERIES News Conference - Sunday, June 5, 2022
Will Power - Post Race Press Conference
THE MODERATOR - INTRODUCTION: Congratulations to Will Power. Win number three
at the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear. Now ties with Scott
Dixon and Helio Castroneves for most wins on the island, wrapping up the
island era as we head to the streets of Detroit next year.
First win of the season. 41st career win. Fifth all time. Now one behind
Michael Andretti for fourth all time. Sixth different winner this year. You
also take over the points lead, you're three up on Marcus Ericsson.
THE MODERATOR: How did you do all that on reds at the end? How difficult was
that? How satisfying at the end of the day?
WILL POWER: Yeah, obviously very satisfying. Redemption from last year. Yeah,
the last stint, it was good because it had such a gap. On the out lap, it was
really nice. You can do a bit of damage on the cold tires. I was really
cognizant of not slipping the tire too much. Then just got in a rhythm and
drove it really straight, really straight. Can be very quick that way. Just a
certain way you can drive when tires are like that.
The fact that the track had rubbered so much looked after them. They never,
like, dropped and I was like, Oh, my God. I just looked after them in case
there was a battle at the end. If I had to go hard at the end, I think I could
have.
THE MODERATOR: Getting Chevrolet's 100th win in their backyard. How proud are
you to get number 100 for these guys?
WILL POWER: Yeah, great. I think I've got 26 of those 100. That's what they
said. Yeah, very cool to have a partner like Chevy. I've been with them since
2012. Yeah, we've certainly had a lot of fun together. Won a championship, won
an Indy 500, and a ride in the game this year again.
I cannot thank them enough. They work really hard. Certainly improved over
last year. Better drivability, better engine all around.
Yeah, really proud to get the hundredth.
THE MODERATOR: Another championship for them when it's all said and done.
WILL POWER: That would be amazing. That's the goal.
THE MODERATOR: Questions.
Q. Facetiously, do y'all's mirrors have 'objects closer than they appear' on
them? How close did Alexander Rossi look there on the last lap especially?
WILL POWER: Yeah, that was the first glimpse I got, I think. I had it on my
dash where I can see the time behind and in front. I was getting updated every
lap.
We held the gap, the same gap for a while. When I got stuck behind Harvey, I
just kind of managed that gap. Yeah, the lap car in INDYCAR is a real deal and
it's a problem (laughter).
Jimmie Johnson, when you follow him, he's amazing. Like, he's as fast as you
ever see him go when you're coming, trying to get past him. I'm not joking. He
actually drives really well then.
Q. Were you in that zone again today? What is that like?
WILL POWER: It's hard to get to that place. I used to be there a lot often
when I was younger. But, yeah, it's just one of those zones where everything's
clicking so well, you're 100% in the middle, it's that flow state. You can't
make a mistake. You don't make a mistake. Just so much space there to play
with it, you could say, like manipulate it, play with it.
Hard to explain. But I would get in that state for qualifying often, pump out
some pretty ridiculous laps. That was today. That was the race for me. In a
really good spot.
Q. Were you surprised there were no cautions today?
WILL POWER: Yes, I was surprised. But then, you know, we have races like that.
Such a good field, like there's no bad drivers. There's no drivers that
shouldn't be there. I mean, they're all good. It doesn't surprise me it was a
mistake-free race.
As you've seen, what is it, seven races, six different winners? That's just
the norm for INDYCAR now. The Fast Six is a different group every time, differ
polesitter. There's no series like this in the world.
If you were to compare this to Formula 1, there's really two guys that are
going to battle it out in Formula 1 right now. You're comparing to the best,
biggest series in the world.
In INDYCAR try guess who will win the next race or who will be on pole, win
the championship. Just try guess. You couldn't. It's impossible. I mean,
there's so many good guys.
We need to get it out there. This product is so good. The racing is so good.
It's so unpredictable. A different winner every week. The racing is great.
Q. Could you go into detail what you did with the reds. Some drivers started
complaining about them going away after two, three laps. You kept them on for
20.
WILL POWER: Yeah, no, we were aware of that. I think the fact the track
rubbered up is why we left it till the last stint. We had a good gap, so you
could come out, you didn't have to battle someone on your out lap, and you
could look after them, slowly get them up to temp without slipping them too
much, then drive the car real straight.
Yeah, I was very aware of all that. Then aware of the time behind. I kept
keeping the same gap for quite a while. We're pretty good here if nothing
happens. Coming up on a group of cars was a bit of a worry. You get the
turbulent air, this car moves around more.
I never feel like I'm going to win until the very last maybe two laps or
something because, as you know, last year, I think I'm going to win this. No,
you're not. There's been a few of them over the last few years of my career.
Until you cross the checkered, till you get that, you're not home.
Q. You mentioned a mental shift, maybe how you're approaching races
differently. Have you done something differently or maybe the different place
you feel you're in this year compared to the last couple?
WILL POWER: Yes, I am definitely, as far as in the race goes, I certainly
perfected that sort of mental place you need to be in, decision making and
such. But that was there last year. It's just that I had a lot of unfortunate
things happen last year that really put me out of contention in some big
races, in some races where I was top three for sure. It wasn't obvious.
It looks like a big change, but it's not a big change. I've had years of this.
I'm so experienced at it, so I know it so well. I understand the game so well.
I'm just executing as you should at my experience level. You're getting
everything right, like all the details.
Obviously qualifying, hmm, a bit disappointed with that. I never qualify well
here. I was 19th last year, so... I race well. Yeah, yeah.
Q. You mentioned you feel like you're racing the best you ever have in your
career. Is that due to that mental approach? How do you feel you're different
than you were in '14 when you won a championship?
WILL POWER: When I used to qualify on pole very often and start the very front
very often, you're not racing in the pack very often. Now rarely am I right at
the front for qualifying. Sometimes. No one is consistently at the front
anymore. It's just too tough. So you're racing around other cars, you get very
good at that, too. You get very good at restarts, good at judging where you
should be. That's something I missed out early on in my career because I was
so fast, I was in the front, I was always leading.
So, yeah, obviously fast. INDYCAR rules, as they are, rewards often qualifying
badly. That's no joke, it does. You can really go off the guys in front of
you. That's not always the case, but it's the beauty of INDYCAR, you can come
from 16th and win, you can come from 19th at Barber and finish fourth. Did I
get on the podium there?
THE MODERATOR: Fourth.
WILL POWER: Actually, you're having a lot of fun doing that, yeah.
Q. Do you feel like you're having the most fun you've ever had in your career?
WILL POWER: I'm not disappointed with bad results anymore. It is what it is.
That's one thing that has changed with me. I really don't care. I don't have
to put anything more up on the board. I could stop right now. I don't have to.
So I haven't got that pressure. I just don't care anymore. I'm just enjoying
it.
I massively care about my craft. I want to do it absolutely properly. But I
don't care for a bad result because it is a part of the game. That's one thing
that has changed me because I've learnt that's not fair. Yes, it is. I'm
extremely lucky to be doing what I'm doing, just extremely lucky, just
fortunate that I'm in this position to race cars and get paid for it. It's
insane. Compared to what you could be doing... It can always be worse, no
matter. It just can. Just lucky.
Q. How physical was the event this afternoon?
WILL POWER: Wasn't physical for me. I was just fine. Yeah, I didn't find it
physical at all.
Q. In terms of the continuity you have going into the rest of the season, how
much confidence does that give you going into Road America and beyond?
WILL POWER: It's different every weekend. But we have been really strong at
pretty much everywhere except Indy this year.
Yeah, yep, I think the team, the engine is really good. I think the team is
good. It has been. Everything is just flying nicely for us now.
Yeah, we want to be competitive for the rest of the year. We want to be in the
championship hunt. That's the goal.
THE MODERATOR: This attitude you have about not finishing well, not caring,
does any of that play into being a dad?
WILL POWER: Honestly, I just think it's just getting older. You know you're
not going to be around. Once you've been on this earth for 40 years, Well,
that went pretty quick. So the next 20 of being able to do stuff is going to
go real fast. So who cares. Enjoy it. Enjoy it. That's it. It gets faster and
faster. It's ridiculous, the years. I couldn't remember my last win last year.
Somebody asked me when was the win last year. I couldn't remember.
THE MODERATOR: Being a dad is part of that, though.
WILL POWER: Absolutely. Best thing ever. I want four of them. Wife doesn't. I
love it, man. She does the hard yards. I don't really do the hard yards. I
just get to enjoy the kid.
Q. After the start of the season you had, how important was it to get back up
with the championship standings after what happened at Indy?
WILL POWER: I was really happy in Indy to finish 15th, just starting how I
did. Falling back to 30th. I just said in my head, Just keep digging. Every
point matters. That's kind of what I've been doing. Every point matters.
I finished 15th. That's not bad. A couple legit championship contenders had
bad days. We're still in it. We were only 24 behind after that. Had a good day
there, be looking real good.
You're going to have that all year, these ups and downs. The straighter you
can keep that line, the better it is.
Q. Coming up to Road America, you've had wins, podiums. How happy are you
that's the next venue INDYCAR is heading to?
WILL POWER: Yeah, I'm looking forward to it. I'm looking forward to a bunch of
these races coming up. Doesn't mean you're going to have a good day. Yeah,
know the track, all the tracks. Yeah, going to do all the work necessary to be
competitive.
Q. Going through the field like you did, you were only one of nine drivers to
start on the black tires. How much fun was it being able to go around everyone
on the reds?
WILL POWER: That was fun. I have to thank my engineer. He did a great job. He
put a setup on that was all him. It was all his setup. In warmup I said, Yeah,
I think this thing is real good.
I was very focused on getting all the guys on plaques, which was two. I got
Kirkwood and I got Dixon. After that just picked them off. Got to Newgarden.
Oh, we're actually in the lead here. Then, Let's go. Took off.
Q. Were you ever worried about having a repeat of what happened with Josef
after a late yellow?
WILL POWER: That was a possibility. That was the risk we took. We started
16th. If that was happening, I was going to be happy to hang on to a top five
or something, get good points.
Didn't get the yellow. Looked after the reds. It paid off. It was a risk worth
taking.
Q. How did it feel to finally be able to go in the fountain this time?
WILL POWER: Getting in the fountain was really rewarding. I can't believe it
actually happened because I knew it was the last race, what are the chances. I
lost the chance last year. I thought the chance of it happening again is
pretty slim, especially after qualifying.
You can never give up. Never give up.
Q. Did you hear us rooting for you?
WILL POWER: Yeah.
Q. We were shouting, Take a swim.
WILL POWER: Well, I took a swim.
Q. After all the shenanigans of last year, did you go into this year at the
start of the season having this race a little more important than others on
the calendar?
WILL POWER: It was a race on my mind, no question. I wanted to get that one,
yep. Not that you were able to do any more work for this race because it was
so close after the 500, you're exhausted. You get to do the simulator.
Yeah, it's funny how things work out. That's why you don't sweat it on the bad
days because they do come back. You just relax and let it come to you. It
feels like it's the way life rolls. Never is perfect. It just isn't. It's not
built for humans to have perfection.
Q. How soon after the race last year were you starting to think about this
race this year?
WILL POWER: I think in the off-season I'll, like, flag a race in my head, I
want to win that race. Often it happens. It's crazy, but it does. I know it's
just planting that seed in your subconscious. Just unfolds as it should, yeah.
I can't remember if I was thinking of this one in the off-season. Maybe.
Q. Earlier you talked about turbulence passing cars. Am I crazy to ask you
being held up by Jack Harvey, did that help?
WILL POWER: Yeah, that was hurting the car. I was aware of that. He ain't
going to give me any help. But I knew I could get Ferrucci to help me out. He
was pretty good at the beginning of the race. Ferrucci backed off, which
opened it up for Harvey a little bit to pull the gap.
I was thinking if I could get Santino to let Jack go, let us both go, he's
going to take off and give us more of an air gap, and that happened.
Q. (No microphone.)
WILL POWER: The blue flag means zero in this series. It's ridiculous they even
put it out. We've been pushing, all the drivers, have been pushing. Should
mean something. At least with 25% of the race to go it should mean something.
Q. You mentioned you feel like you were in a similar mental place last year
and this year. Is there a specific time in the recent past where you feel you
changed your approach to racing?
WILL POWER: If you go back and look at let's say the last two years, you will
find that there are some pretty ridiculous things that have happened that were
out of my control. Like I can't really -- I don't know why they happened. Is
it an attitude? Is it a vibe you give off? Some of the mistakes we made like
in pits or things have gone wrong? I don't know.
You get more relaxed as you get older. Yeah, there's not a massive shift
mentally. I mean, yes, certainly this year -- let's just leave it. I'll tell
you after I retire (laughter). I don't give much away.
Q. You signed a new two-year deal starting this year. You mentioned not
knowing how much longer you're going to be doing this. Any sort of freedom
when you enter a contract knowing this might be potentially the last couple
years?
WILL POWER: I'd say there's freedom in not caring -- not having to add to
anything you've done. That's the feeling I have. I could stop now and be
satisfied with what I've done.
Yeah, anything else you add on to that is a bonus. There's freedom. You don't
have the pressure of I'm only two years into my career and I have to try to
make a living out of it. You know what I mean?
It doesn't matter. I could stop now and it would be okay. But I'm still
performing at a really high level, probably better than I ever have. So just
enjoying that. Trying to extract the most out of it is the enjoying part of
it.
Q. On the strategy you did today, at the beginning the blacks seemed to work
better. I would like to know what were the rationals for you leaving the reds
till the end? Was it decided before the race or on the fly?
WILL POWER: It was talked about before the race but it was decided on the fly
because the further we went, the more rubber went down and the more chance
that the reds would last. That was the thinking behind that. That was the
reason.
The later you did it, the better chance you were going to have to holding onto
them.
Q. It was a green flag race but we have McLoughlin speeding, coming back to
the race. Any fears after yellow flag coming?
WILL POWER: There was definitely fear of a yellow at the end because that
would have been really tough. Yeah, it didn't happen, so... I was pretty
surprised to have a full green race here.
Q. How good does it feel winning Detroit this year knowing what happened to
you last year? Of all those tracks we have ahead on the championship, which is
the track you feel most excited to race? Which do you feel it's going to help
you for fighting the championship this year?
WILL POWER: Yeah, I was really excited to obviously win this race after last
year. Had my eye on it for quite a while.
And the tracks coming up? They're all good. I mean, it's so hard to know where
you'll be strong or where you'll be weak because the series is so tough now.
Everyone is so good. It's very mixed up week after week. You just got to try
to be consistent.
I don't see any tracks -- well, I would say Indy road course I'm usually
pretty good. Can be hit-or-miss sometimes. Yeah, all the tracks, looking
forward to them all coming up. I have won at most of them, but some I won a
long time ago.
THE MODERATOR: The People Ready Force For Good Challenge, $10,000 split today
amongst you and the team, your favorite charity, which I believe is Speedway
Children's Charities, is that correct?
WILL POWER: Yes. Speedway? It should be Charlotte.
THE MODERATOR: Tell us a little bit about that, the charity.
WILL POWER: Why I picked that charity?
THE MODERATOR: Exactly.
WILL POWER: I really have a lot of empathy for kids after I had my own kid. I
want to help them in any way I possibly can. That's why I chose that charity.
THE MODERATOR: The name again?
WILL POWER: Actually, yeah, the Speedway Children's Charity. I believe so. I
told them to get a charity that was for kids, and they told me there was a
Speedway charity.
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