Newgarden wins Edmonton Lights race 2

Newgarden shows some love to his trophy

Josef Newgarden earned his fourth victory of the season by a comfortable margin over Andretti Autosport's Stefan Wilson in the second Edmonton Twin 100.

Ironically, Newgarden's good fortune came when he was passed by teammate Esteban Guerrieri, who overtook pole sitter Newgarden in Turn 5 on the 2.224-mile, 13-turn course. In the process, the front wing assembly was damaged. Guerrieri continued until Lap 22, when the endplate of the wing began cutting into the right-front tire.

Newgarden overtook his teammate for the lead — and inherited a 10-second advantage over Wilson — when Guerrieri pitted to have the Sam Schmidt Motorsports crew switch front wings. All Newgarden had to do the remaining laps was stay out of trouble and enjoy the ride in the No. 11 Copart/Score Big/Robo-Pong/Sam Schmidt Motorsports car.

Andretti Autosport's Peter Dempsey, who wound up on his top in a Race 1 crash, finished third and Victor Carbone posted a season-best fourth place in the No. 3 Nevoni/Sam Schmidt Motorsports car. Oliver Webb, making his Firestone Indy Lights debut this weekend, was fifth in the No. 12 Jensen MotorSport car.

POST RACE QUOTES:

JOSEF NEWGARDEN (No. 11 Copart/Score Big/Robo-Pong/SSM, winner Edmonton 100 Race #2): "You can talk about it all day long, what you're going to do but you don't know actually what is going to happen until you get in the race. You've got to be heads up at all times. And certainly between Esteban (Guerrieri) and me, everyone has been asking about it. Especially this weekend it seems like everyone is interested in the dynamics between us two. We're good friends. The reason we're so quick is that we're working so hard together. We're pushing each other and I think that's why we're doing such a good job. The team has given us an incredible amount of good equipment. It's a tribute to all the guys we have on the staff. Sam has brought in the right people to help us. We have the people around us so we can push each other."

STEFAN WILSON (No. 5 Andretti Autosport, finished second): "Peter (Dempsey) and I work really well together and push each other hard and that is what teammates are supposed to do. We have a lot of mutual respect for each other which is good. I had a good weekend in Toronto and it is too bad that we couldn't repeat that same success here. I think some of that is due to the amount of track time. We didn't have a lot of time to get our car set up. I had to miss a half hour of practice because I made a mistake in practice and crashed in a turn. It took me out of the practice and cost me a lot of track time. Track time is so vital here especially with the two races here this weekend. I am pleased to have come back though after starting thirteenth yesterday and being able to start third today and racing to get second. Something I really enjoy about racing is getting to pass cars and the overtake."

PETER DEMPSEY (No. 26 Andretti Autosport, finished third): "Hats off to the Andretti Autosport team for staying here all night and getting my car ready for today after my incident in Race #1 yesterday. I really appreciate all they did to get me ready for today. I don't know what Esteban was doing there the last couple of laps after he was already two laps down. I think we should all hard and push each other as much as possible but he really hurt me at the end when I was trying to get a second place. I am happy to be on the podium with my teammate."

VICTOR CARBONE (No. 3 Nevoni/Sam Schmidt Motorsports, finished fourth): "It was a good race for me. I had a good, clean start. I took my time, like yesterday, to overtake Anders. From there on, I just focused on not making any mistakes and to open a gap that was comfortable. I'm happy. This is my best weekend so far in the Firestone Indy Lights Series. I want to thank the Sam Schmidt guys for all their hard work. I hope to do the same in the next race."

OLIVER WEBB (No. 12 Jensen MotorSport, finished fifth): "The race was not too bad. The start was the biggest thing. We were struggling in second and third gear and mid sector, we were great, which is where we struggled yesterday. On the start we lost three places. Good overall with a third and a fifth for my first-ever time and I'm happy."

ESTEBAN GUERRIERI (No. 7 Lucas Oil/Sam Schmidt Motorsports): "It was an aggressive move on Josef. It was the closest I had been to him since the start. I was very good on the breaks. I dived in and didn't think there would be contact, but I knew it would be difficult for him to open the door. I understand that. It was an aggressive move, as I say, unfortunately the bad luck came my way. I broke the front wing. I knew it was failing. My engineer told me it was damaged, and I could feel no downforce in the front. Eventually, the wing cut my front left tire. It was a bit unlucky, but I don't regret it. I had to be aggressive and that's what I did." (About the black flag): "The team told me that when I overtake those guys, try not to effect the outcome of the race, but 'keep racing because there are two guys in front of you that are on your same lap.' If I listen to that and I am a second and a half faster a lap than them, I had to try, you know. Dempsey got a bad exit from Turn 1, and I passed him in turn five. But then they black flagged me and it's a shame."

Results Sunday of the Edmonton Twin 100s – Race 2 Firestone Indy Lights event on the 2.224 mile Edmonton Airport Circuit, with order of finish, starting position in parentheses, driver, laps completed and reason out (if any):

1. (1) Josef Newgarden, 40, Running
2. (3) Stefan Wilson, 40, Running
3. (6) Peter Dempsey, 40, Running
4. (8) Victor Carbone, 40, Running
5. (5) Oliver Webb, 40, Running
6. (4) Anders Krohn, 40, Running
7. (11) Daniel Herrington, 40, Running
8. (14) David Ostella, 40, Running
9. (12) Duarte Ferreira, 40, Running
10. (16) Tyler Dueck, 40, Running
11. (15) Daniel Morad, 39, Running
12. (10) Jorge Goncalvez, 39, Running
13. (13) Stefan Rzadzinski, 39, Running
14. (2) Esteban Guerrieri, 36, Running
15. (9) Bruno Andrade, 20, Contact
16. (7) Gustavo Yacaman, 14, Mechanical

Race Statistics
Winners average speed: 94.017
Time of Race: 00:56:46.3800
Margin of victory: 14.5501
Cautions: 0
Lead changes: 2
Lap Leaders: Newgarden 1-8, Guerrieri 9-21, Newgarden 22-40
Point Standings: Newgarden 358, Guerrieri 298, Wilson 293, Yacaman 230, Goncalvez 225, Dempsey 212, Krohn 210, Carbone 205, Ostella 200, Victor Garcia 199