IndyCar: Newgarden tops Practice 1 at Laguna Seca

Josef Newgarden was the only Chevy powered car in the top-11 in Practice 1 for the Firestone GP of Laguna Seca, and he beat 10 other Honda-powered cars to lead the session.

Newgarden’s time of 1m11.7125s beat Colton Herta by just 0.0802s. Herta tried a fast lap late, but he was among the many drivers running out of talent and going off course trying to catch Newgarden.

Points leader Alex Palou was third quick while Ed Jones and Alexander Rossi rounded out the top-5.

Third in points, Newgarden is almost in a must-win situation this weekend, depending on where Palou finishes, and he was driving the pants off the #2 Penske Chevy, his hands going lock-to-lock,  to put his car on top.

“Overall, we unloaded pretty good,” Newgarden said. “Small differences here or there, but for the most part globally it felt like the car was in the window. Just got to look after it.

“Obviously, things can change quickly. In Portland, we were pretty sorted out in practice one, we choked in qualifying and were pretty far off the pace. That’s the number one thing for us in the 2 car, have a consistent run all the way through. If we can do that, we’ll be in the fight.”

Newgarden enters this penultimate event of the season third in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES standings, 34 points behind leader Palou. It’s far from impossible he can rally for a third career title, but he’ll need to leapfrog Palou and second-place Pato O’Ward – 25 points behind Palou – to wear the crown.

Colton Herta was second at 1:11.7927 in the No. 26 Gainbridge Honda before going off course just past the famous Corkscrew turn complex in the final minute of the 45-minute session on the 11-turn, 2.238-mile road course on the beautiful Monterey Peninsula of Northern California. 2019 Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey winner Herta made no contact and continued to the pits.

“I think it’s tough to do a 45-minute session on one set of tires,” Herta said. “Waiting for most of it, waiting to see what kind of lap times guys were doing.

“Compared to when we were at the test, I think the track was a lot better. It was quite nice. Even though it seemed like it was similar temperature, seemed to be a little bit more grip today.”

Palou was third overall in the practice at 1:11.9750 in the No. 10 NTT Data Honda. Ed Jones was fourth at 1:12.0166 in the No. 18 SealMaster Honda, while 2016 Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge winner Alexander Rossi rounded out the top five at 1:12.0625 in the No. 27 NAPA AUTO PARTS/AutoNation Honda.

Among the other three drivers mathematically eligible to win the Astor Challenge Cup as season champion, Marcus Ericsson (fifth, 75 points behind) was 10th at 1:12.3564 in the No. 8 Huski Chocolate Chip Ganassi Racing Honda.

Six-time series champion Scott Dixon (fourth, 49 points behind) ended up 11th at 1:12.4415 in the No. 9 PNC Bank Grow Up Great Honda, while O’Ward was 14th at 1:12.4982 in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet.

Herta wasn’t the only driver to go off track while pushing for lap time toward the end of the session.

Kellett off at the Corkscrew
Kellett off at the Corkscrew

Four-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves nudged the tire barrier in Turn 2, also known as the Andretti Hairpin, with the nose of his No. 06 Meyer Shank Racing Honda with about 18 minutes remaining. Then Rossi went off in Turn 3 and continued, while Sebastien Bourdais spun and continued in the No. 14 ROKiT/AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet.

Rookie of the Year points leader Scott McLaughlin also slowed in the final minute approaching the Corkscrew turn complex.

Practice 1 Times

Pos No Name Time Diff Gap Speed Engine Team
1 2 Josef Newgarden 1:11.7125 1:11.7125 0.000 112.349 Chevy Team Penske
2 26 Colton Herta 1:11.7927 0.0802 0.0802 112.223 Honda Andretti Autosport
3 10 Alex Palou 1:11.9750 0.2625 0.1823 111.939 Honda Chip Ganassi Racing
4 18 Ed Jones 1:12.0166 0.3041 0.0416 111.874 Honda Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser Sullivan
5 27 Alexander Rossi 1:12.0625 0.3500 0.0459 111.803 Honda Andretti Autosport
6 45 Oliver Askew 1:12.1516 0.4391 0.0891 111.665 Honda Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
7 29 James Hinchcliffe 1:12.1885 0.4760 0.0369 111.608 Honda Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport
8 60 Jack Harvey 1:12.2289 0.5164 0.0404 111.545 Honda Meyer Shank Racing
9 51 Romain Grosjean 1:12.3210 0.6085 0.0921 111.403 Honda Dale Coyne Racing w/RWR
10 8 Marcus Ericsson 1:12.3564 0.6439 0.0354 111.349 Honda Chip Ganassi Racing
11 9 Scott Dixon 1:12.4415 0.7290 0.0851 111.218 Honda Chip Ganassi Racing
12 3 Scott McLaughlin 1:12.4462 0.7337 0.0047 111.211 Chevy Team Penske
13 06 Helio Castroneves 1:12.4757 0.7632 0.0295 111.166 Honda Meyer Shank Racing
14 5 Pato O’Ward 1:12.4982 0.7857 0.0225 111.131 Chevy Arrow McLaren SP
15 12 Will Power 1:12.5701 0.8576 0.0719 111.021 Chevy Team Penske
16 7 Felix Rosenqvist 1:12.7014 0.9889 0.1313 110.820 Chevy Arrow McLaren SP
17 15 Graham Rahal 1:12.8486 1.1361 0.1472 110.596 Honda Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
18 14 Sebastien Bourdais 1:12.9506 1.2381 0.1020 110.442 Chevy AJ Foyt Enterprises
19 30 Takuma Sato 1:12.9923 1.2798 0.0417 110.379 Honda Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
20 22 Simon Pagenaud 1:13.0318 1.3193 0.0395 110.319 Chevy Team Penske
21 21 Rinus VeeKay 1:13.0717 1.3592 0.0399 110.259 Chevy Ed Carpenter Racing
22 28 Ryan Hunter-Reay 1:13.1024 1.3899 0.0307 110.213 Honda Andretti Autosport
23 20 Conor Daly 1:13.1403 1.4278 0.0379 110.155 Chevy Ed Carpenter Racing
24 48 Jimmie Johnson 1:13.2609 1.5484 0.1206 109.974 Honda Chip Ganassi Racing
25 59 Max Chilton 1:13.3980 1.6855 0.1371 109.769 Chevy Carlin
26 4 Dalton Kellett 1:13.7256 2.0131 0.3276 109.281 Chevy AJ Foyt Enterprises
27 77 Callum Ilott 1:13.7398 2.0273 0.0142 109.260 Chevy Juncos Hollinger Racing