Penske driver Josef Newgarden claimed his third win of the IndyCar season at the Sonsio Grand Prix held at the Road America track in Wisconsin.
Newgarden became the first driver this season to claim wins on an oval, road, and street course making him the winner of the PeopleReady Force for Good Challenge which entails a $1 million bonus.
The amount will be divided equally with Penske and Newgarden receiving $500,000 while the other $500,000 will go to a charity of Newgarden’s choosing.
Newgarden decided to split the amount between two charities the SeriousFun Children’s Network and Wags and Walks Nashville.
Newgarden dominant throughout the race
Despite the appearance of two caution periods during the last 10 laps of the race Newgarden never looked in danger of surrendering his lead.
The Penske driver led 26 of the race’s 55 laps. Indy 500 winner Marcus Ericsson would finish second with two other ex-Formula 1 drivers in the form of Alexander Rossi and Romain Grosjean finishing third and fourth.
Newgarden happy to help
While the Nashville native was delighted to win the race he was equally delighted to have been able to help the charities of his choosing.
The Penske driver also highlighted how his team has played a crucial role in helping him taste success across three distinct types of race tracks.
“To finally get it done and most importantly to give that money to charity, half of that money is going to charity with SeriousFun Network and Wags and Walks Nashville,” Newgarden said after the race.
“I hope they’re happy about it. That’s a lot of money coming their way.
“You’ve got to be on your toes at all times (in this series). You can go in with a plan, but you probably have to change your plan 90 percent of the time once the race starts to unfold.
“To be able to hit all these disciplines with this team, for me it’s the best series in the world.
“I was just trying to stay focused on what I had to do. Just an unbelievable job by everybody at Team Penske.”
Ericsson laments contact with teammate
Despite finishing second Swedish driver Ericsson had a bit of a scare while battling with teammate and reigning champion Alex Palou, on Lap 5.
The teammates touched while battling with each other with the ensuing result dropping Palou back down the order with the Spanish driver eventually finishing 27th.
“First of all, I’m really sorry,” Ericsson said of the incident.
“You never want to have contact with a teammate. From my point of view, the door was open, and I was already side by side. If you see a gap, you go for it. It’s important at the beginning of the race to get track position.
“It was a really good race, and we had a really strong weekend. Super happy with P2.”
The result leaves Ericsson back at the head of the standings with the 2022 INDY 500 winner now 27 points ahead of Will Power.
The INDYCAR Series will now move to The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Presented by the All-New 2023 Civic Type R which will be run on July 3, 2022.
