Newly crowned Verizon IndyCar Series champion Josef Newgarden has continued his whirlwind month of travel following his IndyCar title clinched at Sonoma, by paying a visit to Austin this week for the United States Grand Prix at Circuit of The Americas, and sandwiching a trip to the Auger Shell oil rig in-between.
Earlier in the week, Newgarden joined his Team Penske NASCAR teammate Joey Logano and Scuderia Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel for a Shell event on Wednesday ahead of the Grand Prix. That came after spending Tuesday in Detroit at General Motors’ proving grounds.
Shell supports both Ferrari and Team Penske, and with Helio Castroneves off to the Acura Team Penske IMSA sports car program next year, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Newgarden activated and utilized by Shell Pennzoil a bit more next season. Shell and Team Penske announced a long-term extension earlier this year.
WEDNESDAY PREP
Gameday! 👍#ShellLive at the #USGP. 2:15pm CT. Don't miss it!
— ShellMotorsportTeam (@ShellMotorsport) October 18, 2017
👉 https://t.co/uGL1CJA4bZ pic.twitter.com/hZ8SdOZatm
Yes ladies and gentlemen, that’s your reigning @verizon @IndyCar Champion in a Keep Austin Weird t-shirt. You’re welcome. @josefnewgarden pic.twitter.com/m7RPiGtS1l
— Team Penske (@Team_Penske) October 18, 2017
We're wishing fellow @Shell driver #Seb5 good luck in today's #USGP at @COTA after he hung out w/ @JosefNewgarden & @JoeyLogano last week. pic.twitter.com/p9VTw3UtoO
— Team Penske (@Team_Penske) October 22, 2017
Who swung it better? ⛳️ #ShellLive
— ShellMotorsportTeam (@ShellMotorsport) October 20, 2017
👉 https://t.co/K0IOODnJXt pic.twitter.com/uj0qZi4vsI
#RIGTOROAD WITH SHELL
After the three Shell-supported drivers enjoyed a day of media work and practiced golf at Top Golf (Vettel’s swing, above), Newgarden headed to New Orleans for Shell’s #RigToRoad program and a Twitter takeover on Team Penske’s handle. He got to train before actually going onto the Auger Shell oil rig.
Follow #IndyCar champ @josefnewgarden while he goes #RigToRoad w/ @Shell starting Oct 19, incl a #TwitterTakeover on @Team_Penske 's handle! pic.twitter.com/ECiv6pPnzD
— Shell USA (@Shell_USA) October 17, 2017
Hey guys! 👋🏻 I'm taking over Team Penske's Twitter handle to show you how I'll train w/ @Shell_US to take a helicopter to an oil rig.⛽️ - JN pic.twitter.com/sDjcbH23NC
— Team Penske (@Team_Penske) October 19, 2017
Currently in class to learn all the safety procedures to take a helicopter to a @Shell_US rig. It's getting real people. 😄 - @josefnewgarden pic.twitter.com/mX61OLfOJh
— Team Penske (@Team_Penske) October 19, 2017
A look from inside the @Shell_US classroom before I go through HUET training to go to an oil rig. This is awesome. - @josefnewgarden pic.twitter.com/fhCidPt9rn
— Team Penske (@Team_Penske) October 19, 2017
Just wrapped up the first part of training. Next step: abandonment (safety procedure for if we need to get off the rig). - @josefnewgarden pic.twitter.com/8K6xa7jE6Y
— Team Penske (@Team_Penske) October 19, 2017
I'm about to get into the pool for the next round of rig training w/ @Shell_US. This is going to be awesome! 😆 - @josefnewgarden #RigToRoad pic.twitter.com/oDtYBnN61q
— Team Penske (@Team_Penske) October 19, 2017
Here's a look at the life boat training we're doing with @Shell_US today. It's really cool stuff. - @josefnewgarden pic.twitter.com/G0IKM1CFyc
— Team Penske (@Team_Penske) October 19, 2017
Training to get ready for a visit to an oil rig tomorrow has been intense. Thankful to @Shell_US for this opportunity. - @josefnewgarden pic.twitter.com/TAIFTuScDL
— Team Penske (@Team_Penske) October 19, 2017
After a lunch break, it's time to get into the pool for more training before going to the @Shell_US rig tomorrow. So fun! 🏊- @josefnewgarden pic.twitter.com/gVFRnjjbeo
— Team Penske (@Team_Penske) October 19, 2017
For the next bit of @Shell_US oil rig training, I just did an underwater obstacle course - and feel a bit like Houdini. 😁 - @josefnewgarden pic.twitter.com/k8JvC9cgT1
— Team Penske (@Team_Penske) October 19, 2017
A controlled water landing for @Shell_US oil rig training is up next. This is just what the start looks like. 😬 - @josefnewgarden #RigtoRoad pic.twitter.com/F5ObaksEu8
— Team Penske (@Team_Penske) October 19, 2017
This is me thinking about how cool @Shell_US oil rig training has been so far while practicing a controlled water landing.😬- @josefnewgarden pic.twitter.com/hk5g7TRtN2
— Team Penske (@Team_Penske) October 19, 2017
This was intense. 😮
— Team Penske (@Team_Penske) October 19, 2017
Inverted helicopter escape training before visiting the @Shell_US oil rig tomorrow. Really cool. - @josefnewgarden pic.twitter.com/Pnpmbhz2go
That's a wrap! We just finished up training. Can't wait to go to the @Shell_US rig tomorrow! - @josefnewgarden #RigtoRoad pic.twitter.com/Y8V0KLWrEv
— Team Penske (@Team_Penske) October 19, 2017
Good morning from New Orleans! I'm super pumped to visit a @Shell_US oil rig today. Stay tuned for updates!⛽️ - @josefnewgarden #RigtoRoad pic.twitter.com/tkb2vNIVNg
— Team Penske (@Team_Penske) October 20, 2017
⛽️ @josefnewgarden's takeover of our Twitter handle continues today as he visits a @Shell_US oil rig! Stay tuned for updates. #RigtoRoad pic.twitter.com/VwqlxJaBnD
— Team Penske (@Team_Penske) October 20, 2017
We're off to the @Shell_US oil rig! Can't wait to see it in person after all of the training. 😁 - @josefnewgarden pic.twitter.com/Nre6Tha4Ng
— Team Penske (@Team_Penske) October 20, 2017
Check out the @Shell_US oil rig! Too cool. - @josefnewgarden pic.twitter.com/EBdCWx1CkP
— Team Penske (@Team_Penske) October 20, 2017
Just me and a @Shell_US oil rig. NBD. 🤗 - @josefnewgarden pic.twitter.com/xFctL52qEo
— Team Penske (@Team_Penske) October 20, 2017
Checking out the @Shell_US oil rig's race control...I mean, command center. It's where they track weather, safety & more. - @josefnewgarden pic.twitter.com/H0DDbCJygB
— Team Penske (@Team_Penske) October 20, 2017
Learning a lot about how oil is extracted from the sea floor at the Auger @Shell_US oil rig. So fascinating. - @josefnewgarden pic.twitter.com/upsgqnNhjK
— Team Penske (@Team_Penske) October 20, 2017
Our next stop is to learn how oil is separated from 💧 from the sea floor. Learning a lot @ the Auger @Shell_US oil rig. - @josefnewgarden pic.twitter.com/DHdupsNQmu
— Team Penske (@Team_Penske) October 20, 2017
Great to spend some time with our @Shell_US family on the Auger platform. Incredible opportunity to meet these wonderful people. #RigtoRoad pic.twitter.com/gSk9dJpXMM
— Josef Newgarden (@josefnewgarden) October 20, 2017
Time to say 👋🏻 to the folks at the Auger @Shell_US oil rig. I'm so thankful for Shell for this opp. w/ great people. - @josefnewgarden pic.twitter.com/etXLrYkDe8
— Team Penske (@Team_Penske) October 20, 2017
Pretty cool to complete my #RigtoRoad journey with @Shell_US with a stop @COTA to see the Shell Trackside Laboratory.⛽️ - @josefnewgarden pic.twitter.com/p2pL2BsTxP
— Team Penske (@Team_Penske) October 21, 2017
BACK TO AUSTIN
Once Newgarden completed his journey to Shell’s rig outside New Orleans, he was back to Austin for the United States Grand Prix.
Newgarden caught up with this year’s famous Indianapolis 500 one-off driver, Fernando Alonso, pre-race, while Alonso’s fellow two-time World Champion Mika Hakkinen provided an excellent photobomb in the background at the McLaren hospitality headquarters.
Great to catch up with our #Indy500 pal @alo_oficial earlier today. Hope to cross paths on the race track again soon! pic.twitter.com/tmIfN861tN
— Josef Newgarden (@josefnewgarden) October 22, 2017
https://www.instagram.com/p/BajqwU2FSB-/
Newgarden then joined NBCSN pit reporter and insider Will Buxton for an impromptu reunion on the pre-race grid walk. Things were going swimmingly, and then Buxton and Newgarden bumped into Haas F1 Team owner Gene Haas. You can see the Twitter exchange, below.
It's @IndyCar champ @josefnewgarden of @Team_Penske joining @TheBuxtonBlog for #USGP grid walk! #F1onNBC pic.twitter.com/UwhsPAVs3R
— Motorsports on NBC (@MotorsportsNBC) October 22, 2017
Hey @thebuxtonblog, thanks for including me in the fun today. Cheers bro 🤙 pic.twitter.com/Uf7PHgml1w
— Josef Newgarden (@josefnewgarden) October 23, 2017
Very awkward. Thanks mate. It’s cool, I have the best gig in the world with RP 😎
— Josef Newgarden (@josefnewgarden) October 23, 2017