This week’s test session at Sebring International Raceway marked the first time working together for Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing’s driver/engineer tandem of Josef Newgarden (pictured, from September’s Grand Prix of Baltimore) and Jeremy Milless.
Milless, who recently was promoted to chief engineer on Newgarden’s No. 67 Honda, has been with SFHR since the 2012 season and has a resume that includes previous stops at Panther Racing, Team Penske, and the former Team Menard.
SFHR was among a group of seven IndyCar Series squads that opted to do the two-day, pre-Christmas test at Sebring.
“The test in Sebring was a good opportunity to work with all the guys and bring Jeremy into a management role,” Newgarden said. “We worked really methodically and well through our test plan and achieved everything we wanted to.
“It was good to get where we need to be in our program before the holidays so that we can move into the new year and try to build from that.”
Ed Carpenter Racing, the lone Chevrolet-powered team at Sebring this week, also had its own particular “first” as Mike Conway ran his inaugural test in the No. 20 car that he’ll drive at all IndyCar Series road/street events in 2014.
According to ECR, the Englishman – who won one of the Chevrolet Indy Dual in Detroit races at Belle Isle Park this past season – turned more than 200 laps across both days of the test on Sebring’s short course layout.
“We ran through a number of things we had planned with Mike,” said Carpenter, who will only drive the No. 20 on the ovals this year. “It did feel different watching from the pit box for the last two days. But the team worked well with Mike on developing the car.
“It was a good start for us. We will study the information we learned and come back in January for another test there. Overall, I like the direction we are going.”
Team manager Tim Broyles praised Conway particularly for his feedback to the team’s engineers: “With a new driver, the biggest thing is getting communication squared away, but after the first day, we were all on the same page,” Broyles said.