LONG BEACH, Calif. – For once, it looked like the stars were aligning for the punch-above-their-weight Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing team and its driver, the talented 23-year-old Josef Newgarden.
The third year Verizon IndyCar Series driver was on pace for potentially his first series win, or a near certain podium finish, Sunday in the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. But, as has been written elsewhere here on MotorSportsTalk in the last 24 hours, it went begging after contact from Ryan Hunter-Reay at an abnormal spot to pass on the circuit, the tight right-handed Turn 4.
Here’s Newgarden’s interview to NBCSN in case you missed it:
Still, here’s what makes Newgarden such a boss. He has the joie de vivre of a 12-year-old and the maturity level of someone three times that when it comes to proper perspective on the situation.
Just check out these two tweets.
So the best part of my day was making a new friend. His name is Dominic, he is battling ALS, and he is the coolest person I have ever met.
— Josef Newgarden (@josefnewgarden) April 14, 2014
As far as the racing goes, the good news is that everyone knows who showed up to race this weekend -> @sfhrindy. Cheers boys!
— Josef Newgarden (@josefnewgarden) April 14, 2014
You really can’t be any classier than that. And that’s coming after one of his best ever weekends in IndyCar.
A career-best qualifying effort of fourth on Saturday came after he and the SFHR team bounced back from a slight incident in first practice. Then his race Sunday was a methodical run in the top five, culminating with the team’s final pit stop that got him out ahead of Hunter-Reay for the final stint.
I’ve written this before, but his time will come. And probably sooner rather than later.
And this is @JosefNewgarden once again showing why he is mature beyond his years, so diplomatic and classy. His day will come #IndyCar
— Tony DiZinno (@tonydizinno) April 13, 2014