Andretti Autosport seeks big rebound weekend at Barber

By Apr 24, 2014, 9:30 AM EDT
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Currently 0-for-2 in the new Verizon IndyCar Series season, Andretti Autosport is primed to change that stat and improve its average up to .333 this weekend in Barber.

All four of its drivers have a story for the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama, as the team seeks a win in the first Honda-sponsored race of the year and since it returned to the manufacturer ahead of the season.

For Ryan Hunter-Reay, he has a chance to go back-to-back in this race after a sterling drive in 2013 from pole, capped off with a pass of Helio Castroneves at Turn 5 for the win late in the going.

“In 2013, at Barber, we had one of those race weekends you strive to achieve each time you show up at the track,” he said in the team’s advance release. “Taking the win from pole at such a challenging track was a tremendous achievement by our team as a whole, and proved that we our preparation for the road courses had paid off. Hopefully we can defend our win, but it will be tough as hundredths of a second in qualifying could prove to be the difference maker.”

Rookie teammate Carlos Munoz also has a chance to go back-to-back … albeit in a different fashion. He won the Indy Lights race at Barber last year and seeks his second straight and third overall IndyCar podium finish. His first win would provide nice closure considering he has a runner-up (2013 Indianapolis 500) and third place finish (Long Beach last race) already in the bag.

“I’m beginning the weekend really good emotionally,” said the young Colombian. “I have good momentum after our podium in Long Beach; I think that helped me a lot. Barber is a track that I like a lot… I won there in Indy Lights last year and I’ve been really fast in the past. I tested there in the Indy car during preseason testing but it’s going to be completely different – different conditions, so we’ll see what happens. The track is really hard physically, it demands a lot.”

It would not be a surprise to see Marco Andretti or James Hinchcliffe do well at Barber, either.

Andretti has traditionally qualified well at the flowing road course, and he has two fourth-place finishes there. He’s also led laps in the race before. A year ago, he was seventh.

“The team, as a whole, has good cars at Barber, so we’re looking forward to a competitive weekend for the Snapple team. We almost won the race in 2010 and have three top-seven finishes and two top fives – hoping for a podium this weekend and to move inside the top ten in points,” he said.

For Hinchcliffe, merely completing a lap will be an improvement over his 2013 disaster, when he followed his St. Petersburg win with a first lap DNF, and promptly was stuck in the car the rest of the race.

“I think it goes without saying that we’re looking for a better result at Barber (Motorsports Park) this year than we had last year; just turning a lap would already be a step in the right direction!” he joked. “Not that I mind watching a good race, don’t get me wrong, I just prefer to not do it from the cockpit of my race car while stranded in the infield.”

After New York whirlwind, Josef Newgarden makes special trip to simulator before Detroit

By Jun 2, 2023, 10:00 AM EDT
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DETROIT – There’s no rest for the weary as an Indy 500 winner, but Josef Newgarden discovered there are plenty of extra laps.

The reigning Indy 500 champion added an extra trip Wednesday night back to Concord, N.C., for one last session on the GM Racing simulator before Sunday’s Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix.

After a 30-year run on the Belle Isle course, the race has been moved to a nine-turn, 1.7-mile layout downtown, so two extra hours on the simulator were worth it for Newgarden.

INDYCAR IN DETROIT: Entry list, schedule, TV info for this weekend

JOSEF’S FAMILY TIES: Newgarden wins Indy 500 with wisdom of father, wife

“I really wanted to do it,” he told NBC Sports at a Thursday media luncheon. “If there’s any time that the sim is most useful, it’s in this situation when no one has ever been on a track, and we’re able to simulate it as best as we can. We want to get some seat time.

“It’s extra important coming off the Indy 500 because you’ve been out of rhythm for a road or street course-type environment, so I really wanted some laps. I was really appreciative to Chevy. There was a few guys that just came in and stayed late for me so I could get those laps before coming up here. I don’t know if it’s going to make a difference, but I feel like it’s going to help for me.”

After a whirlwind tour of New York for two days, Newgarden arrived at the simulator (which is at the GM Racing Technical Center adjacent to Hendrick Motorsports) in time for a two hour session that started at 6 p.m. Wednesday. He stayed overnight in Charlotte and then was up for an early commercial flight to Detroit, where he had more media obligations.

Newgarden joked that if he had a jet, he would have made a quick stop in Nashville, Tennessee, but a few more days away from home (where he has yet to return in weeks) is a worthy tradeoff for winning the Greatest Spectacle in Racing – though the nonstop interviews can take a toll.

“It’s the hardest part of the gig for me is all this fanfare and celebration,” Newgarden said. “I love doing it because I’m so passionate about the Indy 500 and that racetrack and what that race represents. I feel honored to be able to speak about it. It’s been really natural and easy for me to enjoy it because I’ve been there for so many years.

“Speaking about this win has been almost the easiest job I’ve ever had for postrace celebrations. But it’s still for me a lot of work. I get worn out pretty easily. I’m very introverted. So to do this for three days straight, it’s been a lot.”

Though he is terrified of heights, touring the top of the Empire State Building for the first time was a major highlight (and produced the tour’s most viral moment).

“I was scared to get to the very top level,” Newgarden said. “That thing was swaying. No one else thought it was swaying. I’m pretty sure it was. I really impressed by the facility. I’d never seen it before. It’s one of those bucket list things. If you go to New York, it’s really special to do that. So to be there with the wreath and the whole setup, it just felt like an honor to be in that moment.”

Now the attention shifts to Detroit and an inaugural circuit that’s expected to be challenging. Along with a Jefferson Avenue straightaway that’s 0.9 miles long, the track has several low-speed corners and a “split” pit lane (teams will stop on both sides of a rectangular area) with a narrow exit that blends just before a 90-degree lefthand turn into Turn 1.

Newgarden thinks the track is most similar to the Music City Grand Prix in Nashville.

“It’s really hard to predict with this stuff until we actually run,” he said. “Maybe we go super smooth and have no issues. Typically when you have a new event, you’re going to have some teething issues. That’s understandable. We’ve always got to massage the event to get it where we want it, but this team has worked pretty hard. They’ve tried to get feedback constantly on what are we doing right, what do we need to look out for. They’ve done a ton of grinding to make sure this surface is in as good of shape as possible.

“There’s been no expense spared, but you can’t foresee everything. I have no idea how it’s going to race. I think typically when you look at a circuit that seems simple on paper, people tend to think it’s not going to be an exciting race, or challenging. I find the opposite always happens when we think that way. Watch it be the most exciting, chaotic, entertaining race.

Newgarden won the last two pole positions at Belle Isle’s 2.35-mile layout and hopes to continue the momentum while avoiding any post-Brickyard letdown.

“I love this is an opportunity for us to get something right quicker than anyone else,” he said. “A new track is always exciting from that standpoint. I feel I’m in a different spot. I’m pretty run down. I’m really trying to refocus and gain some energy back for tomorrow. Which I’ll have time to today, which is great.

“I don’t want that Indy 500 hangover. People always talk about it. They’ve always observed it. That doesn’t mean we have to win this weekend, but I’d like to leave here feeling like we had a really complete event, did a good job and had a solid finish leading into the summer. I want to win everywhere I go, but if we come out of here with a solid result and no mistakes, then probably everyone will be happy with it.”