Josef Newgarden swapped his usual No. 67 for 21 two years ago, as Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing welcomed Century 21 as a partner to the team for the month of May.
He’ll do so again in 2015, now under the CFH Racing banner and with Chevrolet power for this year’s events at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Newgarden will be in the No. 21 Century 21 Chevrolet for both the Angie’s List Grand Prix of Indianapolis and 99th Indianapolis 500, the latter of which is the centerpiece of the Verizon IndyCar Series schedule.
“Century 21 has been a great partner of ours in the past and being able to expand that program in 2015 is part of the momentous news we were excited to release at the start of our season,” CFH team co-owner Sarah Fisher said in a release. “I am genuinely excited to bring them back to Indianapolis and beyond.”
Added Newgarden, “I am very honored to be piloting the Century 21 car in the Indianapolis 500 this year! It was fantastic to work with their team in 2013 and we are looking forward to being with them again, starting at the Grand Prix of Indianapolis this May. The 21 car will once again be a fan favorite and is certainly one of mine. We are ready to have a great finish for everyone at Century 21!”
CFH will have Newgarden and Ed Carpenter in two of its cars for the Indianapolis 500. A third car is highly likely and a fourth is possible, but doubtful.
Three riders remain locked in a tight battle with 17 points separating the leader Cooper Webb from third-place Chase Sexton and these are only a few Supercross numbers to consider entering Seattle.Chase Sexton made a statement in Detroit with his second win of 2023. – Feld Motor Sports
Webb and Tomac won the last four championships with two apiece in alternating years, but they were not one another’s primary rival for most of those seasons. On the average, however, the past four years show an incredible similarity with average points earned of 21.0 for Webb and 21.3 for Tomac. With five wins so far this season, Tomac (23 wins) leads Webb (19) in victories but Webb (43) edges Tomac (41) in podium finishes during this span.
Tomac has won two of the last three Seattle races and those two wins in this stadium are topped only by James Stewart. Fittingly, if Tomac gets a third win this week, he will tie Stewart for second on the all-time wins’ list. Tomac tied Ricky Carmichael for third with 48 wins at Oakland and took sole possession of that spot with his Daytona win.
Sexton still has a lot to say and after winning last week in Detroit, he is speaking up. The Supercross numbers are against him entering Seattle, however, because a points’ deficit this large after Round 10 has been erased only once. In 1983 David Bailey was 47 points behind Bob Hannah, and like Sexton he was also in third place. Bailey took the points’ lead with one race remaining.
The seven points Sexton was penalized last week for jumping in a red cross flag section in Detroit could prove extremely costly.
In fact, it has been a series of mistakes that has cost Sexton the most. In the last two weeks, he lost 10 points with a 10th-place finish to go with his penalty. Erase those, and all three riders hold their fate in their hands.
Plessinger’s heartbreak in Detroit is still fresh, but the upside of his run is that was his best of the season and could turn his fortunes around. Prior to that race, he led only seven laps in three mains. He was up front for 20 laps in Detroit with five of those being the fastest on the track.
Last week’s win by Hunter Lawrence tied him with his brother Jett Lawrence for 17th on the all-time wins’ list. With the focus shifting to 250 West for the next two rounds, Jett has a great opportunity to pull back ahead. The real test will be at the first East / West Showdown in East Rutherford, New Jersey on April 22.
Last Five Seattle Winners
450s 2022: Eli Tomac
2019: Marvin Musquin
2018: Eli Tomac
2017: Marvin Musquin
2014: Ryan Villopoto
