IndyCar 2017 driver review: Josef Newgarden - MotorSportsTalk

MotorSportsTalk kicks off its annual review of the Verizon IndyCar Series drivers that raced in 2017 with the champion, Josef Newgarden. In his first year at Team Penske, Newgarden ascended to the top of the sport.

Josef Newgarden, No. 2 Team Penske Chevrolet

2016: 4th Place, 1 Win, Best Start 2nd, 4 Podiums, 6 Top-5, 11 Top-10, 313 Laps Led, 9.4 Avg. Start, 9.9 Avg. Finish
2017: Champion, 4 Wins, 1 Pole, 9 Podiums, 10 Top-5, 13 Top-10, 390 Laps Led, 7.9 Avg. Start, 6.1 Avg. Finish

The Josef Newgarden seed was planted at Team Penske this season, and in year one, it already grew into a champion.

Quite how well Newgarden meshed in his new environment came as a mild surprise, especially given how troublesome Simon Pagenaud’s first year at Penske was in an entirely new entry as a fourth car. But Newgarden was provided elements to succeed from the off, as with the established No. 2 team and engineer Brian Campe came a crew that had nearly won the title two years previous anyway with Juan Pablo Montoya driving. And for further measure, Newgarden had the benefit of Tim Cindric moving over to become his race strategist. It seemed a perfect set of circumstances at his disposal and it was fully up to the 26-year-old out of Hendersonville, Tenn., who’d moved from Indianapolis to Charlotte, to live up to them.

Signs this new meshing would work occurred almost immediately. Newgarden stood on the podium his second race with the team at Long Beach, then banked a win – albeit aided by teammate Will Power’s late puncture – at Barber. But Newgarden put himself in that spot by way of his forceful but fair move on Scott Dixon earlier in the final stint.

Such was the measure of his title-winning season, where Newgarden was clearly unafraid by the magnitude of the moment and opportunity afforded to him, and grasped it with both hands – particularly after hitting adversity. After a roughish patch in May, with multiple pit-road speeding penalties in the Indianapolis Grand Prix and then getting caught up in an accident at the Indianapolis 500, Newgarden rebounded with fourth and second at Detroit – previously one of his worst tracks.

After an unforced error in Texas, he recovered again at Road America – fresh with a “low downforce” haircut. Sure, Dixon snookered him on a restart there which cost him the win, but Newgarden was on the wrong tire, and he’d lost the lead to a driver many consider the best of this generation. Newgarden again somewhat lucked into a win in Toronto thanks to Cindric’s call to pit – and with Dixon and Power colliding on the first lap, and Helio Castroneves and Simon Pagenaud caught out by Tony Kanaan’s yellow timing, he truly entered the title frame.

But it was at Mid-Ohio and Gateway where he planted his title stake in the ground. His own snookering of Power at Mid-Ohio was crafty, and his take-no-prisoners dive on Pagenaud at Gateway was gutsy to the max, and will stand in history as the pass of the year that netted him his title. He built enough of a lead there to withstand a second unforced error leaving the pits in Watkins Glen, then got off the mat again in Sonoma with an incredible all-around weekend. His practice and qualifying pace there was almost more important than his race drive itself; it positioned him to win the title even without winning the race. Not that he didn’t try for it; Cindric calmed him down after his passing attempt on Pagenaud, but second place behind his teammate was enough for the title in his 100th career start.

There was precious little to criticize about his season. Sure, Power and Castroneves were outright faster in qualifying and the month of May for him was something to forget. There were the obvious mistakes at Texas and Watkins Glen, but neither doomed his title hopes.

WATCH: Newgarden championship recap on NBCSN

As it was, he checked nearly all the boxes afforded to him in one of the more remarkable first years at Team Penske in ages. He led the field on street course points, previously his weakest circuits, was second on road courses and seventh on ovals – the latter number hindered by that weak score in Indianapolis. The 390 laps led this year were spread over 12 races, including the last 10 in a row; last year’s 313 laps led included 282 at Iowa and just 31 elsewhere in three races.

A worthy champion who excelled at almost every phase this season, Newgarden toppled his competition after a six-year climb to the top, en route to a fully deserved first title.

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Vicki Golden has earned a career worthy of a thousand stories and 805 Beer tells at least one of them, as “Inverted Perspective” premiered March 30 on the company’s website and YouTube channel.

Golden did more to break the glass ceiling in SuperMotocross than she ever thought possible. She knows this because riders have never felt the need to explain any of her accomplishments with the disclaimer, “for a girl”.

At this point in Golden’s career, she’s been the first woman to finish top 10 in AMA Arenacross Lites, the first woman to qualify in the Fast 40 in Monster Energy AMA Supercross and the first woman to compete in freestyle Moto X competition, earning a bronze medal by doing so.

Her love for moto came from childhood while she watched her dad and brother ride. By seven she was on her bike and making waves throughout Southern California.

Golden, 30, is still madly in love with the sport and has no plans on moving away but her career is already one to talk about. 805 Beer’s film series wanted to do exactly that.

“I’m taken aback by it all,” Golden told NBC Sports about the documentary. “It’s just crazy to see your story, it’s one thing to live your life and battle everything that comes about but it’s another to just sit there and talk about it.”

805 approached Golden about the feature by asking, “Do you even realize that what you do, and your story is special?”

Golden took the question as a blank canvas to map out the highs and lows of her career and life.

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The title “Inverted Perspective” came from a brainstorming session with Dominick Russo and it highlights Golden’s outlook on the sport of SuperMotocross and her life in general.

“My whole life, my whole career was thinking differently and looking at things that shouldn’t be done and aren’t there, while being able to make a place for myself, where no one thought there should be a place,” Golden said. “It’s inspiring someone to think in different ways. It sums up my life.”

*Vicki Golden is not “fast for a girl”; she’s just fast. – 805 Beer*

While Golden is no stranger to the spotlight, this was the first time she’s been fully involved with the storytelling and creation of a feature about herself.

“It’s not like a full new experience,” Golden said. “Obviously, you get your standard questions about your upbringing and accomplishments, but I’ve never really put into perspective things that happened in my past with my dad and putting that to light. Also, certain other things that maybe got overlooked in previous interviews or films. I wanted to touch on these and Dom wanted to create a story. It’s just cool to see it come to light, it’s a nearly impossible thing to tell somebody’s life story in 40 minutes.”

Golden’s father was left paralyzed after an ATV accident, robbing him the opportunity to ride again. This happened a few months before the father-daughter duo was set to compete in the Loretta Lynn’s Amateur Nationals when Vicki was 12. While she might have been unable to grasp the severity at the time, it’s something she carries with her. Golden continues to ride in his honor.

Years later, an accident in 2018 nearly sidelined the then 25-year-old Vicki when a freestyle accident almost resulted in the amputation of her lower leg.

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Golden 805 Beer — *Vicki Golden has ridden a variety of disciplines in SuperMotocross, which gives her a unique perspective. – 805 Beer*

“Inverted Perspective” highlights her father’s diligence in helping Vicki continue with her career and the kindness and strength he carried while fighting his own battle.

“My dad was the entire reason that I started riding in the first place,” Golden said. “So, to honor his memory and to honor what we went through and how hard he pushed to keep our dream alive and keep everything going – in that sense then, it was really special to be able to honor him and talk about him.”

The 40-minute feature was filmed entirely in black and white, a stark contrast from the oversaturated world of motocross where the brighter the suit the easier it is for fans to find their rider and follow him in the race. By filming in monochrome Russo and Golden had the chance to focus on the race and track from a different perspective.

“It was cool to be able to film it differently,” Golden said. “It created a challenge in the sense of what was going to be more visually impactful for the film.

“I couldn’t be here without the companies that back me but at the same time, it’s not like the logos or colors disappeared, it’s just different lights shed on different spots. It’s just a cool way to do it and to take color away and still be impactful. When you think of black and white, you think of old school, the OG way of doing things.”

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