IndyCar Josef Newgarden dominant from pole in Iowa victory

Rebounding from a disappointing finish that left the normally congenial two-time IndyCar champion spitting nails, Josef Newgarden dominated from the pole position Saturday night to win at Iowa Speedway.

Newgarden, who had finished fifth Friday with perhaps an even faster No. 1 Dallara-Chevrolet that caught unlucky breaks on caution flags, took the checkered flag nearly 3 seconds ahead of teammate Will Power, who also found redemption after he crashed in Friday’s race.

It’s Team Penske’s first 1-2 finish since Simon Pagenaud, Newgarden and Power finished 1-2-3 at Sonoma in 2017 (when Newgarden clinched his first title). It’s also the 15th victory of Newgarden’s NTT IndyCar Series career and his third the 0.894-mile oval in Newton, Iowa.

RESULTS, POINTS: Full stats package from Saturday at Iowa

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING: Postrace quotes from the full IndyCar field

The two-time series champion led a race-high 214 of 250 laps in becoming the first IndyCar winner from the pole position at Iowa and gave Team Penske a sweep of the weekend with Friday race winner Simon Pagenaud, who finished fourth Saturday.

“Feels really good; I don’t know what we’ve got to do to keep the bad luck off us but hopefully this is a start,” Newgarden, who also was fastest in practice Saturday afternoon, told NBCSN pit reporter Kelli Stavast. “Our guys did an amazing job yesterday. I was so disappointed for them. I was angry for them because I thought they had the winning car.

“They put in the work and weren’t able to get rewarded for it. I was so determined to come back today. I think everyone was determined to come back and have a really good race, and we just ran hard. We ran hard all day. I’m so proud to be powered by Chevrolet. I felt like we had the package to beat. Fuel mileage, durability, we had the power. To have Hitachi back on, I think that’s a good luck charm for us. So, thank you, Hitachi. Thanks to everyone at Team Penske back at the shop. I’m just thrilled to finally get this monkey off our back.”

IndyCar Josef Newgarden — *Josef Newgarden took the checkered flag for the third time in the NTT IndyCar Series at Iowa Speedway (Chris Owens/IndyCar).*

So was Power, who matched his season best with the second after consecutive races in which he spun and was penalized last Sunday at Road America and slammed the wall Friday with a wheel left loose by his team.

“It feels good just to have a solid day,” Power said on NBCSN. “I have to thank Verizon, Chevy for all the support. Yeah, man, we would have loved to have the win, of course. But it’s seeming like if you did a good job in this series, you just get screwed.

“So, I’m glad for once we actually get a good result out of it. Soldier on, man. I’m exhausted. I look forward to trying to have a good rest of the season. I don’t know what it is I have to do to have normal races like (Scott) Dixon and Pagenaud. Even if those guys qualify last, they end up at the front. Maybe I just try less and be a much worse driver, and I’ll do way better.”

Graham Rahal finished third Saturday, and points leader Dixon rounding out the top five.

Rookie Oliver Askew, Jack Harvey, Alexander Rossi, Tony Kanaan and Marcus Ericsson rounded out the top 10.

Other drivers who endured tough breaks in Saturday’s race:

–After finishing fourth Friday, Pato O’Ward was on track for a podium before a botched pit stop on Lap 171. Because of miscommunication, O’Ward left before his left rear tire was secured, which necessitated rolling his No. 5 Dallara-Chevy back into the pit stall and losing two laps.

–It was the second dismal outing in a row at Iowa for Ed Carpenter, who brought out the first yellow when he smacked the wall in Turn 2 and finished last (after finishing three laps down in 15th Friday).

–For the second consecutive night, Ryan Hunter-Reay tagged the wall on pit exit with his No. 28 Dallara-Honda, but unlike Friday when he got away with brushing the wall, a bent suspension knocked him from Saturday’s race.

“Absolutely down to me,” Hunter-Reay told NBCSN pit reporter Dillon Welch. “It’s got to be better than that. I was looking to make a lot of time on that out lap, and I short shifted out of second gear knowing first gear was my problem last night. I got in second, and it just came around. Almost caught it. Almost doesn’t count.

“It sucks. The guys on the 28 team don’t deserve that. We had a rough night. We were hanging on. Really looking forward to getting the ball rolling for the season. It’s been one thing or another. This is down to me. I’m just pushing 110 percent and asked a little too much of it there.”

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.

Women in SuperMotocross: Jordan Jarvis knows how tough it is

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.

Women in SuperMotocross Ashley Fiolek is building community

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.”

Josef Newgarden rules IndyCar field in Iowa victory from the pole

Vicki Golden and 805 Beer tell a unique story from an Inverted Perspective

Read more about SuperMotocross