Iowa IndyCar winner Newgarden surprised injuries got through race
Josef Newgarden says he was surprised he could get through and win the Iowa IndyCar race, four weeks after breaking his wrist and shoulder at Texas
The Ed Carpenter Racing driver was hospitalised with shoulder and wrist injuries he sustained in a high-speed crash.
He did not miss a race and was eighth in the next event at Road America, but acknowledged that Iowa's high-banked, 0.894-mile short oval would pose a tougher challenge.
Instead, Newgarden led 282 of the 300 laps on the way to his maiden oval victory, despite admitting he had difficulty holding the wheel with his right hand as the race wore on.
"I'm not going to lie to you, I kind of impressed myself," Newgarden said.
"I was really nervous coming into the race. I didn't want to tell anybody that. This place is super physical.
"If you have as good a car as I had, it makes your race so much easier to drive.
"Man, I was surprised I could hold on. My game plan was I was going to ease up if I couldn't hold on a little longer. I never thought about pitting.
"The hand is still a little broken. I was able to use it. It wasn't too painful.
"The clavicle feels good with the plate in, it was stable.
"It was a little more uncomfortable than normal around here, but it was doable."
Victory elevates Newgarden from fifth to second in the standings, 73 points behind Simon Pagenaud, ahead of this weekend's Toronto street race.
"I was curious how far we'd move up," Newgarden said.
"If we want to challenge him, we have to continue to march forward. It is a huge deficit.
"You can't just finish well. I think for us we've been finishing well; we've been in the hunt.
"You want to beat him, actually have to beat him in the races.
"He's going to be strong everywhere we go."
Newgarden admitted not being allowed to take part in the restarted Texas race in August is a blow for his title hopes.
"I'm kind of bummed about Texas," the 25-year-old said.
"I think we had a car capable of winning there.
"That's the one place we're not going to have a shot going back trying to win the thing.
"That's really the only one for me where I'm prepared that we're going to lose a lot of points."
LEADING CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
| Pos | Driver | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Simon Pagenaud | 409 |
| 2 | Josef Newgarden | 336 |
| 3 | Will Power | 334 |
| 4 | Scott Dixon | 321 |
| 5 | Helio Castroneves | 318 |
| 6 | Tony Kanaan | 306 |
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