Newgarden continues to Long Beach
Capitalizing on racing accidents, Joseph Newgarden scored a second straight win, and third in three IndyCar races this season for Team Penske, in Long Beach. Romain Grosjean continued to press but finished second, ahead of defending champion Alex Ballou.
Team Penske is the dominant force at the start of the IndyCar season. After Scott McLaughlin’s victory in St. Petersburg and then Joseph Newgarden’s victory in Texas ahead of the New Zealander, the Long Beach Grand Prix turned once again in favor of the North Carolina-based team. And just like in the Fort Worth Oval, it was Joseph Newgarden who knew how to get the chestnuts out of the fire to win. Starting in pole position, Colton Herta maintained the lead both at the start and during the first stage of the race, ignoring a tie that caused Dalton Kellette to leave the track. The situation for the driver who will test with McLaren in Formula 1 this year changed when strategies were put in place. IndyCar Champion, Alex Ballou seized the opportunity to take the lead, ahead of Joseph Newgarden and an angry Colton Hertha. I fell back down the hierarchy.
Momentum on his side
Make it two in a row for Tweet embed Because he wins Tweet embed.#INDYCAR // #AGPLB pic.twitter.com/Q9y7kf0KWk
– NTT INDYCAR Series (IndyCar) April 10 2022
Grosjean believed in her but lost to Newgarden
Scott McLaughlin, the championship leader before this race, made a mistake in the last corner of lap 35, hitting the wall next to his car and a turn. A mistake pushed him to the bottom of the rankings. In the final third of the race, as he prepared to dig, Colton Herta lost control of his car and crashed into a wall, ending his race. The victory battle came back to life 19 laps from the end with the restart, after disarmed by a spin from Simon Pagenaud, which took him to 19th, which saw Romain Grosjean take advantage of fresh soft tires to finish second from Alex. Baloo before pressing Joseph Newgarden. The French were able to match the American but the door never opened. While the race finished under a yellow flag, the Penske driver signed for his second win of the season and moved up to the top of the standings. Romain Grosjean took the fourth IndyCar podium, the first with Andretti Autosportahead of Alex Ballou.
INDYCAR / LONG BEACH GRAND AWARD
Final classification – 85 laps (269.195 km) – Sunday 10 April 2022
1- Joseph Newgarden (USA / Team Penske) at 1:46’48’010
2- Romain Grosjean (FRA / Andretti Autosport) at 1”286
3- Alex Palou (ESP / Chip Ganassi Racing) at 1”759
4- Will Power (Australia/Team Penske) at 2″ 965
5- Bateaux Award (MEX / Arrow McLaren SP) at 3”712
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19– Simon Pagenaud (FRA / Meyer Shank Racing) 4 laps
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Drivers’ Championship standings after 3 races (out of 17)
1- Joseph Newgarden (USA / Team Penske) 118 pts
2- Scott McLaughlin (New Zealand / Team Penske) 113
3- Alex Ballou (Spain / Chip Ganassi Racing) 103
4- Will Power (Australia / Team Penske) 102
5- Scott Dixon (NZL/Chip Ganassi Racing) 83
6- Romain Grosjean (FRA / Andretti Autosport) 75
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12– Simon Pagenaud (FRA / Meyer Shank Racing) 50
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