The three-time Supercars champion won last year’s Rookie of the Year award but was tough on himself whenever he felt slower than his champion teammates at Team Penske, Josef Newgarden, Will Power and Simon Pagenaud (now at Meyer Shank Racing).
But this weekend at St. Petersburg – the one IndyCar track he’s raced on twice before, having started the finale in 2020 – he topped second practice, took pole and led 49 of the 100 laps on his way to his first victory in the series.
“You back yourself,” said the tired but elated 28-year-old from New Zealand, “but in our pre-event we said top 7: If we can come out of here with a solid top 7. Obviously the goal was changed last night [after taking pole], but it was just phenomenal the way the car rolled out of the truck. I felt like I could really do what I wanted to do with the car from the get-go.
“What that does for confidence as a race driver is something that just feels very special. I knew halfway through that race…
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