LONG BEACH, Calif. — Josef Newgarden won for the first time on the downtown streets of Long Beach, holding off Romain Grosjean on Sunday to make Team Penske 3 for 3 to open the IndyCar season.
Newgarden led a race-high 32 laps to win a second consecutive race. Penske teammate Scott McLaughlin won the opener at St. Petersburg, then Newgarden won at Texas and now Long Beach to bump McLaughlin from the championship lead.
Team Penske last opened an IndyCar season with three consecutive wins in 2012, when the team won the first four races.
Newgarden was challenged over the final 15 laps by Grosjean, the former Formula One driver seeking his first career IndyCar victory. Jimmie Johnson, who broke his hand in a crash Friday and raced with a carbon fiber cast, crashed with 10 laps remaining to bring out the caution and give Grosjean and reigning IndyCar champion Alex Palou a shot on a final restart.
The race went green with five laps remaining and Grosjean got several good looks inside of…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at www.espn.com – RPM…