DETROIT — Josef Newgarden is eager to put the Indianapolis 500 behind him and focus on reclaiming his spot atop IndyCar while celebrating Chevrolet in its backyard.
Newgarden won the pole for the Detroit Grand Prix, a race that will be held Sunday on Bell Isle for the final time. The race will return to downtown Detroit, where it started in 1982 as a Formula One event, next season.
For now, Newgarden can give Chevrolet its 100th victory since the manufacturer returned to IndyCar in 2012, four years before the American driver partnered with the brand. Newgarden has won a pair of championships with Chevy, and he’s IndyCar’s only two-time winner this season.
He was the points leader following his April victory at Long Beach, but an underwhelming showing at Indy dropped Newgarden to fifth in the standings headed into Detroit. This is the place to turn it around – the grand prix is sponsored by Chevy and run in the shadow of its headquarters.
And, Newgarden is bemused by the twists of the IndyCar season. Through just six races – with 11 still to go – the dizzying pace of new frontrunners has made each event a celebration of someone new.
“IndyCar is an interesting championship at the moment because it seems like every weekend there’s a new superstar. It’s comical at this point to me,” Newgarden said. “The reason I think that’s happening is because it’s so competitive. You don’t have one team clearly dominating all sessions.
“You get new winners, all of a sudden, ‘They are going to be the championship winner, they’re the greatest new thing to come to IndyCar.’ It’s just unpredictable. It’s all over the place. I think it’s pretty wide open.”
Marcus Ericsson vaulted from eighth to first in the standings following the Swede’s win in the Indianapolis 500, a race worth double points. Pato O’Ward of Mexico trails Ericsson by 13 points, was runner-up to Ericsson at Indy, and split the Detroit weekend with Ericsson a year ago when each earned their first career IndyCar victory…
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