By David Morgan, Associate Editor
INDIANAPOLIS – Josef Newgarden is back to form this weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, seemingly no worse for wear following his brief hospital stay following last Sunday’s race at Iowa.
While there were some unknowns surrounding Newgarden’s status for Saturday’s Gallagher Grand Prix, the two-time NTT IndyCar Series champion got a partial clearance to practice on Friday morning, with clearance for the remainder of the weekend pending a re-evaluation afterwards.
After putting up the second fastest time in practice, that clearance came a short time later, with Newgarden given the green light for the rest of the weekend.
Like a man on a mission, Newgarden was fast again in qualifying, advancing all the way into the Fast Six before eventually capturing the fifth-place starting position for Saturday’s race.
Addressing his ordeal of the last week for the first time after qualifying, Newgarden was thankful for the support he has received since last Sunday and ready to get back in the fight this weekend at Indianapolis.
“I’m just happy to be back,” Newgarden said. “I really was very motivated to be here this weekend. Um, I knew if we weren’t in this race, it was going to be very difficult to stay in this championship fight. And that was kind of the end for me. I know that we have to be in the race. Whatever I have to do to be fit and prepared is the number one on my plate. And, yeah, we’re here.
“It’s a tremendous amount of support. I can’t thank IndyCar and their medical staff enough for all their help after the event. And then obviously everybody at Team Penske has just been unwavering with their support for me. We’re ready to go. We’ll be able to race tomorrow.”
Newgarden didn’t dive into deep details of what exactly happened at Iowa, but noted it was concussion-like in nature, leading him to do anything and everything needed to get healthy again and back behind the wheel of his No. 2 Chevrolet.
“I mean, I don’t want to get into too much of the medical side, but I certainly hit my head pretty hard on Sunday afternoon,” Newgarden said. “Obviously, the main concern at that point is a concussion. And just trying to make sure that there’s no lingering or long-term effects from that. Thankfully, I’m in really great shape. I’ve felt very good most of the week, so I think we’re in a pretty good spot.
“I don’t know that I did, but I think…
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