By David Morgan, Associate Editor
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Josef Newgarden is out to defy his critics.
After a trying week in which he and Team Penske have been dealing with the aftermath of their St. Petersburg disqualifications, the No. 2 team did what they do best in the opening practice for the Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix at Barber Motorsports Park, topping the Friday afternoon session.
While the session got off to an inauspicious start, with Newgarden spinning off track in Turn 14 in the opening minutes of the 90-minute session, he was able to turn things around late, jumping to the top of the board with 18 minutes remaining courtesy of his one minute, 6.7045 second lap around the winding 17-turn, 2.3-mile road course.
“It’s definitely the best medicine in the world for someone like me,” Newgarden said. “It’s great to be out here. Just good to turn laps.
“I was a little off my game in the beginning for sure. I just dropped a wheel and made a mistake and threw away a set of tires. It was unfortunate, but we just kept going. We came up with a new plan and I think the positive thing was the car was really fast right away.
“Even when I made the mistake, I said I think the car was coming to me there. I felt really good about it, like I had a good read right away, so this team has done a good job.
“I love being here with the 2 car group. They’re great at what they do, give me a lot of confidence, so I feel good about things.”
“I made an error on how wide I got,” Newgarden added of his spin. “You drop a wheel up there, it can be difficult to save it. Sometimes you do, sometimes you get lucky and save it. I didn’t save it. From a viewing standpoint, I just got too wide. I didn’t see where I was.
“Then I was very conscious of it the next time. I went back out and I was like I’m not going to make that mistake again. At least not immediately afterwards, so I was trying to watch where I was placing the car.
“This track is always on the limit. It’s one of my favorites for that. You know, Barber is high speed. You’ve just got to be so good through the corners, committed. Like the car has to be on the edge to be fast here. You can’t get away with something different. You know, I love the challenge of it.”
Pato O’Ward, the newly minted winner of the season opening race in St. Petersburg and 2022 winner at Barber, finished the session in second, followed by Will Power,…
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