INDY 500 Champion Juan Pablo Montoya and 2-Time INDYCAR SERIES Champion Josef
Newgarden discuss 2021 season opening two-day practice, at speed and traffic,
held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway Thursday April 8 & Friday April 9.
A lot was learned, but mostly, those who have already had winning success at a
track that holds "the greatest spectacle in racing" showed the better results
in pace over these two days of shakedown.
Fact is, any one of the top 15 in the combined speed timing charts would be an
easy bet with luck to take home the 105th Running Of The INDY 500 Borg Warner
Trophy here in 2021.
Josef Newgarden, thirsting for his first INDY 500 win, posted the fastest
speed of Friday and the test overall, 226.819 mph, in the No. 2 Chevrolet
where Juan Pablo Montoya, Who had won the INDY 500 in 2000 & 2015, posted
up at P3 (226.123) in his No. 86 Chevrolet (behind last year's, and 2-time
winner, Takuma Sato), is back for another attempt to capture the glory after
finishing so close (P6, 2017) last time out.
NTT IndyCar Series News Conference - Friday, April 9, 2021 - Indianapolis,
Indiana, USA
Juan Pablo Montoya - Arrow McLaren SP
Josef Newgarden - Penske Racing
Press Conference - Post IMS Practice Day #2
THE MODERATOR: Good afternoon, everybody. We have Juan Pablo Montoya
standing by and we expect to have Josef Newgarden, as well. Juan Pablo
finished third on the speed chart, pretty successful day with Arrow McLaren
SP.
How was your day today, Juan Pablo?
JUAN PABLO MONTOYA: It was good. I think yesterday was a little shocking
getting back in the car. Today was good. We worked through a lot of things.
We found a lot of good things and a lot of bad things, like you always do.
It was nice to get back a little bit in the draft. A lot to catch up again,
learn, understand again what you need to do, the timing. But everything just
starts coming back.
It's funny, getting up to speed yesterday was, Ooh. Today you don't even
think about it. This afternoon even better. The first few runs with traffic
is like, Ooh. Then you start relaxing, getting in the flow of things. We did
some pit stops at the end.
Everyone at Arrow McLaren SP has been doing a very good job. It was fun so
far. I think this test was very, very useful.
THE MODERATOR: Yesterday you never really had to do a rookie orientation,
refresher program. You had to go through that yesterday, didn't you?
JUAN PABLO MONTOYA: Yes. I was joking to the engineers, said I'm going to
run 214.9, 215.1. My second lap was 215.1, then 214.9, 215.2. I'm going, We
need to be below 215 (laughter).
THE MODERATOR: You have to go slow before you can go fast.
If you have a question for the two-time Indy 500 champion, go ahead.
Q. I wanted to ask, appeared to be that your car could go pretty much
anywhere on the track. When you dropped back, you were able to slice back
through the field. Is that because the aerodynamics, the aero changes, are
so good, or because your particular car, the 86, is so strong at the moment?
JUAN PABLO MONTOYA: I felt okay. I didn't feel as good as you said. It's
great that it looks like that. I did pass few cars and everything, I could
move, I could change, I felt pretty decent at parts.
The thing is, remember, every run you do, you change something. You don't
keep the same car, keep doing things. You always trying to improve the
feeling, improve the car to maybe be more consistent in clean air, more
consistent in the draft, things like that.
As you go through those things, there's some runs that you go out there,
you're just in the way, and you hate it. I said like three times today,
Hell, I'm not doing this. Actually the word wasn't 'hell' but I'm using the
polite word. I said, I'm not doing this and I bailed.
One of them actually bailed and really scared the hell out of me in three
and four. I lifted and I didn't even do turn one. I went in the deceleration
lane. I'm not doing this (laughter).
Q. Do you feel as well as being fast that your car was actually handling
quite well in traffic? Could you kind of like run directly behind someone or
do you still need quite a lot of clean air?
JUAN PABLO MONTOYA: You always need a lot of clean air. Even before this,
even the old cars, you need a lot of clean air. With these cars, I think for
me personally you still notice the difference.
It's a shame, yeah, I mean, that we didn't -- some people tried the 'push to
pass', they did the other test. But it would make racing quite more wild, I
think. I know some people don't want wild.
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Josef Newgarden prepares to take to the 2.5 mile oval for
practice. He didn't know then that his expertly prepared Penske
Racing Chevrolet would post the best pace. Image Credit: Chris
Jones via NICS (2021)
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THE MODERATOR: Also joining us here in the Zoom room, we welcome in the
two-time NTT INDYCAR Series champion, Josef Newgarden, as well.
Josef, tell us about your day. Quickest in that session, 226.819 miles per
hour.
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yeah, it was a pretty good day.
JUAN PABLO MONTOYA: Are you driving?
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: No, not yet. I'm still in the parking lot. Where are you?
JUAN PABLO MONTOYA: I'm in the garage working. We got meetings and things.
We love meetings.
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Are you trying a new approach this year?
JUAN PABLO MONTOYA: No, I'm trying to avoid the meetings, but they still
make me go.
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yeah, it was a pretty good day. I was happy enough with the
car. I think we still need some work, for sure.
But just to get an initial read on where we're at, obviously there's a lot
of new parts, differences to the last couple years. So we're just trying to
assess what we need to really work on now these last couple weeks before we
get back here in May.
Pretty happy. I felt the Shell Fuel Rewards car looked good. Had some decent
speed, which is always nice to see, but doesn't mean much when it comes to
race day. We'll see how we shake out as we get to the meat of things in the
month of May.
THE MODERATOR: We'll continue with questions.
Q. Juan, wondering how this year's car compares to 2015 and 2000?
JUAN PABLO MONTOYA: How does it compare? How does the car compare? This is
engineer right here (laughter).
They're a little harder to drive, I think. I think the difference between
clear air and dirty air is a little bigger. I think the changes from what
INDYCAR did, from what everybody says, it's a little harder as before, but
not that bad. Put it that way.
Q. What about an extra hundred horsepower?
JUAN PABLO MONTOYA: After running today, I would be a big fan of that 'push
to pass', to be honest.
Q. Josef, how was the Chevy today?
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Good. I think Chevy has done a great job, as evidenced with
Juan as well. I think the McLaren boys are quick. I think we feel pretty
good about things.
I think they've definitely made improvements, and we needed to in the
off-season. We all did. Us as a team, I think Chevrolet, we all got together
and looked where we were weakest. I think there was a little bit to go
around on all sides. They've really stepped up.
We put in a lot of effort. I think we found some good stuff. It's getting
hard nowadays. These gains you're looking to find are so small. I think
they've managed to find a decent chunk, which is impressive with how far
along we are. Very encouraged with Chevrolet.
Q. With the aero changes they were working on in the off-season, bringing
them in for the 500 to increase passing, did you notice a difference between
last year's aero package compared to this year's?
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yes, definitely. It's easier to follow. It's still tough.
You'll still get a big front wash in traffic. 10 cars back, it's always
going to be difficult. But I think they've made the ability to follow
better. That balance separation between clean air and dirty air is
definitely reduced.
Some of them are tricky to drive, some of these parts. I think you're seeing
some split camps here along pit lane. Not everybody is running the same
stuff. That's been interesting to watch. There's more downforce on the car.
I think the balance shift in traffic is less.
Yeah, the ability that we're going to have to race compared to last year
will be better.
Q. Any restaurant recommendations for Nashville?
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Man, there's plenty. If you're into coffee, Barista Parlor.
Hot chicken, Hattie Bs. The Southern is very good. There's a lot of good
spots. Those are a few.
Q. Juan, this is your first time with the Aeroscreen now. How long did it
take you to get used to it? Your thoughts on it so far?
JUAN PABLO MONTOYA: It wasn't too bad to get used to it. I thought it would
be a little more intrusive. It's definitely a pain in the butt to get in and
out of the car, and it's a lot hotter. I know like here it hasn't been that
bad in the oval. I did a test in Laguna. In a road course, you don't get a
lot of air. That was kind of shocking.
Yeah, I mean, it's kind of weird because, like, you're really in a little
bubble. It feels a little bit once you're driving like a sports car.
But you're with a closed visor, I still don't get why you have to run -- I
don't think you have to. I think you probably do, but I'm used to sports
cars. Same thing you're with the visor open so you get a little more air.
It's good. It's fine. I think from the safety point of view, it's a great
thing. It's a matter of getting used to it more than anything else.
Q. Some of the guys last year talked about it was harder to find a limit
with the open cockpit. Did you find it harder to find a limit in your car
today?
JUAN PABLO MONTOYA: No, because I come from a sports car and a closed
cockpit car. For me, it's the same thing. It doesn't really change that
much. I think for the guys that are used to the open cockpit, might be a
little harder.
I've driven a lot of closed cars. Last four years, I've mainly been driving
sports cars, P2 cars. Feels about the same.
Q. Josef, how much did you notice any differences in the car today from the
test last October?
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: When were we here? I thought it was the beginning of
November.
Q. When you tested these configurations.
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: It's identical to the final config that we ran in November.
From then it's the same. Literally the last that config that we ran is what
you can put on the car, at least the maximum amount. It's pretty similar to
what we tested, I mean, the same.
Q. The weather conditions play a role today with traffic?
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I mean, I think it was a pretty easy day. It was pretty
ideal conditions. Not too hot. Certainly not too cold. A little bit windy.
That was probably the most difficult part about the day, was the wind, the
movement of the car. Pretty standard for this place. You're always kind of
fighting that depending where it's coming from. It's always playing a
factor.
Weather wasn't an issue. It was a pretty easy day, for the most part, to be
honest.
Q. I noticed the turn two trap speed chart, seems like the guys at the top
of the speed chart were good there. Is that one of the more important
corners to get right at this track?
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I think that was probably the most difficult corner as far
as wind today. For most of the day you had a tailwind going into two, you
had the side wind on the track. It could catch you out. It was difficult in
traffic to get it right. Someone was having a big tow, it was one of the
tougher corners to get right. That's probably why you saw the cars that were
quick and good, they were typically pretty good through two, as well.
Q. I know yesterday probably had to be a little bit of a frustrating day.
What kind of energy and excitement do you get from a day like this where you
have eight, nine cars running in packs? Does a day like this on the track
really invigorate you to get this season started here?
JUAN PABLO MONTOYA: For me personally, I think it's definitely a huge thing.
I know yesterday we didn't run as much as we could. In a way, I'm pretty
happy it worked out that way. We did the refresher. We did installation up
in the morning. I had a look at everything the other guys were doing, just
to relax with the guys and everything. It wasn't too bad.
At the end of the day we managed to get the refresher done. It was good. It
was good because it still feels like this place is fast. When you do it
often, you lose the appreciation of how fast you go. It was nice to get a
night's sleep on it. Yesterday when I was done, I was like, This place is
quick. Today it was like, Aah, it's normal. So it was nice.
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yeah, obviously for someone like Juan, this test is great.
Even for all of us that have been regulars here, this is a great test to
have, to give a warmup for the month of May. It felt like the month of May,
to be honest with you, typical day to start out.
Yeah, pretty happy we got this peek into the future.
THE MODERATOR: We want to say thank you to Juan Pablo Montoya for stopping
by. Appreciate you doing so after a couple busy days. The month of May will
be here before we know it.
We'll continue with Josef Newgarden.
Q. A couple of the engineers and a few of the other drivers were
conjecturing that with the package the way it is, it's going to be two cars,
the second-place car will kind of have an advantage. They think anything
further back than two cars you might have five cars running in a pack, but
the fifth-place car and fourth-place car don't have much of a shot. Does it
feel that way to you?
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I mean, certainly last year that was the case. I think you
have a better opportunity this year looking at the amount of downforce we
have, the balance shift in and out of traffic. I think you have a better
opportunity to fight for the win in the third or fourth car in line.
I think more than that, you are a quick car during the race, you somehow
find yourself in the back, I think you have a better opportunity of making
your way forward. Those two elements will automatically help the show. But
you don't want to have it so easy where we're packed up the entire field the
entire time. I think that's something that you would want to avoid.
It's a balancing act. I think it will be a lot better than last year as far
as the ability to race up front. Time will tell. But I think you'll have a
better show.
Q. In Happy Hour we saw some pretty good passing and some dicing around out
there. Some of the drivers said the dicing was a little bit by design. When
you have these test sessions, do you go in with the mindset of trying
different things to see how they work so when you're back here when it
matters you'll know what it's going to do?
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yeah, I mean, definitely. We're constantly trying to assess
everything. Today we were spot checking some qualifying stuff early on. We
got into race running, just tried to focus on how our cars were in race
traffic.
At the end of the day that's going to be probably the most important thing.
Yeah, when we're out there running, it's for real. There's people that drop
back every now and then. That's not real passes. As far as the way we're
running in line, we're trying to simulate it as much as the race.
It's very much the real deal what people are seeing.
Q. Considering you're one of the more we'll say older statesmen now at
Penske Racing. These days you've just had at Indy, how valuable are they for
someone like Scott McLaughlin?
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Tremendously. Scott has been so much fun to be around
because he's truly a rookie in INDYCAR. Everything that he does is like the
coolest thing ever. So to see that perspective again after having been here
myself for 10 years, it's just really fun. It's really fun to see that
through his eyes.
But it's a very valuable day. He's soaking everything up. Every moment he's
getting better. He's doing a really good job trying to take time, ask a lot
of questions, pay attention to every detail. He's really switched on. He's a
smart race car driver. He's doing all the right things to figure out how to
be good in this category.
I think you can come to expect that. I think he will be very competitive
this year. So, yeah, valuable day for him, for sure.
Q. For Roger, what do you think this means to him, building up to what could
be a great month of May this year by comparison to what we had last year?
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Certainly, Roger has a lot of pride in this place, and he
should. This is an amazing facility. He is a very deserving captain to lead
this ship. I think we're all pretty happy that he's at the helm of it.
He's beaming to be out here every day. He's always excited, excited for what
we're doing as a team, but more excited for what the Speedway is doing.
There's no one that wants fans here more than Roger, I can tell you that. I
think if we get a semi-filled up crowd, he's going to be a very happy man.
We're all going to be very happy.
This place was built for fans. That's what this track is all about. We get
to the month of May, have some people in the stands, it's going to be good
for everybody.
Q. To Barber, how important is it to get points on the board early on and
kick-start the season in the most positive way?
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yeah, it's always important. I always tell people, I tell
the team, Let's get on the board today. We don't need to win the race, but
we need to score some points, have a good showing, set ourselves up for a
good year.
That's what we try to do. That's what we're going to try to do next weekend.
Q. Did you get a feel for how the Chevy and Honda balance power is at the
moment? I realize it's difficult in these conditions to judge. We all know
what happened last year. You guys were powerful but didn't have the fuel
economy.
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yeah, it's hard to say. It looks a lot more even this year,
is what I would say at the moment. Someone could obviously be miles ahead by
the time we get to the month of May. It's possible. But I would say it looks
a lot more even right now than where we were at last year.
We're all excited about that. I think Chevrolet has done a great job. It's
going to provide an interesting show for everybody.
Q. Did you check out how far you could go on a tank of fuel, turbo boost
level, fuel rich level?
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yeah, we didn't do a lot of economy stuff today. We just
did it -- I didn't run through any mixtures. I think there's still some
questions to be answered in the month of May. We were trying to check off
some bigger team item stuff.
Chevy has more manpower than just us at Team Penske. Not sure what they're
up to. We're going to debrief with them after a test like this. We're
pushing. I think we're going to be in a good spot looking at the initial
information.
THE MODERATOR: Thank you, Josef Newgarden.
[ht: FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports]
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Race fans tuning in on Peacock saw an afternoon full drivers of
drafting for position down the main straightaway and the
backstretch and exciting passes into the corners, all causing one
to salivate at the thought of the increased on-track competition
we can expect to see next month. Image Credit: Chris Jones via
NICS (2021)
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This Field Is Close!
By Zach Horrall | Published: Apr 10, 2021 - Post 2-Day Test @
INDYCAR.COM
Team Penske posted a strong showing at the Indy 500 Open Test, potentially
a sign of what’s to come, as Josef Newgarden posted the fastest speed of
Friday and the test overall, 226.819 mph, in the No. 2 Chevrolet. His
teammates were seventh (Will Power), 11th (Simon Pagenaud) and 18th (Scott
McLaughlin).
Team Penske had an off year by its standards in 2020 at Indianapolis, as
Newgarden led the team with a fifth-place finish, the only top 10 the team
produced last year in the “500.”
“It was a really just a nice preview of the Month of May to kind of
validate some of the work we’ve done at the shop,” Newgarden said. “We’ve
tried to make our cars quicker, inherently, by themselves and make them
better in traffic. Those are the two ingredients here to be fast and win
races. I think we’re in a better spot. It feels that way. I’m really happy
with my Shell Fuel Rewards car, and I think Chevy has done a great job. We
know we needed to be better, and I think we’ve shown up with better
weapons. I’m excited to get back here for the Month of May.”
However, Team Penske was just inches ahead of the rest of the field.
The separation between the 31 NTT INDYCAR SERIES cars Friday was just one
and a half seconds from leader Newgarden to slowest Cody Ware. Sato was
just .0742 of a second slower than Newgarden,
Sato hit that top speed while running in one of the many multi-car packs
that hit the track Friday afternoon.
Additionally, the 10 fastest speeds were evenly split between the series’
two manufacturers, Chevrolet and Honda. While a Chevrolet driver paced the
overall field, it was Honda that had the fastest no-tow speed.
If race fans take anything away from the Indy 500 Open Test, it’s that the
field that is expected to return for the 105th Running of the Indianapolis
500 presented by Gainbridge on Sunday, May 30 will be separated by just
mere car lengths as 33 of the best drivers in the world battle for racing
immortality at the Racing Capital of the World.
ENDS
TAGS:
Juan Pablo Montoya, Josef Newgarden, Penske Racing, Arrow McLaren SP,
INDY 500, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, NTT INDYCAR SERIES, 2021, 105th
Running, Practice, The EDJE
