Josef Newgarden “so excited” over major addition to IndyCar’s Iowa fixture
Team Penske ace Josef Newgarden recently expressed his excitement following Sukup's association with the IndyCar Race Weekend in Iowa. Sukup will be the title sponsor for the race in Iowa in July.
The IndyCar Race Weekend in Iowa remains the only double-header weekend in the sport's calendar. With over two months remaining till the race comes to be, Sukup Manufacturing Co. has announced to become the title sponsor of the annual event.
Following the announcement, it was none other than six-time Iowa race winner Josef Newgarden who reacted to the news. Taking it to Instagram, the Team Penske star driver said:
"Hey everybody, Josef Newgarden here, two-time Indianapolis 500 winner. I am so excited to hear that Sukup Manufacturing is going to be taking over the title sponsor of the Iowa IndyCar Race Weekend."
Newgarden reflected on his Iowa journey, which has seen him emerge victorious at the venue six times in his career. He also spoke about Sukup's involvement with IndyCar. The 34-year-old noted:
"The Iowa IndyCar Race Weekend is one of my favourites on the calendar. And I've known the Sukup folks for a very very long time. I'm so excited they're going to be helping expand the growth of the IndyCar Weekend in Iowa. Can't wait to see everybody there."
Sukup is one of of the city's top manufacturing companies, standing tall as the world’s biggest family-owned company of grain equipments. It specialises in manufacturing storage, drying and handling equipments.
Team Penske director compares Josef Newgarden's seatbelt situation with Will Power's
Josef Newgarden suffered a tumultuous weekend during the IndyCar Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach this past weekend. The Nashville, Tennessee native failed to finish the race after a seatbelt incident which was similar to that of his teammate Will Power's last season.
Newgarden pitted twice before retiring from the race after the shoulder, lap and submarine belts of his car were undone. Will Power, a two-time IndyCar champion, had suffered a similar issue during the season-finale in Nashville last season.
However, Team Penske managing director Ron Ruzewski recently spoke to RACER following the race, where he differentiated between the two incidents. He said:
"At the moment, it seems like two different scenarios. We understand what happened to the Schroth belts in Nashville. That ultimately was on us, related to some debris that was in the locking mechanism."
However, in comparison to last year's incident, Ruzewski believes that the Newgarden incident in Long Beach was not on the team. He said:
"The belts Josef’s always run are Simpson belts. The best we can figure at the moment is that with the new (larger diameter) steering wheel, and a slightly different seating position, that he hit the buckle in the (Turn 11) hairpin, as simple as that. That’s what he’s believing."
Josef Newgarden is ranked tenth in the IndyCar standings after three races this season. He has 58 points to his name.