LEXINGTON, Ohio — Josef Newgarden snapped his streak of late race misfortunes to win for the first time this season, earning the first IndyCar victory of the year for Team Penske on the same weekend the storied organization celebrated the 50th anniversary of its first win.
Newgarden led all but seven of the 80 laps at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. He held off a charging Marcus Ericsson to win The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio.
This win ended a dry spell of nine races without a victory for the driver and Team Penske. It also snapped a streak of two straight race weekends where the driver lost the lead in the final three laps.
“Everyone has been giving me a hard time, asking what’s up with us not winning a race. But I don’t think these people at Team Penske could have done anything different," Newgarden said. "We’ve been in the game almost every race, had great performance. It’s great to seal a win here finally.”
Newgarden earned his 19th career victory and as an added bonus, he earned it on Independence Day and on the same weekend that Team Penske is celebrating the 50th anniversary of its first IndyCar win.
