NTT INDYCAR SERIES: XPEL GRAND PRIX OF ROAD AMERICA

June 9, 2024

Scott McLaughlin

Josef Newgarden

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: We are joined by the second- and third-place finishing drivers. Finishing second, Josef Newgarden, driver of the No. 2 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet. Finishing second, driver of the No. 13 XPEL Team Penske Chevrolet, Scott McLaughlin.

Josef, can tell the mind is thinking, thinking about what just happened. Your thoughts on the race.

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: It was a great day. Great team day. I think we're all going to be really pleased with the 1-2-3, especially with the 2 car and the disaster yesterday. It was a real team effort to put a new car together. Everybody pitched in, the 12, the 2 and the 3.

Really rewarding I think for the entire crew when you have to go through something like that, put it all together, we finish 1-2-3, it's as good as it can get.

At the same time we sort of gave that one away. I mean, I will say this, too. I felt like we gave it away, but all three of our cars were pretty stellar pace-wise. Whether it was the 3, the 12 or me, I think we all had similar pace.

With that capability for any of us to win that race was there. You saw the 1-2-3 because of that, I think.

THE MODERATOR: First Penske podium sweep since Sonoma in 2017. Scott, you're part of that. A good team day today.

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Yeah, ultimately when the cycle finished, last stop, it was all sort of bringing it home for the team in some ways, yeah, as Josef said. I thought we were really quick in parts. Had a great start, led a lot of laps. I think the strategy didn't fall our way in terms of the overcut was strong. We knew it was going to be strong, but it was really strong today.

I kind of wish we ran reds in the second stint just to get that over and done with earlier, then I could have attacked a bit more on the black tire.

Ultimately, yeah, it's a huge day. Really proud. It's been tough, man. Tough from May to here. The boys have been on the road for a long, long time. Huge props to them and the hard work that's gone on behind the scenes. It's not stopping now. They have to work till midnight tonight getting ready for the hybrid test we have got on Tuesday.

A good reward for the team, but ultimately still work to do. We'll keep pushing on. Just proud to get a podium at the XPEL Grand Prix in the XPEL car.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Josef, you did all this with a backup car, one that was built up overnight. What was the confidence that you had going into the race? Do you feel with the previous car you might have pulled that one off?

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: It wasn't a car issue, I can tell you that. I think at Team Penske, certainly me, I'm not ever concerned if we have to build up a new car. We have great consistency across the board. This team I think is the best as far as putting another car on track, and it's going to be the exact same thing.

We switch cars quite a bit. It's the same product every time we put it on the track. That speaks volumes to the level of the team, the savvy-ness, the execution of the people. It's just really solid.

There was no concern about that. I don't think that would have made a difference today. I think we just all had a really good day. We got a 1-2-3 for the team.

Q. What was your view of the first corner incident with Colton? He was upset.

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I haven't seen it. From what I remember, I remember just everyone checking up on the exit of the corner. I sort of center punched Colton. I hate that most likely affected his race. I'm sure he went spinning because of it.

I don't know why everyone checked up on the exit. I didn't see that. I saw people going on the outside. I'm sure something was going on in front of him. It must have been. That's the only thing I can remember without seeing the actual replay.

THE MODERATOR: The 11 got into the 8.

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: I had a great start (smiling).

Q. For those of us who aren't good at predictive math, why does the overcut have the advantage in that situation?

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Just depends on the track. Today the warm-up was really tough on the tires. It was literally nearly three seconds of an advantage on an overcut. Two-and-a-half, three-second advantage.

You can't get overcut on a day like today. You got to work that problem out. We pretty much had it worked out. We got to sort of a confusing place at the very end with the 78. Was it the 78?

It's all part of INDYCAR racing. You got to sort of manage the situation. I felt like I didn't make the right call there. We could have kept going, and we should have. So when you go for the undercut, that's what happens. You just get burned. We got burned at the end.

Q. Scott, when you were managing the alternates, did they start to become a handful?

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Not as much as I thought. I was pretty careful with them. That's half the reason why I didn't fight Josef. Ultimately they held on pretty good. Not bad. I definitely probably would have not been able to hold Josef off, regardless. Then a couple P-to-P dramas. I was saving my push to pass for the end of the race or the last exchange.

Yeah, chose to sort of just bring them up and look after them. Obviously thought from a points perspective, after Detroit, just nice to bring home a pretty strong result. I just had to bring that home.

Q. Probably we make a bigger deal about teammates. What Will has been through with his wife over the last couple years, to see the old guy get back in Victory Lane even though you would rather be there...

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: We would. Ultimately we're race drivers, we want to be the guy. Will is a phenomenal teammate. Josef would concur. Still bloody dead fast. It is awesome to see.

I think most importantly, to have a team 1-2-3 in this day and age, it's hard. Like, that's great that Will won. I think the most important story is 1-2-3 for the team. It's crazy to do that. It hasn't been done for a long time. I'm really proud of everyone.

Q. Josef?

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: 100%. We love Will. I think another point to hammer home is Will drove just as good of a race as anybody today. He was very deserving to win the race. I would say I felt like we misstepped at the end, but Will very much was a deserving winner. His pace was just as good as anybody. He did a great job today. He just kept clean, was there at the end, got it right. That crew, they deserve to win a race. They've been close here for a while.

From that standpoint it's nice. It's tough. I think we let it go, but at the same time you feel really good for the 12 crew because they deserved it, too. They did a good job today.

Q. What was the mood in the team after a tough Detroit weekend? How tough was the Detroit comeback?

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I think you get a great reset in this group. There's nothing that ever really lingers. Personally there's nothing that lingers. From a team side, you don't see anything linger.

We rocked up here to normal business. Even after yesterday with my mis-step, it's like, Okay, we're going to build a new car.

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Almost get excited for it. They're like, Let's do it.

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: That's so true. We don't get a chance to do what they did last night. They hammered out a new car in, like, two hours. It's crazy. I could have wrote that thing off in warm-up and I would have made the race. It would have made the race with time to spare. It's so cool to see them work at a high level.

But, yeah, there's nothing that lingers with this group. They were ready to rock. 1-2-3, like Scott said, that's the story.

Q. Regarding the team success, like at Indy and Birmingham, everything you were facing in late April, what does it say about the team? How were you able to overcome that?

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Look, I think we said it from the start: eyes forward. We were just focused forward. Ultimately felt like all three cars, all three teams, were like that.

No denying there's definitely some motivation there. Our jobs didn't change. Ultimately we've always had fast cars from the start of the year. Didn't matter what happened. It's a matter of just putting it together.

Yeah, we just executed today. We executed better than everyone. Ultimately that's why we were 1-2-3.

THE MODERATOR: Scott, seven years now since your team, Team Penske, has pulled off a sweep like this. Sonoma 2017.

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Were you part of that?

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Would have been. Sure.

THE MODERATOR: Congratulations on the podium. Rest up tomorrow. We'll see you at Milwaukee Mile.

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Or Siebkens (laughter).