This is the penultimate IndyCar Wrap-Up and it will be Team Penske. Unable to retain the title, Team Penske put up a strong effort and won its fair share of races in a series that Roger Penske now owns. It again showed from top to bottom it is the best team on the grid, even if it did not take home all the hardware, and the notable pieces went to other entities this season.
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| Josef Newgarden's season was close to splendid |
Josef Newgarden
After picking up his second championship in 2019, Newgarden looked to make it three titles in four seasons, and while he fell short, Newgarden took the championship defense to the wire, even after it appeared it was settled before the summer came to a close.
What objectively was his best race?
Newgarden won four races this season, the second Iowa race, the second Gateway race, the first Harvest Grand Prix race and the St. Petersburg season finale.
What subjectively was his best race?
Somebody is going to be sad that Iowa is not on the schedule in 2021 because Newgarden led 214 laps on his way to victory from pole position this year. In his last eight Iowa races, his finishes were second, second, first, sixth, fourth, first, fifth and first. In four races, he led over 200 laps. In another he led over 100 laps and he led 1,150 laps, the all-time Iowa leader.
At Gateway, he stayed at the front and when he could pounce during the final pit cycle, he did and leapfrogged ahead of Patricio O'Ward. Tire strategy played into his favor in the first Harvest Grand Prix race and he pulled away to victory. In the finale, Newgarden took advantage of the Alexander Rossi's spin, Colton Herta's faulty car and pulled out a victory when he needed a victory, even if he didn't have the best car. Unfortunately for him, Scott Dixon did not falter.
What objectively was his worst race?
Fourteenth in the first Road America race and it should have been his first victory of the season.
Newgarden won four races this season, the second Iowa race, the second Gateway race, the first Harvest Grand Prix race and the St. Petersburg season finale.
What subjectively was his best race?
Somebody is going to be sad that Iowa is not on the schedule in 2021 because Newgarden led 214 laps on his way to victory from pole position this year. In his last eight Iowa races, his finishes were second, second, first, sixth, fourth, first, fifth and first. In four races, he led over 200 laps. In another he led over 100 laps and he led 1,150 laps, the all-time Iowa leader.
At Gateway, he stayed at the front and when he could pounce during the final pit cycle, he did and leapfrogged ahead of Patricio O'Ward. Tire strategy played into his favor in the first Harvest Grand Prix race and he pulled away to victory. In the finale, Newgarden took advantage of the Alexander Rossi's spin, Colton Herta's faulty car and pulled out a victory when he needed a victory, even if he didn't have the best car. Unfortunately for him, Scott Dixon did not falter.
What objectively was his worst race?
Fourteenth in the first Road America race and it should have been his first victory of the season.
What subjectively was his worst race?
How did Road America go wrong?
Newgarden was running away with the race. He led 25 of the first 27 laps before he stalled on his second pit stop. He dropped out of the contention for the victory but had a shot at the top five and then he locked up on the tires on a restart. This forced an extra pit stop and what was a certain victory turned into a 14th-place finish.
It is the only blemish on his season. He was 12th in the first Gateway race, in what was an off race where he was only going to be a top ten car and was caught out after he made a pit stop before the caution for a brief drizzle. Newgarden did not do much wrong this season.
Unfortunately, one mistake is all it takes to lose a championship. If Newgarden pulled off a podium finish instead of 14th, picked up 39 points instead of 20, he would be champion. One race. That is all it takes and even when you are virtually spotless in the other 13 events, one race can be enough to keep the Astor Cup out of your grasp.
Josef Newgarden's 2020 Statistics
Championship Position: 2nd (521 points)
Wins: 4
Podiums: 6
Top Fives: 9
Top Tens: 12
Laps Led: 455
Poles: 3
Fast Sixes: 1
Fast Twelves: 2
Average Start: 5.5
Average Finish: 5.214
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| It was tough to gauge Will Power's season at times |
Will Power
No driver showed more visible and verbal frustration than Power this season. At times, it came off as a driver unapologetically angry even on his best days, breaking the Team Penske mold we were accustomed of seeing. While misfortunate events cost Power a few results, he had more good days than most and again showed why he is one of the best of his generation.
What objectively was his best race?
Power had two victories, the first Mid-Ohio race and the second Harvest Grand Prix race.
What subjectively was his best race?
When you lead every lap from pole position that is your best race and Power did just that in the second Harvest Grand Prix race. Kudos though to his first Mid-Ohio race, where he led 66 of 75 laps and no one came close to challenging him for victory.
What objectively was his worst race?
Power's season ended with a 24th-place finish at St. Petersburg after slapping the wall exiting turn three. That race had already started poorly when downshifting issues caused him to lose a few spots in the opening laps.
Power had two victories, the first Mid-Ohio race and the second Harvest Grand Prix race.
What subjectively was his best race?
When you lead every lap from pole position that is your best race and Power did just that in the second Harvest Grand Prix race. Kudos though to his first Mid-Ohio race, where he led 66 of 75 laps and no one came close to challenging him for victory.
What objectively was his worst race?
Power's season ended with a 24th-place finish at St. Petersburg after slapping the wall exiting turn three. That race had already started poorly when downshifting issues caused him to lose a few spots in the opening laps.
What subjectively was his worst race?
There is a common trend to Power's poor races.
Start at the front, run competitively, have an obscure mechanical failure or mistake take him out of the running.
St. Petersburg fits that criteria. The Grand Prix of Indianapolis fits that criteria, where Power started on pole position, he was caught out when Oliver Askew had his accident, he fought back into podium contention and then stalled on his final pit stop.
He spun out of the first Iowa race, suffered a tire puncture in the first Gateway race after he had led a great chunk early on and he was an afterthought in the Indianapolis 500.
Ever since his championship season in 2014, Power cannot avoid a handful of bad finishes, especially in races where he is highly competitive. It feels like every season he has two or three victories slip through his grasp and this year was no different. He could have another title if it weren't for these unavoidable strings of results each season.
Will Power's 2020 Statistics
Championship Position: 5th (396 points)
Wins: 2
Podiums: 5
Top Fives: 5
Top Tens: 7
Laps Led: 292
Poles: 5
Fast Sixes: 2
Fast Twelves: 2
Average Start: 5.357
Average Finish: 10.142
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| Simon Pagenaud was good, but good is underperforming at Penske |
Simon Pagenaud
Known for his consistency and brilliance, Pagenaud was somewhat off his game this season. It started strong and suggested that he could be a championship contender, but qualifying difficulties plagued his season. He quickly fell out of championship contention and out of the top five in the championship altogether. It ended up being a slightly disappointing season in what would otherwise be a respectable year for any other non-Penske driver on the grid.
What objectively was his best race?
Pagenaud's only victory was from 23rd on the grid in the first Iowa race after he was unable to qualify due to fuel pressure issues. Credit to Ben Bretzman for nailing the strategy to put Pagenaud in the top ten and then caught a caution before making his second pit stop. He also caught a break when the only caution of the night was extended after Rinus VeeKay and Colton Herta got together when the initial attempt was waved off. This allowed Pagenaud to stretch his fuel and pull out a victory.
What subjectively was his best race?
The first Iowa race was special, as was the second Iowa race, because he had to start 23rd in that race as well and finished fourth, but I think his best race was the Grand Prix of Indianapolis
Pagenaud's only victory was from 23rd on the grid in the first Iowa race after he was unable to qualify due to fuel pressure issues. Credit to Ben Bretzman for nailing the strategy to put Pagenaud in the top ten and then caught a caution before making his second pit stop. He also caught a break when the only caution of the night was extended after Rinus VeeKay and Colton Herta got together when the initial attempt was waved off. This allowed Pagenaud to stretch his fuel and pull out a victory.
What subjectively was his best race?
The first Iowa race was special, as was the second Iowa race, because he had to start 23rd in that race as well and finished fourth, but I think his best race was the Grand Prix of Indianapolis
Pagenaud started 20th, committed early to the three-stop strategy and made up significant ground while a few teams stuck to a two-stop race and others went longer on that first stint. The only caution came at the right time after his second stop and he made up some more ground, finding himself fighting for a podium position and he got third.
What objectively was his worst race?
This team did not have speed at the Indianapolis 500 and he was 22nd purely on speed. Nothing went wrong. Pagenaud didn't have it in his Indianapolis 500 defense.
What objectively was his worst race?
This team did not have speed at the Indianapolis 500 and he was 22nd purely on speed. Nothing went wrong. Pagenaud didn't have it in his Indianapolis 500 defense.
What subjectively was his worst race?
Indianapolis was bad because it is the race Roger Penske cares about most and when one of his cars is completely uncompetitive that will not be tolerated. Penske will make adjustments when necessary, and Pagenaud's qualifying pace was dreadful this season.
He started outside the top twenty in five races and outside the top fifteen in eight of 14 races. His prior worst average starting position in a full season was 11.6. He was 4.3 positions worse than that in 2020. While he could overcome that setback in a few races, there were plenty of cases where he could not do better than average.
Pagenaud was run over in the first Gateway race at the start and that ruined the entire weekend. He spun early into race one at Mid-Ohio and ruined a top ten start and he was completely anonymous in the two Harvest Grand Prix races.
Simon Pagenaud's 2020 Statistics
Championship Position: 8th (339 points)
Wins: 1
Podiums: 3
Top Fives: 4
Top Tens: 7
Laps Led: 97
Poles: 0
Fast Sixes: 0
Fast Twelves: 1
Average Start: 15.928
Average Finish: 10.571
An Early Look Ahead
All three drivers will return, and Team Penske will expand back to four cars with three-time Supercars champion Scott McLaughlin making the full-time switch to IndyCar after making his debut at St. Petersburg in October.
Penske will be fine. The team won seven races this year, half the races, and I am sure the team considers 2020 a disappointment. No Indianapolis 500 victory and the championship went to Scott Dixon, but Penske won half the races, no other team won more than four races, and no other Chevrolet team reached the top step of the podium.
All three of the returning drivers are still championship contenders. Newgarden has been close to flawless since joining Team Penske with two championships, a second and a fourth. Newgarden is already one championship behind Rick Mears for most IndyCar titles in the history of the Penske organization. Next year will only be his fifth season with the team. He is not going anywhere anytime soon. Power and Pagenaud will continue to be a threat for two to six victories a season. However, only one driver can come out on top in the championship.
For most teams, two drivers in the top five of the championship and three drivers in the top ten would be a monumental result, but at Team Penske, you could be demoted after finishing fourth place in the championship. Juan Pablo Montoya lost his full-time ride after finishing eighth in the championship. Hélio Castroneves had six consecutive seasons finishing in the top five of the championship and he had been in the top five in nine of ten seasons when he was moved out of the IndyCar program to Penske's IMSA program with Acura.
The results have to come at a consistent rate and then they have to be better than that.
I don't think any of the three are in danger, and yet there seems to always be pressure. Newgarden is the safest of all. He doesn't have the harsh luck of Power and he is more consistent than Pagenaud, and Pagenaud is one of the most consistent drivers out there. On top of that, I am not sure there are many other drivers in IndyCar that Team Penske can poach as upgrades over Power and Pagenaud. Scott Dixon isn't going anywhere. Alexander Rossi is early into his contract with Andretti Autosport. Colton Herta has familial ties to Andretti Autosport. Graham Rahal has familial ties to Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Patricio O'Ward is still young. Outside of those drivers, I don't think there are any other sensible options on the grid for Team Penske.
McLaughlin will have some learning to do. He has been good each time he was in an IndyCar. He was impressively quick in testing at Austin in February and after eight months on the sideline, he stepped into the car at St. Petersburg and immediately blended into the field. Though his first few outings were promising, he will make mistakes or find greater difficulty than first expected. He will be presented with scenarios he has never experienced behind the wheel of a race car before and he will be doing it at 13 tracks he has never visited before. We will have to wait and see how this experiment goes.
Team Penske is out of Supercars. If this does not work out, McLaughlin does not have a fallback plan within the organization.
Next year will be the same as all the other seasons for Team Penske. It is going to win a lot and it will have multiple drivers in the championship picture. That does not guarantee 2021 will be a successful year for the outfit, but no other IndyCar team can have such a high minimum standard and meet it each season.
