Josef Newgarden beat teammate Will Power in the finals of the Indianapolis 500 pit-stop challenge on Friday, giving the whole of Team Penske something to feel good about after a trying week leading up to "The Greatest Spectacle in Racing."
Newgarden and Power will both start from the final row of the 33-car grid on Sunday after their cars were found to have a part that was illegal altered ahead of qualifying. But both of them had fast cars in the final 2-hour practice on Carb Day, and then they showed that their crews are just as fast in the annual competition on pit lane.
In the decisive matchup, Newgarden's team stopped the clock in 10.263 seconds and Power in 10.503, giving the two-time Indy 500 winner his second consecutive pit-stop championship and Team Penske its 20th dating back to its first in 1981.
"These are the unsung heroes of this race. They're risking it every time we're coming in," said Newgarden, who will start 32nd on Sunday as he chases an unprecedented three-peat. "It's not easy to do this job. They work on their cars all day, all night, and then they have to come out and perform in these moments, and they have to perform on Sunday."
The pit-stop title was the third overall for Newgarden, putting him in a tie with Al Unser Jr. for fourth-most by any driver.