2022 IndyCar Sonsio Grand Prix at Road America: Josef Newgarden finds redemption at Elkhart Lake

With a win on a permanent road course, Team Penske's Newgarden cashes a $1 million bonus

Josef Newgarden earned a $1 million bonus on Sunday, winning the Sonsio Grand Prix at Road America to check the win box on permanent road course to go with his wins earlier at Texas (oval) and Long Beach (street course). But the 31-year-old collected something else at Elkhart Lake, Wis.

Redemption.

It was last year at this track that Newgarden was the dominant force until a late caution two laps from the finish, combined with a mechanical failure, saw that race win snatched from his grasp.

Behind him in second, Indianapolis 500 champion Marcus Ericsson just didn't have enough left at the finish and was comfortable with collecting the points. Pole-sitter Alexander Rossi had his chance at the finish, but finished third. 

Newgarden had one anxious moment at the end just like last season. A late caution with eight laps to go brought Newgarden back to the field. He made a brilliant restart but had to do it all over again when another caution came out. This time the field went green at three laps left, and Newgarden once again timed it perfectly. He pulled away as Ericsson managed to get the jump on Rossi to set the podium at the finish.

"I just tried to stay focused," Newgarden told IndyCar.com. "I thought we had it all locked up in Detroit, and it went completely different than predicted. You've got to be on your toes at all times (in this series). You can go in with a plan, but you probably have to change your plan 90 percent of the time once the race starts to unfold. To be able to hit all these disciplines with this team, for me it's the best series in the world."

The real action at the end was the battle for third-fourth-fifth between the Andretti Autosport drivers. Romain Grosjean and Colton Herta put on a show in the final laps trying to overtake Alexander Rossi, who managed to hold off Herta first, then watched his mirrors as Grosjean caught and passed Herta.

"I tried to be really aggressive on that last restart, and it cost us," Rossi said. "But we were trying to win the race. Ultimately, a good day. Josef certainly had a little better base than us, and it took us until the last stint to dial in the balance of the car."

Results

1. Josef Newgarden, Team Penske, Chevrolet
2. Marcus Ericsson, Chip Ganassi Racing, Honda
3. Alexander Rossi, Andretti Autosport, Honda
4. Romain Grosjean, Andretti Autosport, Honda
5. Colton Herta, Andretti Autosport, Honda
6. Felix Rosenqvist, Arrow McLaren SP, Chevrolet
7. Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske, Chevrolet
8. Graham Rahal, Rahal-Letterman-Lanigan, Honda
9. Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing, Honda
10. Christian Lundgaard, Rahal-Letterman-Lanigan, Honda

What we learned

Andretti Autosport are back. Having been the road course/street course kings before the introduction of the aeroscreen, it appears the team has found that mojo once again. Interestingly, Alexander Rossi says the team ran the same setup he used in winning at Elkhart Lake in 2019, so perhaps they were overthinking the effect the aeroscreen would have on aerodynamics. Whatever the case may be, Rossi, Romain Grosjean and Colton Herta all look dangerous again on road courses.

It was good to see Graham Rahal drive to an eighth-place finish at Road America, and perhaps this is a sign that they have figured something out as well.

There may be a little drama at Chip Ganassi Racing as Marcus Ericsson and Alex Palou got into a scrum that the defending series champion Palou blamed on the Swede. Afterward, Ericsson was certainly happy to finish second and take over the chase for the driver's title, but was upset that Palou was upset.

"I'm really sorry," Ericsson said. "You never want to have contact with a teammate. From my point of view, the door was open, and I was already side by side. If you see a gap, you go for it. It's important at the beginning of the race to get track position."

Replays showed that Ericsson has a point, as it looked like Palou turned into the Swede, not the other way around.

As for the $1 million bonus for Josef Newgarden, it is split 50 percent to a charity of the driver's choice, and then the team and driver. In this case, Newgarden has decided to donate to a pair of charities: SeriousFun Children's Network and Wags and Walks Nashville.

[Jun 12, 2022 at 2:50 pm ET · Richard Biebrich Jr.]

Newgarden will cruise to the win at Road America and the $1 million bonus, followed by Ericsson, Rossi, Grosjean and Herta.

[Jun 12, 2022 at 2:49 pm ET · Richard Biebrich Jr.]

Newgarden's lead is up to 2 seconds as Ericsson seems to be happy in second as the white flag comes out. One to go and Grosjean has passed Herta and is trying to catch Rossi.

[Jun 12, 2022 at 2:47 pm ET · Richard Biebrich Jr.]

Push-to-pass will be active this lap, but that doesn't mean much to Herta with only 2 seconds in the tank. Rossi, with 21, seems to be trying to scrub his tires a little. Have they picked up marbles in the corners?

[Jun 12, 2022 at 2:46 pm ET · Richard Biebrich Jr.]

All this is helping Newgarden, who is pulling away from the field with Ericsson trying to catch him. Rossi has gotten control of third and is starting to pull away from Herta and Grosjean.

[Jun 12, 2022 at 2:45 pm ET · Richard Biebrich Jr.]

The track is green and Newgarden is away again. Rossi is blocking Ericsson but the Indy 500 winner is psst him, and Herta and Grosjean now are lining up Rossi.

[Jun 12, 2022 at 2:44 pm ET · Richard Biebrich Jr.]

So Rossi has seen Newgarden's strategy thanks to that earlier restart. Will he have something for him this time around? Stay tuned.

[Jun 12, 2022 at 2:42 pm ET · Richard Biebrich Jr.]

Castroneves has the engine fired but it will take him a lap to catch the field, so it looks like the track will go green with three laps to go.

[Jun 12, 2022 at 2:40 pm ET · Richard Biebrich Jr.]

Newgarden gets a great jump on Rossi and has opened up a huge lead as caution comes out once again thanks to Helio Castroneves spinning and going off the track just before the front straight.

[Jun 12, 2022 at 2:39 pm ET · Richard Biebrich Jr.]

We are green and it's a 5-lap shootout for Newgarden and Rossi, with Ericsson, Herta and Grosjean all hoping to have a say at the finish as well.

[Jun 12, 2022 at 2:37 pm ET · Richard Biebrich Jr.]

Push-to-pass will not be activated for the drivers until the 51st lap.

[Jun 12, 2022 at 2:36 pm ET · Richard Biebrich Jr.]

Newgarden has 37 seconds of push to pass. 

Rossi has 21 seconds, but Ericsson and Herta only have 4 and 2 seconds, respectively.

Grosjean in fifth has 41 seconds in the tank but right behind him is Rosenqvist holding 91 seconds and has been told to "go-go-go" when the field returns to green with 5 laps remaining.