Driver of No. 21 Scored His First Career Win At Home Race in 2015

(SPEEDWAY, Ind.) April 19, 2016 – Advance Notes

– For the first time in his Verizon IndyCar Series career, Josef Newgarden is able to return to a race course as the defending winner. Newgarden scored his breakthrough first win in 2015 at Barber Motorsports Park, the site of this weekend’s event.

– Newgarden earned his first career Indy car victory at last year’s Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama after a commanding performance, leading a field-high 46 of 90 laps. He started 5th and led the race three different times, taking the lead for the final time on Lap 70.

– Ed Carpenter Racing has five starts as a team at the 2.38-mile, 17-turn permanent road course outside of Birmingham, Ala., including the victory with Newgarden in 2015. Newgarden has four starts at Barber Motorsports Park, finishing in the Top 10 each of the last three years.

– Though he now resides in Indianapolis, Newgarden is a native of Hendersonville, Tenn., 20 minutes outside of Nashville. Barber Motorsports Park is considered to be his home race; several of Newgarden’s friends and family members were trackside to see his victory last year.

– The Verizon IndyCar Series visited Long Beach, Calif. last weekend for the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. Newgarden started 9th and finished 10th in the 80-lap race which remained caution-free the entire distance.

– The race at Barber Motorsports Park will be the final event where Newgarden’s No. 21 will feature a special paint scheme depicting the newest addition to the Fuzzy’s Vodka portfolio. The Commemorative 100th Running Limited Edition bottle, which celebrates the 100th Running of the Indianapolis 500 is now available nationwide.

– Practice for the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama begins on Friday, April 22. The 90-lap race will be broadcast live on NBC Sports Network, starting at 3 p.m. ET on Sunday, April 24.

JOSEF NEWGARDEN, NO. 21 FUZZY’S ULTRA PREMIUM VODKA CHEVROLET: “Barber, I’m excited to get back there! We’ve had a couple of good top 10 finishes these last two races, now it would be nice if we could go there and get a little bit better than that. Finally getting back on the podium or getting a win would be nice leading into the Month of May! That’s our priority; we’ve got a fast car at Barber. We won there last year and we’re coming back with a great Fuzzy’s Vodka team. It’s also going to be the last race for the 100th Running Commemorative Bottle livery, so we’ll try to send it out with a bang!”