Newgarden Eyes Podium In Long Beach After Career-Best Finish in 2015

(SPEEDWAY, Ind.) April 12, 2016 – Advance Notes

– Ed Carpenter Racing heads to the west coast this weekend for the 42nd Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. Josef Newgarden, driver of the No. 21 Fuzzy’s Ultra Premium Vodka Chevrolet for ECR, will be making his 5th start at the 1.968-mile, 12-turn street circuit in downtown Long Beach, Calif.

– ECR won the 2014 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach with Mike Conway behind the wheel. Newgarden was leading the race when second place Ryan Hunter-Reay caused a seven-car incident as he attempted a pass. Conway was able to avoid the melee and was fourth following the accident, moving into second place on the ensuing restart. Race leader Scott Dixon was forced to pit for fuel with three laps remaining, handing the lead and the win to Conway.

– Newgarden started on the front row in the 2012 race in only his third career Verizon IndyCar Series event. He ran in the top five for most of the 2015 event before he was blocked into his pit box by another car, losing precious seconds. He dropped to 7th, but still claimed his best finish in the historic street race.

– The Verizon IndyCar Series most recently competed at Phoenix International Raceway for the first time since 2005. Newgarden bounced back from a disappointing season opener in the streets of St. Petersburg with a 6th place finish, despite having to drive from the back of the field twice. Newgarden’s teammate and team owner Ed Carpenter started 5th and ran no worse than 8th before contact with the wall ended his promising night early.

– For the first four events of 2016, 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, will be available nationwide this weekend.

– The Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach weekend will begin with practice on Friday, April 15. The 80-lap race through streets of the California city will take place on Sunday, April 17 with a live broadcast beginning on NBC Sports Network at 4 p.m. ET.

JOSEF NEWGARDEN, NO. 21 FUZZY’S ULTRA PREMIUM VODKA CHEVROLET: “I can’t wait to get to Long Beach! It’s one of the most exciting events of the year. As a street course, it’s very thrilling and it has an amazing atmosphere. It’s definitely one of the tracks I feel like we’ve always been fast at, just not quite able to seal the deal from a results standpoint. The last couple of years we’ve been close, fighting within the top five but not able to get to the podium. Hopefully we can turn that around this year with the Fuzzy’s car and get on to the podium or even to victory lane!”