Team Chevy’s response to its drubbing by Honda at the 2022 Indianapolis 500 was on display throughout most of the race as its drives led 130 of 200 laps while making exceptional fuel mileage on the way to victory for American auto manufacturer.
Josef Newgarden’s triumph for Team Penske and Team Chevy on the last lap was a thrill felt throughout the Speedway and General Motors.
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“What an exciting pass by Josef Newgarden and an incredible finish to The Greatest Spectacle in Racing,” said Jim Campbell, the brand’s VP Performance and Motorsports. “We all will be talking about Josef’s last-lap move, sprint to the finish line and post-race celebration for a long time. Josef drove a solid race all afternoon and he put himself in position for that well-timed and memorable move. This is a great win for a popular driver and champion.
“Congratulations to Josef and the No. 2 Shell Team Penske Chevrolet for his first Indianapolis 500 win, and congratulations to Roger Penske on his 19th. Thanks to all of the hard work by our Chevrolet engineers along with our technical partners at Ilmor on delivering an engine package that delivered the right combination of power, durability and efficiency.”
In recent years, Honda has made use of strong late-race engine settings that made their 2.2-liter twin-turbo V6 engines a problem for the front-running Chevy drivers to overcome. Team Penske president Tim Cindric credited the progress made in this area as making a difference in Newgarden’s ability to sweep past Honda-powered 2022 Indy 500 winner Marcus Ericsson and claim his first victory on IndyCar’s biggest stage.
“They’re here to win, and they’ve continued to put more and more resources behind it,” Cindric said. “It’s the details that win this place, and when you look at last year’s race, I think the Chevys needed a little more at the end when it was time to go, and they gave us more at the end when it was time to go.
“I think we either closed the gap or at least gave us the tools to win as Chevy teams, and when you looked at it, there were quite a few Chevys going into the third to last restart, I think there was four Chevys up there in the top 5. It’s a testament to what that whole group has done.”