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AVONDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Josef Newgarden threw down the gauntlet shortly after winning the IndyCar opener of the “desert doubleheader” at Phoenix Raceway that paired Roger Penske’s open-wheel series with NASCAR for a first-ever twin billing at an oval track.
His victory in IndyCar’s first race at Phoenix since 2018 set up Team Penske for a sweep on the same weekend the organization kicked off a season-long celebration of its 60th year in motorsports. Roger Penske had his six drivers spanning two series at the same track, where they mingled and cheered each other on, eager to make the boss proud.
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“It will be so disappointing if the Cup guys do not deliver,” Newgarden said after Saturday’s win. “We got to go first. It worked out. Now you got to put the pressure on.”
He didn’t let up later that night at a dinner with Team Penske partners, where Newgarden continued to talk trash to NASCAR teammates Ryan Blaney, Austin Cindric and Joey Logano. Then Newgarden wore a Blaney shirt and sat on his pit stand Sunday cheering as Blaney won the Cup Series race to complete a Phoenix sweep; in addition to the two race victories, David Malukas won the IndyCar pole and Logano won the pole for the NASCAR race.
Newgarden, Malukas and Scott McLaughlin all joined Blaney in victory lane to celebrate.
“Josef put the pressure on us. He said, ‘This weekend is going to be absolutely ruined if you guys don’t do it on Sunday,’” Blaney said. “It’s always special to win for Roger. You don’t want to mess it up. We had three out of the four boxes checked. We had IndyCar pole, Cup pole, IndyCar win. You got to finish it out, right? There’s a little more internal pressure because you don’t want to be the guys that don’t finish out the whole weekend for RP.”
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These are the moments that inspire the Penske employees who strive to make the boss proud. Penske, who turned 89 last month, has been fielding championship-contending teams for more than five decades, setting an industry standard for excellence.
Penske was an aspiring racer but gave it up in 1965 to focus on his business ventures. He…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/team-penske-phoenix-sweep-caps-165314161.html
Author : JENNA FRYER
Publish date : 2026-03-09 16:53:00
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