Newgarden and SFHR finish 28th in 2013 Indy 500

INDIANAPOLIS - It was a bumpy race for Josef Newgarden's second Indianapolis 500, as the driver of the No. 21 Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing (SFHR) Century 21/Dallara/Honda/Firestone car finished 28th, completing 191 of 200 laps.

Josef Newgarden, Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing Honda

Photo by: Michael C. Johnson

"We're not sure what happened," Newgarden said. "We still have to investigate things, but something happened in the first stint and it was all about working to try and regain everything. It was really difficult to drive with the rear and almost felt impossible in traffic. It was just really tough."

Newgarden, who started 25th on the grid, steered his way into 22nd before slowly slipping to the back of the pack.

"We kept our heads down and kept chasing it the best we could," he said. "These are the days you work the hardest and also the days you get no reward for it. It was a rough day but we'll have to try and figure out what happened."

The No. 21 car pitted on lap 66 in hopes of fixing the problem, but the extended stop resulted in lost time and laps.

"It's one of those days where you learn the most," Newgarden said. "Detroit is coming up next weekend so we're going to get right back into it. We won't slow down at all."

With only three laps remaining, Tony Kanaan took the race lead. Under caution he won the Greatest Spectacle in Racing, which featured 68-lead changes between 14 drivers, both race records.

Rounding out the top five were Carlos Munoz, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Marco Andretti and Justin Wilson.

The IZOD IndyCar Series keeps up the pace as the teams travel north for the Indy Dual in Detroit next weekend. The back-to-back races will run Saturday, June 1 and Sunday, June 2.

Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing