Josef Newgarden's Team Penske crew win 2024 pit stop challenge at Carb Day

INDIANAPOLIS – Team Penske further asserted its dominance during Indianapolis 500 pre-race festivities, as not only do all three of the team’s drivers make up the front row of the Greatest Spectacle in Racing, but now Josef Newgarden’s pit crew can claim they are the fastest in the 33-driver field.

This is Newgarden’s second win in the pit stop challenge and the 19th victory in the event for Team Penske.

Chad Gordon, Kyle LaPier, Caitlyn Brown, Thomas Jones, Keenan Watson and D.J. Ruppert made up the winning crew, and Newgarden even declined media opportunities after the challenge, claiming “It’s not about me.”

Brown, the inside front tire changer and mechanic on Newgarden’s crew, made history as the first woman to be a member of a pit stop challenge-winning crew. While she didn’t take the milestone lightly, she said she doesn’t approach her role any differently because of her identity.

“It's so cool to win something for Roger, especially at IMS,” Brown said. “To get him his 19th 500 (win) and now his 19th pit stop win was pretty cool.”

Kicking off the 2024 pit stop challenge, Newgarden’s crew defeated Alexander Rossi’s Arrow McLaren crew by less than .20 seconds, posting a pit stop speed of 11.312 seconds against Rossi’s 11.492 seconds.

Christian Lundgaard of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing blew away Katherine Legge of Dale Coyne Racing next, as Lundgaard’s crew posted a time of 12.303 seconds compared to Legge’s crew’s 19.888 seconds.

Two teammates were pitted against one another in the third first round matchup, as Juncos Hollinger Racing’s Romain Grosjean defeated Agustin Canapino with a crew time of 12.251 seconds while Canapino’s crew went 13.071 seconds.

On the other side of the bracket, Álex Palou of Chip Ganassi Racing kicked things off when his crew posted a stop time of 12.851 seconds, beating Kyle Kirkwood’s Andretti Global crew’s 15.344-second time.

Next up, Andretti Global got revenge when Colton Herta’s crew put his No. 26 Honda through the pit in 11.954 seconds compared to Graham Rahal’s Rahal Letterman Lanigan crew accomplishing the feat in 12.122 seconds.

In the final first round contest, Pato O’Ward’s Arrow McLaren crew avenged Rossi’s loss earlier in the round, as the No. 5 Chevrolet went in and out of the pit in 11.583 seconds. Felix Rosenqvist’s Meyer Shank Racing crew completed a time of 12.882 seconds.

To begin the second round, Team Penske teammates battled it out as Josef Newgarden’s crew faced off against Will Power’s crew, which earned a first round bye. Newgarden’s crew knocked off Power’s crew with a time of 11.152 seconds, nearly a second better than Power’s 12.103 seconds.

The pit crews for Lundgaard and Grosjean battled it out for a shot at the 2023 Indianapolis 500 winner, and Grosjean emerged victorious with a time of 12.524 seconds. Lundgaard’s crew posted a 13.671-second time.

Scott Dixon of Chip Ganassi Racing earned the other first round bye, and his crew squared off against fellow Ganassi driver Palou. Dixon’s crew proved they earned their bye, defeating Palou with a speed of 11.244 seconds compared to 12.332 seconds.

The 2008 Indianapolis 500 winner’s crew were set to face off in a semifinal against the winner of Herta vs. O’Ward, and the Arrow McLaren crew emerged victorious with a 12.538-second speed. Herta’s Andretti Global crew posted a 13.817-second time.

Newgarden’s crew punched their ticket to the finals by posting a 11.998-second time against Grosjean’s crew, who posted a time of 12.161 seconds. O’Ward defeated the 2023 pit crew challenge winner Dixon with a time of 11.395 seconds, while Dixon’s crew went through the pit in 14.536 seconds.

Newgarden’s crew crept one step closer to reclaiming their 2022 pit crew challenge crown, posting a 11.333-second time against O’Ward’s crew’s 12.121-second time on the first leg of a best two-out-of-three series. Newgarden’s Team Penske crew easily won the second leg as well, putting up the fastest time of the bracket at 10.792 seconds compared to Arrow McLaren’s 12.647-second time.

Contact Kyle Smedley with comments via email at KSmedley@Gannett.com or on X @KyleSmedley_.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Team Penske win 19th pit stop challenge, representing Josef Newgarden