Josef Newgarden finally made his way to the top step of the podium at the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama last month. In his first year with the newly-formed CFH racing, Newgarden is living up to the potential that team co-owners Sarah Fisher and Ed Carpenter foresaw during Josef's stint in Indy Lights.

Fisher and Carpenter had experienced success together in 2011 when Carpenter scored his first victory for Sarah Fisher Racing at Kentucky Speedway. After that victory they went their separate ways, with Carpenter forming his own team and Fisher teaming with Wink Hartman to continue with her team. Carpenter enjoyed success with two race wins as a driver (Fontana in 2012 and Texas in 2014) and poles at the Indy 500 the last two years, as well as victories as team owner in 2014 with driver Mike Conway. At the end of the 2014 Verizon IndyCar Series, Carpenter and Fisher decided to merge their two teams into one and formed CFH Racing. Keeping Josef Newgarden as their driver was an important part of the merger.

Fisher and Carpenter believe that Newgarden's win at Barber Motorsports Park in the most recent round has fulfilled the promise that brought the two groups together as they formed a competitive team. A win in just the fourth race of the season can hopefully provide momentum to carry Josef and the team through the month of May and two races at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Newgarden had two previous runner-up finishes (Baltimore in 2013 and Iowa in 2014) and was confident that he would win with the solid CFH team. "Let's go to the next one and try to do it again," he said after the Barber win. 

As the series heads to Indianapolis for the month of May, this team of three Americans is hoping for continued success after the Alabama win as the series heads to the Brickyard. Newgarden and CFH Racing itself are entering the biggest month of the Verizon IndyCar Series season with fantastic momentum.

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About the author
Cathy Shumaker
I am a life long race fan who works as a race marshal and as a pit fire worker whenever I can. NASCAR, IndyCar, MotoGP among others. I attend as many races as possible each year. Email me at [email protected]