Separate Mechanical Failures Plague Carpenter, Newgarden One Lap Apart

(FORT WORTH, Ind.) June 6, 2015 – Race Notes

– Both CFH Racing cars fell out of the Firestone 600 Saturday night at Texas Motor Speedway within one lap of each other. Separate mechanical failures plagued Ed Carpenter and Josef Newgarden, ending the races early for both.

– The two drivers started on position apart, with Newgarden rolling off 14th and Carpenter one position behind in 15th. Both drivers struggled for grip in the early stages of the event and had to pit early for fresh Firestone Firehawk tires. The strategy proved to be beneficial as Carpenter moved up to the 12th position after running as low as 22nd and Newgarden was up to 15th from running in 19th.

– The teammates had both fallen two laps down to the leader when they were the beneficiaries of a wave around after the race’s first and only caution period occurred on Lap 84. While safety crews worked to clear the debris from the track surface, Carpenter and Newgarden both earned a lap back and were able to make a pit stop under yellow. Newgarden was cited with a stop and go penalty for passing the pace car at the blend line, causing him to lose the lap he just earned back.

– On Lap 147 of the 248-lap event, Carpenter radioed to the crew that something was wrong with the No. 20 Fuzzy’s Vodka Chevrolet. He brought the car into the pit lane and climbed out; meanwhile, Newgarden relayed a similar message to his crew on Lap 148. Newgarden brought the No. 67 Hartman Oil Chevrolet in and exited the racecar as well on Lap 149. The two mechanical failures were unrelated to one another.

– The team will head across the border to Toronto, Canada for next weekend’s Honda Indy Toronto. Luca Filippi, driver of the No. 20 for the road and street course events, will join Newgarden. It will be the tenth straight weekend of on-track activity for CFH Racing.