Racing is a numbers game. What number is a driver on the starting grid? What lap number is the best to pit on? How many tenths of a second can be shaved off a qualifying lap?

IZOD IndyCar Series rookie Josef Newgarden has a few shocking numbers in his arsenal, but the 21-year-old Tennessee native enters the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach with a cool head and strong showings at the previous two events of the 2012 IZOD IndyCar Series season.

Following are a few of Newgarden’s numbers that might warrant a head scratch:

Newgarden was just 11 years old when fellow IndyCar driver Helio Castroneves won his first race on the storied Streets of Long Beach in 2001.

At 21, Newgarden is the only IZOD IndyCar Series driver that was born in the ‘90s. The average age of an IndyCar driver is 30.

Newgarden sat in his first go-kart at age 13. Eight years later, he was hired by Sarah Fisher to pilot the No. 67 Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing Dallara/Honda/Firestone car.

It would be easy for most 21-year-olds to get caught up in racing’s dizzying numbers game, but Josef Newgarden and the Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing team will take each of the 85 laps in the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach one at a time to battle for a number at the top of the finishing order.

After starting 15^th, Newgarden drove into the top-10 twice in the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama, the most recent race of the 2012 IZOD IndyCar Series. Contact with Ed Carpenter near the end of the race damaged Newgarden’s front wing, and he finished 17^th.

In 2011 Newgarden competed in the Firestone Indy Lights race on the Streets of Long Beach and finished 13^th. He started the race in third and led 31 laps before a crash ended his day. Newgarden went on to win the 2011 Firestone Indy Lights championship.

Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing’s only other appearance at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach was in 2010, when driver Graham Rahal finished 22nd

On April 6, Newgarden participated in a helmet/shoe exchange with Indiana Pacer Leandro Barbosa. According to Newgarden, Barbosa’s size 14 tennis shoes are a tight squeeze in the cockpit of the No. 67 Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing Dallara/Honda/Firestone car.

Newgarden will appear on an episode of the TV show “Day Jobs” with country musician Hunter Hays on Wednesday, April 19^th at 10 p.m. ET. “Day Jobs” airs on the Great American Country (GAC) network, and follows country artists as they step back into the jobs they had before they made it big in the music industry. Newgarden spent time with singer Hunter Hays at the IZOD IndyCar test in Sebring, Fla. in early March.

QUOTES

JOSEF NEWGARDEN-Driver

The Streets of Long Beach are known as a street circuit that requires driver skill to excel. What has been your experience there?

“Long Beach has long straightaways, which provides for good speed. You also have to have a good compromise on your downforce levels. It’s a tricky track with a couple of manhole covers that can bite you. I certainly caught the wrong end of one last year in the Firestone Indy Lights race. I ended up in the wall very late in the race when I was in the lead. Hopefully I’ve learned from those lessons and can apply the track knowledge I have to make it easier for us going there in an IndyCar.”

With your first two IZOD IndyCar races under your belt, how are you feeling in your car?

“I feel great in the car, and it’s been a really good transition from Indy Lights. Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing has made it easy on me. I love the car and I love working with the group of engineers and mechanics on the team. It’s fun trying to get ahead of other teams and figure out the new car quicker than everyone else.”

EVENT BROADCAST SCHEDULE

The Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach will air live on the NBC Sports Network (formerly Versus) beginning at 3:30 p.m. ET Sunday, April 15.