Josef Newgarden points at "critical" variable that could affect his pursuit of third Indy 500 win

Josef Newgarden is eyeing an unprecedented third consecutive win at the Indy 500 at the 109th running of the race in May. On day one of open testing at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Wednesday (April 23), the Team Penske driver brought attention to the key factor that will decide his running in the race.

Newgarden vividly spoke about the new hybrid power units with IndyCar reporter Marshall Pruett. He explained how the hybrid assist will be of paramount importance at the IMS than at any other circuit on the calendar.

"I think the hybrid utilization here will be the most impactful of anywhere we've gone. It is going to be critical to use the hybrid correctly in race running compared to any other race. Most races that we run, it's sort of... it's a process thing. You're using the hybrid, you know where it's most efficient, etc, and you're doing it every lap," Newgarden said (0:30 onwards).

"Here, you can use the hybrid in any way you want, and using it is really, really critical. Because the car has such low drag here and such long straightaways, when you use the hybrid power, it makes a big difference," he added.

If the hybrid assist is combined with the push-to-pass system, it will produce up to 120 horsepower of added power. It could be the make-or-break factor in the closing stages of the race, because it is in the final lap that Josef Newgarden has taken his two Indy 500 wins over Marcus Ericsson and Pato O'Ward.

Newgarden's Team Penske teammate Will Power also emphasized the importance of the hybrid system in the lead-up to the test and how it will 'throw a spanner in the works' at the Indy 500.

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Josef Newgarden remains unsure of tire degradation at the IMS after Indy 500 test

Josef Newgarden drives his No. 2 Chevy at the 108th Running of the Indianapolis 500 - Source: Getty

Josef Newgarden couldn't gather enough data during the morning session of day one of the Indy 500 open test. The two-time IndyCar champion ran around 20 laps in the morning session and wasn't confident enough to make a judgment about the tire drop-off.

When Marshall Pruett asked him if there was any significant tire deg data gathered, Newgarden replied (1:20 onwards):

"Not really. I think I only did 20-22 laps, mostly by myself. The track temp is really good today. I think it was 115 (degrees Fahrenheit) when we stopped. I'm happy that it's up... but until you asking us to do multiple stints, 30 laps in a row (with) 30 cars on track, it's kind of hard to assess how different the degradation is gonna be. But I can't imagine we don't have more drop-off."

By the end of the day, Josef Newgarden completed a total of 78 laps and was the second-quickest driver with a speed of 225.125 mph, giving him a lap time of 39.9778 seconds. Chip Ganassi Racing's Scott Dixon was fastest with a time of 39.9677 seconds, recording a speed of 225.182 mph.