Josef Newgarden, who has already topped 100 laps around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the No. 21 Century 21 car for Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing, is more comfortable with all aspects of the Month of May in his sophomore IZOD IndyCar Series season.

"Pacing of this month was very important," he said. "Last year, that was probably the biggest unknown for me. I didn't understand the pace of it, the time that it takes to get through all the practices, how qualifying works, and on to the race. It's an endurance event, if anything. There's a lot that goes into it. You can't focus on one part of it. Your central focus is definitely the race, obviously. That's the most important thing.

"How do you build your program around focusing on the race while working on each part of the month? You obviously have to work each part of the month with practice, and you have to qualify, and qualify well. Then get in the car and prep for the race, practicing for the race, and then the race.

"There are all those processes: How do you go through all those while keeping the central focus on the race? That's a difficult thing to do mentally and collectively as a team. That's what you've got to do -- figure out how to pace yourself throughout the month and not get wrapped up in all the head games of who's quick. I think we need to know exactly what we've got to do, and that's be strong in the race. What we weren't last year, we weren't strong in the race, and this year, that's what we've got to be."

On a lighthearted note, check out Newgarden starring in "The Life of a Race Car Driver":