Josef Newgarden and his wife, Ashley, hope for a winning Sunday afternoon at Indianapolis. (Photo: Luis Torres | The Podium Finish)
SPEEDWAY, Ind. – When Josef Newgarden pursued his dreams to be a competitive racer, his beginnings were rather unique. At age 10, the Nashville, Tennessee native did not race immediately in a go kart or quarter midget. Rather, he cut his teeth on a motorized scooter.
For the next decade, Newgarden climbed up the racing ladder, making his way to formula car or open wheel styled vehicles in 2006 at the age of 15. Suffice to say, the young racer dreamed of winning the Indianapolis 500.
In the early years, it was a bit of a tough stretch for Newgarden, placing 25th, 28th and 30th in his first three starts at the 2.5-mile superspeedway. However, he tallied a ninth in 2015 and third in 2016, showcasing his promise and potential as a competitive NTT IndyCar Series competitor.
Of course, Newgarden made a name for himself in 2015 and 2016, racing respectively under the CFH Racing and Ed Carpenter Racing entries. Along the way, the popular racer tallied three of his initial career wins in INDYCAR competition.
Since 2017, Newgarden has raced with Team Penske, tallying championships in 2017 and 2019 and 23 wins. As impressive as the young racer’s career has been in the past eight years, the Indianapolis 500 remains elusive.
Newgarden has been solid in race trim at Indy. (Photo: Wayne Riegle | The Podium Finish)
However, for the fourth consecutive year, qualifying was a bit of an enigma for Newgarden, posting a four-lap average that places him 17th in the starting field or the middle of Row 6.
Despite the middling qualifying effort, Newgarden posted the ninth fastest effort in Friday’s final practice session, or Carburetion Day.
During Thursday’s Media Day availabilities, the Tennessean considered three words to describe the keys to success in the Indianapolis 500.
“I think you’ve got to be focused,” Newgarden said. “You’ve got to be accurate and you’ve got to be decisive. Those are maybe three attitudes (to have with Indy). But yeah, I’m excited.”
Some of that excitement draws from the fact that the driver of the No. 2 Team Penske entry has finishes of eighth, fourth and fifth from 2018 to 2020. Like his teammates, Will Power and Scott McLaughlin, it is evident how the longrunning INDYCAR team places emphasis on the complete package on race day.
“I feel like we’ve got a good shot, just as much as anybody,” he said. “It’s a tight field. It’s been very tight these days, but it’s been tight for a long while now. I feel like every year, it seems to get increasingly more competitive which is great for for the product standpoint.”
Given the incredible turnouts throughout the Month of May, Newgarden and his peers will see the largest attendance at the 2.5-mile superspeedway since the impacts of the 2019-2020 COVID-19 pandemic.
Along the same lines, he recognizes the importance of the Indianapolis 500’s placement in “The Greatest Day in Motorsports” for racing fans across the globe. Even for the most hardcore Formula 1 or NASCAR fan, the likelihood of watching INDYCAR’s premier event is more than probable.
“If you’re a viewer, you’re a motorsports fan,” Newgarden said. “I think it’s amazing to watch because you can’t really pinpoint anything that’s going to happen ever. And that’s exciting. It’s hard to predict too.”
For now, Newgarden is making the most of his latest Indianapolis 500 efforts. He has adapted quite well to the track and with changes surrounding his team, namely with having another new strategist for the third year in a row.
A win in the Indianapolis 500 will certainly be a crowning achievement for Newgarden his No. 2 team. (Photo: Wayne Riegle | The Podium Finish)
After all, he has a win in the belt with his electrifying victory at Texas along with two additional top 10 results. Although he has fallen to sixth in points, a winning afternoon in the Indianapolis 500 would do wonders.
Perhaps the biggest key of all with Newgarden finally scoring his first Indianapolis 500 championship presides with a simple yet complex concept – teamwork.
“We try try and make decisions and stick to them.,” he said. “And a lot of times, we’ve got to you got to change or adjust because everything is so fluid these days. Everyone seems to be pretty on it as far as strategy and execution. And you’ve just got to be ready to to change and adjust around people.”
