Intro To Indy - Team Penske - Pt 3 - Josef Newgarden

Now that we have a brief overview of Team Penske as a team and Will Power, we're moving on to the second senior most driver, Josef Newgarden.

This is his headshot from the IndyCar website.

With Will Power, I definitely joked about him being Penske Perfect on the track, but not off. However, his teammate Newgarden is 100% the blueprint for Penske Perfect.

But it didn't start that way. Josef Newgarden actually started karting pretty late in life. Born in 1990, Newgarden didn't start karting until thirteen, in 2003.

It feels ridiculous to call a thirteen year old 'late in life' to something, and it also feels like I'm somewhat discouraging someone who isn't a literal child from pursuing karting. If you are a young person interested, you don't have to be five, six, seven climbing into your first kart. It can come to you when it comes to you.

Newgarden actually tried many sports before settling on karting, which is relatively unique for a driver. I also think this gives him an edge that many do not have, as a lot of drivers have decided long before thirteen that they want to pursue it. His commitment at a date much later than his counterparts shows a true love of the sport for what it is.

At thirteen, his family moved to Indiana to pursue his karting dreams. This is 2003.

For comparison's sake, I'm going to use Valtteri Bottas as my F1 counterpart for Newgarden. Bottas, born in 1989, is close in age to Newgarden, and had a more traditional route to higher level racing. Like Newgarden, Bottas did not come from a racing family.

Newgarden and his family decided to compete on a local level, mostly due to finances. It wasn't until 2008 that Newgarden competed outside of North America; he was eighteen at that point in time.

While there should be no boundaries, the combination of 'starting late' on top of being North American based definitely hindered his chances of going into Formula 1 on the traditional route. This is not surprising, as the bias towards European based drivers is very clear in modern F1. Bottas, by virtue of being European, entered Karting European Championships, which is the traditional route.

In 2009, at nineteen, he took the jump over the pond and went into European racing. Though not totally unheard of, there are a lot of requirements and points to be earned to move up the ladder.

His equal, Bottas, was already being eyed for his first Formula 1 test drive.

In 2010, Newgarden hit GP3. GP3, now merged and called Formula 3, was a new series, and its winners have produced several Formula 1 entrants such as Esteban Ocon (Haas), Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), George Russell (Mercedes), and Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes Reserve).

Newgarden came in 18th in the championship.

Now, at almost twenty one, Newgarden made a move that was the smartest in his career.

He came back to the States.

So many young drivers do not see the benefit of getting a ride where you can get it. So many young drivers think of IndyCar as beneath them, instead of a tool or even a landing spot, and therefore lose the opportunity to do what they love and drive.

Newgarden saw the value in that and returned to the States and joined the Indy Lights series in 2011. Indy Lights, now called Indy NXT, is the feeder series for IndyCar. It has produced six current drivers on the grid, including O'Ward and Newgarden.

There the pieces fell into place. In his first race, Newgarden won. Of the fourteen races, there were only four he was not on the podium for. He won the championship by ninety four points, easily slotting him into Rookie of the Year as well as Champion.

His equivalent, Bottas, had just won the GP3 series in Europe.

Unlike Bottas, Newgarden didn't have to wait for his seat. He went directly to IndyCar and spent three years at Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing, learning the ropes. Patience is a value Newgarden has in spades, and like F1's George Russell, took the time in a backmarker team to learn how to play the game. He did score two second place finishes in his time at SFH Racing along with the knowledge that comes from scrapping for every point you earn.

Then in 2015, SFH Racing merged with Ed Carpenter Racing. This was a great boon for Newgarden, who took home his first win four races into the season, and then his second before the season ended.

2016 saw SFH leave IndyCar, just leaving him at Ed Carpenter Racing. Another successful year for him, he had another win, this time at Iowa, and his combination of points had him fourth in the championship that year.

Only then did Team Penske come knocking.

Unlike his teammates Will Power, who only had one season not with Penske, and Scott McLaughlin, who has only raced for Penske, Newgarden had to wait for it.

I think this waiting, this hard road to Penske, helped Newgarden become the definition of Penske Perfect. He knew what he was getting into, knew who he was up against in 2017, and knew he had to perform to impress.

His first year with Penske, he won the title, eighty points ahead of his title winning teammate Power.

In 2019 he repeated his win, with almost the same gap to Power.

In 2021, his win at Mid-Ohio made him the most decorated American driver currently in IndyCar.

In 2023, he brought the 500 home to Penske with a slingshot around teammate Marcus Ericsson.

Points wise, 2024 was the roughest year that Newgarden has had at Penske, placing eighth.

However, he brought the 500 home again, the first man to do back to back wins since Hélio Castroneves in 2001 & 2002 with a heart stopping last lap against Pato O'Ward.

He also has retained his seat, unlike Bottas.

Overall, Newgarden is a strong performer and works very hard to be as perfect and consistent as possible. Newgarden is dedicated to winning and Team Penske, not necessarily team playing. He's also called The Oval King due to his incredible mastery of ovals. Sometimes, he's called King of (the) Corn due to his unprecedented six time win at Iowa. In 2023 he won Iowa back to back! A versatile and strong driver, you won't be disappointed in choosing Newgarden as your driver.

But, if you're looking to be a fan of his, know that he's definitely an individual. This can go either way in the eyes of fans and the media. Some like Newgarden's approach to racing and not friendship; some see him as standoffish and almost Ken doll like in how he presents himself. His ruthlessness in passing teammate Ericsson at the 500 in 2023 has been critiqued, though IndyCar has banned team orders and it truly is every man for himself out there.

Adding to this is the weird status of his relationship with teammate McLaughlin. Newgarden had a series with McLaughlin on his YouTube channel called Bus Bros, which showed the developing friendship of the two drivers and showed Newgarden in a different and flattering light. However, this was abruptly ended with little explanation behind why. It just seems that Newgarden felt the friendship was getting in the way of racing, and stepped back. McLaughlin respected that.

Overall, Newgarden is a uniquely American story, and one of struggle and strategy. When he's on the track, he's there to race, and no one and nothing is going to get in his way. His win at the 500 last year changed my mind about him a bit, as he got out and went into the crowd to celebrate, grateful and excited and real.

All in all, Newgarden is a safe choice to be your favorite driver.

Now we move on to the newest and youngest entry for Penske - Scott McLaughlin.