Newgarden began racing at 13 in karts,[5] capturing four championship titles in 2005–2006.[6] He switched to open-wheel racing in 2006, competing in the Skip Barber Racing School Series, finishing second in the regional championship in 2006, followed by sixth and second in the national series, in 2007 and 2008.[6] In 2008, he became the first U.S. driver to capture a Formula Ford Festival title, driving for Team USA in England.[7]
In 2009, Newgarden moved to England to begin his European career. He competed in the British Formula Ford Championship, finishing runner-up and leading the ultra-competitive series with nine race wins.[8] He competed in the opening round of the 2009 Formula Palmer Audi Season, taking two wins. In 2010, he competed in the GP3 Series, capturing one pole position.[6] Newgarden returned to the States in 2011 and competed in the Indy Lights Series, capturing five wins and 10 podiums out of 14 races. He clinched the points championship with one race remaining.[9] In 2012, Newgarden joined the IndyCar Series, earning his first career win in 2015 at Barber Motorsports Park followed by a win at Toronto.[10] In 2016, Newgarden captured his third win at Iowa, where he led 282 of 300 laps and set a series record for most laps led in a race.[5]
Newgarden joined Team Penske in 2017, scoring his first win with the team in his third start. He earned four wins and nine podiums in 2017, capturing his first IndyCar Series Championship. 2018 saw a fifth-place finish with three wins. Newgarden earned his second Championship in 2019 with four wins and seven podium finishes. During the 2020, 2021, and 2022 seasons, he produced four, two, and five wins respectively, finishing second each year. [5] Newgarden won the inaugural PeopleReady Force for Good Challenge in 2022 by winning on an oval, road course, and street circle.[11]
In 2023, Newgarden swept the Iowa Speedway weekend and nearly became the first driver to win every oval race on the schedule with wins at Texas and Indianapolis. After a thrilling last-lap pass, Newgarden won the 2023 Indianapolis 500 in his 12th attempt at the "Greatest Spectacle in Racing". He finished fifth in the standings in 2023, his eighth consecutive season finishing in the top-five in the championship standings. [5] Newgarden won the 2024 Indianapolis 500 becoming the first driver in over twenty years to win the Indianapolis 500 back-to-back.
Career
Karting
According to an interview on The Dale Jr. Download, Newgarden's first race vehicle was a motorized scooter purchased at a skate shop in Hendersonville, Tennessee. In 2001, Newgarden competed in events across the country. After a year of this, his father purchased a kart.[12]
When he was 13, he and his family ventured outside of Tennessee to find a competitive kart racing environment. This led Newgarden to a kart racing facility in New Castle, Indiana, that had recently been launched by IndyCar driver Mark Dismore. In order to stay efficient with funding, Newgarden focused on local and regional championships rather than competing nationally.
In his first year of karting (2005), Newgarden finished 2nd and 3rd in the Kart Racers of America (KRA) Junior Can Championship. He also competed in the TAG world championships that year in the junior division, securing the title.
2006 was his most successful year in karting; he secured two championships in the KRA Junior Can division and repeated as the TAG World Champion in the junior division.[13]
He went on to compete in junior car racing in 2007, but returned to karting several times, racing in the highly competitive Robo-Pong 200 at New Castle Motorsports Park multiple times over the next few years. He won the 200-mile endurance race twice, with both successes coming with members of the Dismore family as his teammates (Mark Dismore Sr in 2011 and Mark Dismore Jr in 2013).
Early formula car racing
Skip Barber
Newgarden started his open-wheel car career in the Skip Barber Racing School series in 2006. He finished as runner-up in the Southern Regional Series with three wins and another seven podium places.[14] He next competed in the 2007 BFGoodrich / Skip Barber National Presented by Mazda championship, finishing sixth with two wins.[15] Newgarden remained in the series for 2008 and improved to second place, with three wins.[16]
Formula Ford
Newgarden after winning the 2008 Formula Ford Festival
After the 2008 season, Newgarden was selected for the Team USA scholarship to compete at the Formula Ford Festival and Walter Hayes Trophy. He secured the Formula Ford Festival title, becoming the only American to do so.
At the Walter Hayes Trophy event, Newgarden won all of the qualifying races leading to the main event. He started the event from the pole position, but mid-way through the race in wet conditions, Newgarden crashed from the lead, finishing 6th place.
In 2009, he moved to England to compete in the British Formula Ford Championship and start his European career. He finished runner-up in 2009, leading the series in total race wins and amassing 550 points.[17]
In 2010, Newgarden competed in the newly formed 2010GP3 Series with Carlin Motorsport.[19] 2010 would end in Newgarden's most disappointing championship position of his young career, finishing 18th in the points. The season was highlighted by a pole position at Hockenheimring and a best finish of fifth at the season finale at Monza.
Indy Lights
Newgarden clinching the Indy Lights Championship
At the start of 2011, Newgarden would return home to the United States to compete in the Indy Lights Series with Sam Schmidt Motorsports.[20] He won his first Indy Lights race in the season opener on the Streets of St. Petersburg.[21] He followed his opening win in St. Petersburg with four more wins and ten podium finishes out of thirteen races in 2011,[22] clinching him the points championship with one race to go.[23] In New Hampshire, the 11th race of 2011, Newgarden lapped the entire field and went on to win. He was the first Indy Lights driver to do this since Thiago Medeiros in March 2004.[24] Newgarden, as a rookie, would also lead the series with the most number of wins for the 2011 season.
IndyCar
2012–2014: Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing
On December 7, 2011, Newgarden was announced as the driver for Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing. He competed in IndyCar from 2012 to 2014 with Fisher's team. He would earn his first podium at the 2013 race in Baltimore and in 2014, would stand on his second career podium at Iowa Speedway.[25]
2015: CFH Racing
During his fourth full season in IndyCar, Newgarden raced under the merged team of Sarah Fisher and Ed Carpenter.[26] Under this new team banner Newgarden started 2015 finishing in 12th position at St. Petersburg.
During the fourth race weekend in the 2015 season at Barber Motorsports Park, Newgarden earned his first IndyCar Series victory at the 2015 Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama, moving from 5th to 2nd on the first lap of the race, and leading the most laps on the way to a 2.2-second win.[27]
He would win again later in the season at the 2015 Honda Indy Toronto[28] and finished the 2015 season 7th in the standings with 431 points.
2016: Ed Carpenter Racing
Sarah Fisher ended her participation in IndyCar after the 2015 season, with Newgarden remaining with the team again known as Ed Carpenter Racing. Newgarden started the 2016 season with a podium at the 2016 Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama at Barber Motorsports Park. He missed pole position during qualifying for the 2016 Indy 500 and started in the middle of the front row. He finished the 100th running of the Indy 500 in 3rd.[29]
28 days after his crash at Texas, Newgarden won the 2016 Iowa Corn 300 in dominating fashion, leading 282 of 300 laps.[32]
At IndyCar's return to Watkins Glen International, the 2016 Grand Prix at the Glen, Newgarden claimed another podium, finishing 2nd.[33] After a 6th-place finish at the 2016 GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma,[34] he finished the season in fourth place overall in the season standings, the highest non-Team Penske car in the series.
On September 29, 2016, ECR owner Ed Carpenter confirmed that Newgarden would not be back with the team in 2017.[35] Newgarden moved to Team Penske for the 2017 season,[36] with the team making an official announcement on October 5.[37]
Newgarden won his first race with Team Penske during round 3 of the 2017 season at Barber Motorsports Park; clinching the victory after a duel with Scott Dixon in the final laps.[38] Newgarden moved into the IndyCar points lead following back to back victories at Toronto and Mid Ohio.[39]
At Gateway, Newgarden held off his teammates and Scott Dixon to clinch his fourth series victory of the season but not without controversy as late in the race, Newgarden went under teammate Simon Pagenaud very late going into Turn 1. After bumping tires, both continued but, as Pagenaud nearly hit the wall, he was not pleased with his teammate's move. The following week at Watkins Glen, Newgarden had a sizable cushion in the points over second-place Dixon. Coming back onto the track after a pit stop under green on cold tires, he lost control of the car as Sébastien Bourdais made contact with him damaging the suspension. Newgarden ended up leaving the Glen with a three-point lead, later a four-point lead as he won the pole for Sonoma, setting a track record. Newgarden needed to finish 4th or higher regardless of Pagenaud's result and he finished 2nd to clinch his first title.[40] Newgarden became the first American born driver to win the Astor Cup since Ryan Hunter-Reay in 2012.
Newgarden won the opening race of the 2019 season at St. Petersburg and followed that up with wins at Detroit, Texas and Iowa. He led the points standings after every race except the Indy 500 where Team Penske teammate Simon Pagenaud led from the pole position. Newgarden won his second IndyCar title at Laguna Seca by only 25 points.[41]
Newgarden celebrating after winning at Texas in 2019
Newgarden started his second title defense slowly in 2020, a season shorted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Although he finished third at the opener in Texas he found himself in an early-season slump that put him in a hole to rival Scott Dixon. By mid-season and toward the final stretch he produced a series of wins and podium finishes that set him up for a title-deciding showdown with Dixon at the final round in St. Petersburg. Newgarden could only win the championship if he won the race and Dixon either retired or finished no better than ninth. During the race, Newgarden overtook Pato O'Ward in the closing laps after a restart and held onto the lead for his second consecutive win in St. Petersburg but ultimately failed to defend his title when Dixon finished third.
2021 would be an up-and-down year for Newgarden and Team Penske. Despite earning a season leading four pole positions, he would not pick up a win until the tenth round of the season at Mid Ohio.[42] The win was Newgarden's nineteenth in IndyCar, making him the most successful American driver currently active in the series. Newgarden picked up a second win at Gateway. Heading into the final race of the season at Long Beach, Newgarden was one of only three drivers mathematically in contention for the title alongside Alex Palou and Pato O'Ward.[43] Newgarden finished second in the race, giving him a second-place finish in the championship for the second consecutive year.[44]
Newgarden would be an at times dominant and at times inconsistent force in 2022. He set a career high in wins in a season with five; winning Texas, Long Beach, Road America, Iowa, and Gateway.[45][46][47][48][49][50] This would be the most wins by an IndyCar driver in one season since 2016, when former teammate Simon Pagenaud won five races. Newgarden's best finish on the season outside of his five wins was a fourth place at Detroit, putting him in a deficit for the championship heading into the season finale. At the second race in Iowa Newgarden suffered a massive crash due to a mechanical failure while leading the race. Although he was able to exit the car on his own power and walked away he collapsed shortly afterwards in the driver's motorhome lot, after which he was airlifted to a hospital in Des Moines for further evaluation.[51] Newgarden was later cleared to race in the following weekend's Gallagher Grand Prix. Heading into the season finale at Laguna Seca Newgarden was one of five drivers in contention for the series title alongside his Penske teammates Will Power and Scott McLaughlin along with Scott Dixon and Marcus Ericsson. Although Newgarden mounted a furious charge from 25th to 2nd at Laguna Seca he was ultimately unsuccessful at clinching his third championship, finishing second in the standings to Will Power.
2023 would be Newgarden's most difficult season with Team Penske. He took two victories in the first half of the season, including his first win in the Indianapolis 500 after a last lap pass against Marcus Ericsson.[52] Although he managed to sweep the double header at Iowa for another season of three or more wins, Newgarden would struggle uncharacteristically throughout the season on road and street circuits, recording only one podium finish on a road or street course all season. A rare crash at Gateway while leading took Newgarden out of the championship hunt with two races to go, and with an early retirement at Laguna Seca Newgarden finished fifth in the 2023 IndyCar Series.
Newgarden started 2024 with a pole position at St. Petersburg, but was stripped of his win after Team Penske violated push-to-pass regulations.[53] Newgarden rebounded by winning the 108th Indy 500, achieving back to back Indy 500 victories. Newgarden became the first consecutive winner of the Indy 500 since Helio Castroneves 22 years ago, also driving for Team Penske. [54]
On December 5, 2022, Newgarden announced that he would be teaming up with fellow Team Penske IndyCar driver Scott McLaughlin and Indy NXT driver Kyffin Simpson would be entering the 2023 24 Hours of Daytona with an LMP2 entry. Newgarden would return later in the year at the Petit Le Mans driving for PorschePenske Motorsport driving the #7 in the GTP Class alongside Matt Campbell and Felipe Nasr they would finish 4th overall. In 2024 Newgarden would return to Porsche Penske Motorsport at the 2024 24 Hours of Daytona again driving the #7 alongside Campbell and Nasr and Dane Cameron after a long race the #7 team would win the 24 Hours of Daytona.
Driver Profile
Since his second year in IndyCar Series, Newgarden has established himself as one of the series most versatile drivers. Newgarden is considered a complete driver, with strong one lap pace in qualifying and high end racecraft allowing him to start at the front of many races and take dominant race wins. He is equally at comfort with all four of the types of tracks the IndyCar series covers, having taken wins at road courses, street courses, short ovals, and superspeedways. Newgarden's dominance on ovals since 2019, a period that has seen him win almost half of the oval races IndyCar has raced in that time, has earned him the nickname The Oval King.[58] On road and street courses, Newgarden is known for making successful outside line passes, leading to some pundits and fellow drivers to nickname this tactic the Josef Newgarden Move.
Newgarden has been known to race his teammates harder than other IndyCar drivers, and has been at the center of some of the most infamous finishes in IndyCar history. Most famously was the 2023 Indianapolis 500, where after a series of red flag incidents Newgarden passed Marcus Ericsson with two corners to go on the final lap before weaving briefly into the pitlane to take away clean air from Ericsson and win the race. Although the move was considered legal at the time, IndyCar ended up banning weaving into the pit lane at the Indianapolis 500 for safety and sporting reasons.[59]
Newgarden was born in Nashville, Tennessee. Originally named Joseph Edgar, his parents changed his name at 6 years old to honor his mother’s Danish heritage.[60] His parents moved from New York in the 1980s with the family photography business.[12] He is the youngest of three siblings, having two older sisters.[61] Newgarden has said in an interview that he is half Danish via his mother,[12] and on his YouTube channel that he holds a Danish passport.[62] He credits watching racing on TV at an early age with his father, who was an avid fan of NASCAR, IndyCar and Formula 1, as what got him into the sport.
On October 7, 2018, Newgarden announced that he and his longtime girlfriend, Ashley Welch, had gotten engaged while on a trip to Japan.[64] They were married in the fall of 2019 in Nashville. In 2022, Newgarden's wife gave birth to their first child.[65]
Newgarden has a YouTube channel on which he posts vlogs and behind the scenes content of his IndyCar race weekends. The channel also features a now discontinued video series with his Penske teammate Scott McLaughlin titled Bus Bros.[66][67]
Newgarden is the driver ambassador for the SeriousFun Children's Network, a charity started by actor and race team owner Paul Newman.[69] Newgarden is also a ping-pong player. He hosts an annual celebrity tournament during May that raises funds for the Serious Fun Children's Network. In 2019, the tournament raised over $100,000 for the charity.[70]
Newgarden is a gamer and was a brand ambassador for the Microsoft title Forza Motorsport. His voice is featured in the game and he is featured in Forza content.[71]
He was featured on several episodes of CMT's Nashville Squares during the fall of 2019.
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