Josef Newgarden

Early Years and First Successes

After winning championships in karting, Josef Newgarden took his first steps in motorsport in 2006 by racing in the Skip Barber Series. In his first year, he won three races and finished second in the championship. In 2009, Newgarden made the move to Europe, where he competed in the British Formula Ford Championship. A year earlier, he had already won the Formula Ford Festival, and he immediately finished second in the championship.

Indy Lights and First IndyCar Seasons

After a year in the GP3 Series, Newgarden returned to America in 2011 for a season in Indy Lights, where he won the championship right away. This opened the door for him to drive his first full IndyCar Series season in 2012 with Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing. Although Newgarden was often seen at the front of the field that season, he made too many mistakes to achieve consistent results, and his best finish was only eleventh.

First Podium Finish in 2013

In 2013, Newgarden made some progress. With a second-place finish in Baltimore, along with three additional top-5s and three top-10 finishes, the American driver ended the season 14th in the standings. In 2014, he drove his third season with Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing, finishing one place higher in the standings than the previous year and matching his best result with a second place at Iowa Speedway, where he also set the fastest lap of the race.

Breakthrough with CFH Racing

After Sarah Fisher, Wink Hartman, and Ed Carpenter decided to merge and form CFH (Carpenter Fisher Hartman) Racing, Newgarden's performance improved significantly. In 2015, Newgarden frequently ran at the front and scored his first two victories at Barber Motorsports Park and on the streets of Toronto. He was one of six title contenders during the season finale at Sonoma Raceway but ended up seventh in the standings after a race full of setbacks. In 2016, Newgarden had another strong year, finishing fourth overall and winning the race at Iowa Speedway in dominant fashion.

Notably, during that victory, Newgarden was still wearing a brace on his hand, having suffered a severe crash at Texas Motor Speedway just weeks earlier.

Transfer to Team Penske

After another strong season, where he was the best non-Penske driver in the standings, Newgarden was signed by Roger Penske to replace Juan Pablo Montoya in the #2 Team Penske car. This proved to be an excellent decision by 'The Captain.' Newgarden won four races and claimed his first Verizon IndyCar Series title in his first season with Team Penske.

In 2018, Newgarden stayed with Team Penske and drove the #1 car that season. Despite securing four pole positions and winning three races, he struggled with consistency and had to settle for fifth place in the overall standings. In 2019, Newgarden had a strong season, winning his second NTT IndyCar Series title in three years with two pole positions and four wins. In 2020, he continued to perform well but fell just short of preventing Scott Dixon from winning his sixth IndyCar title. Despite finishing second in the standings with four race wins, Newgarden looked back on the season positively.

Mixed Results

In 2022, Newgarden finished second in the championship once again, but 2023 proved to be a difficult year. Despite winning four races, he failed to finish many others, ultimately placing fifth overall. In 2024, Newgarden hopes to contend for the title once again. This same pattern continued in 2024: the driver from Hendersonville, Tennessee won two races but finished outside the top ten in eight of the seventeen races and was disqualified in a ninth race. As a result, he could do no better than a disappointing eighth place in the championship, his worst result since 2014.