1. Josef Newgarden Gets Pulled Over by the Cops (2018)
In 2018, Josef Newgarden and Simon Pagenaud went head-to-head in a signature battle — literally. Their challenge: autograph the weirdest things possible. Pagenaud took it up a notch, signing everything from a billboard of Newgarden to Josef’s own mom’s arm.The grand finale? Pagenaud roped in local cops to follow Newgarden. When Newgarden made a sketchy U-turn, the officers pounced — claiming the move was illegal and that his plates were expired.
Newgarden looked ready to panic… until the ticket landed in his hand. Instead of a fine, it was just a giant Pagenaud autograph. Totally staged. Fortunately, the whole thing was caught on camera: Newgarden was vlogging and Pagenaud had his own cameraman. Classic teammate joke.
2. Sage Karam’s Pink “Honk If You Think I’m Sexy” Camaro (2015)
In 2015, a fresh-faced Sage Karam — 20 years old — rolled into the paddock in a brand-new black Camaro, while his veteran teammates Scott Dixon and Tony Kanaan opted for sensible SUVs. Karam wanted style. He got payback.
After a day of practice, he returned to find his Camaro wrapped in bright pink vinyl, proudly displaying “Honk If You Think I’m Sexy!” across the back.
Karam later joked, “People actually honked! Then they’d pull up next to me, see who was driving… and the looks on their faces said it all.”
The culprits? Teammates Scott Dixon, Tony Kanaan and Dario Franchitti.
3. Conor Daly’s Hot Tub Turned Into a Ball Pit (2022)
In 2022, Conor Daly set up a sweet hot tub next to his motorhome to soak away those practice day blues. But flaunting luxury in the IndyCar paddock? Rookie move.
After one long day, Daly pulled off the tub cover and instead of bubbling water… he found thousands of brightly colored beads. Welcome to the world’s most inconvenient ball pit.
He had to vacuum the whole thing out before he could relax again.
The pranksters stayed anonymous — until Alexander Rossi “casually” tweeted about ordering 1.7 million beads off Amazon. Sage Karam posted a not-so-subtle photo too. Mystery solved.
Watch this story on YouTube
4. Colton Herta’s Super Suspicious “Goodnight” Calls (2025)
The latest gag came from Colton Herta, who decided to mess with heads instead of hot tubs. Right before bedtime, he started calling fellow drivers just to say… “Goodnight.” Sweet, right? Yeah, nobody in IndyCar trusts a sweet gesture.
Alex Palou, Scott McLaughlin, Alexander Rossi, Conor Daly, Kyle Kirkwood and James Hinchcliffe all got the same bedtime call from Colton. Their reactions? Pure suspicion. Palou figured it was the setup to something bigger. Daly posted his paranoia to X:
“Something fishy is going on… Colton Herta just called me to say nothing but to have a good night, so either my bus is on fire when I get back or the doctors need to check him out again!"
Goodnight @IndyCar drivers and fans! ???????? pic.twitter.com/CatfvGpara
— Colton Herta (@ColtonHerta) May 21, 2025
One driver was especially skeptical: Scott McLaughlin immediately replied, “What did you do to my bus?” Turns out, someone had parked a porta-potty right outside his RV door.
Pretty sure that porta potty shouldn’t be next to my bus pic.twitter.com/OTEBbKOxfp
— Scott McLaughlin (@smclaughlin93) May 21, 2025
5. Tony Kanaan’s $10,000 Bike Cut in Half on Live TV (2004)
Back in 2004, Tony Kanaan proudly showed off his brand-new, $10,000 carbon fiber racing bike. Everyone knew about it. That was his first mistake.
During a live ESPN interview, teammates Dario Franchitti, Dan Wheldon, and Bryan Herta walked in with the bike — and a saw.
Right as the broadcast started, they began cutting the bike in half. Who actually held the saw is still debated. Kanaan swears it was Herta. Franchitti says it was him. Kanaan kept his cool during the interview, but was furious afterwards.
They paid him $7,000 in damages. Kanaan got the bike repaired — and kept the cash. Smart man.
Honorable Mentions
PhotographyPenske Entertainment
