Two-time IndyCar and Indy 500 champion Josef Newgarden goes into the 2025 season looking to win IndyCar’s showpiece event for a third straight year with Team Penske.
2024 had looked to be a great start to his year. He won on the road at St. Pete in comfortable fashion. However, that victory was taken away six weeks later as he and Scott McLaughlin violated push-to-pass rules on starts and restarts. Team Penske found themselves in hot water.
A breathtaking pass on the final lap against Pato O’Ward saw the 34-year-old claim a second consecutive Indy 500 win. This one was far less controversial compared to 2023 and that red flag call. He added another win to his total at Gateway later in the year.
Nonetheless, 2024 was a difficult one for the driver of car number 2. He has been the master of ovals in recent years, but it was not repeated to the same degree in 2024. Two wins was a rather disappointing return.
In the end, he finished P8 in the standings as he was comfortably beaten by teammates Scott McLaughlin and Will Power.
Road and street course difficulties
Aside from the St. Pete fiasco, he went close to victories at Long Beach and Road America. Ultimately he missed out on both occasions.
The 31-time race winner has not tasted success on a permanent or street circuit since Road America in 2022. It is a winless streak at those venues spanning almost 3 years. For the most part, he has looked a step behind Power and McLaughlin at these kind of venues.
In response to a question from Pit Debrief about his form on these type of tracks in recent years, Penske driver Josef Newgarden said he was not concerned about it. He explained he did not feel far off and will look to hit “clearer water” this year.
“Well, ’24 was kind of unfortunate in a lot of ways when you look at the numbers and you study average position, all of these sort of metrics. We’re in just as good of a spot as we’ve always been.
“There were some outlier events as everybody is aware of in 2024, but when I look at the numbers I go, ‘this is really not different to what it was in years prior’.
“When we were spreading wins across the board on ovals, road courses and street courses and kind of getting the trifecta, I think that’s still very intact. I’m not dwelling on that too much.
“I think we’ve just got to right the ship in some ways from what we saw last year. We just had choppy water, and I think once we find a little clearer water, we’re going to be in a good spot.
“I guess that’s what I took from last year, when I really dove into the numbers, that nothing was that far off.”
What Josef Newgarden took from 2024
On and off the track, Newgarden faced a lot of tough moments in 2024. Alongside his team, he faced a lot of scrutiny for what happened at St. Pete.
After that emotionally draining period where he got very emotional during a press event to explain his side of the story, it was a mixed bag for the 34-year-old on track as well.
Last year was the first time in Team Penske colours that Josef Newgarden finished outside the top 5 in the championship. He was P8 in his eighth campaign with the squad.
Nonethless, he says a lot of positives got taken from everything that went on.
“Yeah, I do think it was a dynamic year is maybe the way to put it.
“It was a year of great highs, as you said. There was multiple strong points to it. But then there were some tremendous lows. Very volatile and rocky.
“But I would say transformative, if anything. For me, it was a really good year to go through — it makes me excited about 2025.
“It ended up being a really positive year for the way everything transpired, even the waviness of the year. It just put us in a good spot to come out firing in 2025, and I think we can do that.
“I don’t have many more adjectives for it. It was just very up and down. So many good things to take from it.
“Certainly Indy was the biggest highlight, but a lot of positives all around. Even within the negatives, they all turned into positives I thought.”
The learnings taken
Penske had a turbulent year in 2024 after the events of St. Pete. They ultimately lost out in the championship to Alex Palou as Will Power and Scott McLaughlin came up short.
Newgarden says Team Penske showed great resilience through last season. He adds they have rallied together over the long break.
“Yeah, lots [of things learned]. We’re always growing. I think that’s the goal, is you’ve got to get better every year.
“Certainly I think even as humans we’re trying to constantly evolve and be better prepared or be in a better spot year after year.
“And I think that’s true for us, and certainly after a season like 2024, resilience is a word that comes to my mind. I think we have tons of it, so everybody is rallied together and ready to go.”
Co-Author: Hope Van Beek
