Josef Newgarden wrote himself into the history books as he claimed back-to-back Indianapolis 500 wins in 2024.
The Team Penske driver, who debuted in the IndyCar series back in 2012 with Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing, has had an illustrious career, grabbing 31 wins and 58 podiums heading into the 2025 campaign.
Newgarden is also a two-time champion, after winning his first title in his debut season with Penske in 2017 after joining from Ed Carpenter Racing and then again in 2019, before finishing runner-up in the next three consecutive seasons.
But despite his success, the one thing that escaped him was glory at the Indy 500, after coming agonisingly close over the years.
The numbers are not on Josef Newgarden’s side to win three consecutive Indy 500 events
In 2023, the moment finally came as a battle with Marcus Ericsson at the restart on the final lap led to Newgarden passing the Swedish driver down the back straight and he held on to take victory for the first time at the historic race.
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After waiting 12 years for the first win, the second one came just 12 months later in the same circumstances. Pato O’Ward passed Newgarden while entering the final lap as he hoped to become the first Mexican to win the Indy 500. But the Penske driver got back past at turn three to claim his second victory.
With this win, Newgarden became the first driver to win the Indy 500 back-to-back since Helio Castroneves 22 years ago. Now, the 33-year-old has the chance to win the event three times in a row; a feat that has never been accomplished.
That is why, speaking on The Red Flags Podcast, Newgarden believes the ‘numbers aren’t on his side’ going into the 2025 campaign.
“Yeah, the numbers aren’t on our side going into next year, like statistically,” he said.
“I mean I don’t know, I’m not a big believer in those type of stats. I mean, it’s never happened.
“What are we going to be, we’re going to be the 109th running, I think that’s right? But yeah, it’s never happened. I do think it’s exciting.
“Look, I‘d gotten to the point where I thought winning that race was never going to happen. It’s just one of those specific events, it’s like the Monaco Grand Prix. It’s a really big deal, you guys know how it is.
“In IndyCar, like everyone looks it at ‘you don’t have a complete career unless you conquer that race’. And finally, it took me 12 tries and then we got it back-to-back so that’s pretty cool.
“Look, I think we can win more races there. Anything at this point is just a bonus, like I’m really thankful that we conquered two of them.”
Penske will keep their driver line-up for the 2025 IndyCar season
Penske will retain their driver line-up of Newgarden, Will Power and Scott McLaughin for the 2025 season as they boast one of the strongest trios in the series.
Newgarden claimed his second win of 2024 at Gateway as he racked up six podiums across the year. However, his inconsistent top 10 finishes ultimately cost him as he finished eighth in the standings.
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Power and McLaughlin won three races each, which was the most of any other driver. Power was second going into the season finale at Nashville, but a disastrous race saw him drop to fourth behind Colton Herta and McLaughlin.
McLaughlin recorded his best points tally in IndyCar in 2024 as he repeated his third place finishes from 2023 and he will be looking to go better in 2025.