Josef Newgarden may be out of the fight for the IndyCar title, but he’s still set on winning as many of the remaining three races of the 2024 season as he can.
Two races at the Milwaukee Mile 250, followed by a Nashville Speedway finale will round out an exciting IndyCar season, with a championship that could be set to go down to the wire.
Alex Palou holds a 54-point lead ahead of Will Power at the top, meaning that he needs to outscore the Australian by one point at the Milwaukee weekend to claim a third crown.
Further behind, and out of the title race all but mathematically, Newgarden sits seventh – 131 points from the top, despite claiming two victories this season.
Josef Newgarden’s ‘high hopes’ for remaining oval races
Wins are exactly what Newgarden is hunting over the remaining three races of the year, with two opportunities within the space of a day at the Milwaukee Mile 250.
The American told Motorsport.com of his promise, after an excellent Grand Prix of Madison where he coasted – by IndyCar standards, to victory.
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“I have high hopes we can find a good package for both places. I think Gateway was really pretty phenomenal as far as the combination. It’s not easy. It’s not an exact science,” he said.
“I think if we could bottle a good racing package where there’s usability on multiple lanes, we would take it everywhere.
“Sometimes it’s a little bit of guesswork, trial and error. You have to kind of go places a time or two to figure it out in this new package. We’re trying to figure it out, with the extra weight, hybrid, aero, tire configuration. Overall I love oval racing, too, so excited to finish the season strong.”
How high could Newgarden climb in the standings?
Even with a few good results, the top three feels a bit of a far fetch for Newgarden, who would need to outscore Colton Herta by 64 points.
Scott McLaughlin is 43 points ahead in fourth, but if his mega consistency continues then race wins will be the only way that the Team Penske driver can claw ahead of his Kiwi teammate.
READ MORE: How Alex Palou can become IndyCar champion at the Milwaukee Mile 250
Kyle Kirkwood is 11 points behind him in eighth, but that’s as low as Newgarden could possibly drop with so few races left one would imagine.
Most dangerously for his rivals, he has nothing to lose and everything to gain, meaning that he will likely possess a very attacking mindset in the final few events.
It represents an opportunity for him to end the year on a positive note, and help build some momentum ahead of what will be an ultra-competitive 2025 season.