Josef Newgarden Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids

Josef Newgarden

Newgarden at the Iowa Speedway, 2022

Nationality

American

Born

December 22, 1990 (age 34)
Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.

IndyCar Series career

215 races run over 13 years

Team(s)

No. 2 (Team Penske)

Best finish

1st (2017, 2019)

First race

2012 Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
(St. Petersburg)

Last race

2024 Music City Grand Prix
(Nashville Superspeedway)

First win

2015 Indy Grand Prix of Alabama (Barber)

Last win

2024 Bommarito Automotive Group 500 (Gateway)

Wins	Podiums	Poles
31	58	18

Josef Nicolai Newgarden (born December 22, 1990) is an American race car driver. He drives the No. 2 Dallara/Chevrolet car for Team Penske in the IndyCar Series. Josef is a two-time IndyCar Series Champion, winning in 2017 and 2019. He also won the Indy Lights championship in 2011.

Newgarden has won the famous Indianapolis 500 race two years in a row, in 2023 and 2024. This made him the first driver since Helio Castroneves to achieve back-to-back Indy 500 wins. He also won the 2024 24 Hours of Daytona, becoming one of only 16 drivers to win both an Indy 500 and a 24 Hours of Daytona race.

Josef's Racing Journey
IndyCar Series Career
Josef's Driving Style
Personal Life
Beyond Racing
Images for kids
See also

Josef's Racing Journey

Starting in Karts

Josef Newgarden began racing at age 13 in karts. He quickly showed his talent, winning four championships in 2005 and 2006. His first race vehicle was a motorized scooter!

To save money, Josef focused on local and regional karting races. He won the TAG world championships in the junior division in 2005 and 2006.

Moving to Open-Wheel Cars

In 2006, Josef switched to open-wheel racing. He competed in the Skip Barber Racing School Series. He finished second in the regional championship in 2006. Then, he placed sixth and second in the national series in 2007 and 2008.

In 2008, Josef made history. He became the first U.S. driver to win a Formula Ford Festival title in England. This was a big achievement for an American driver.

Racing in Europe

In 2009, Newgarden moved to England to race in Europe. He competed in the British Formula Ford Championship. He finished second overall, but he led the series with nine race wins. He also won two races in the Formula Palmer Audi Season.

In 2010, he raced in the GP3 Series. This was a tougher year, but he still earned one pole position.

Returning to the U.S. and Indy Lights

Josef came back to the United States in 2011. He joined the Indy Lights Series. This was a very successful year for him. He won five races and had 10 podium finishes out of 14 races. He won the championship with one race left! In one race, he even lapped the entire field, which means he was so fast that he passed every other car at least once.

IndyCar Series Career

Early IndyCar Years (2012–2016)

In 2012, Josef joined the IndyCar Series with Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing. He earned his first podium finish in 2013 in Baltimore. A podium means finishing in the top three.

His first IndyCar win came in 2015 at Barber Motorsports Park. He won again later that year in Toronto. In 2016, he won at Iowa. He led 282 out of 300 laps, setting a record for most laps led in a race.

In 2016, Josef had a crash at Texas Motor Speedway. He broke his hand and collarbone. But he was back in the car just two weeks later! He showed amazing toughness.

Joining Team Penske (2017–Present)

In 2017, Josef joined Team Penske, one of the top teams in IndyCar. He won his first race with them in his third start. He had four wins and nine podiums that year. This helped him win his first IndyCar Series Championship!

In 2019, Josef won his second IndyCar Championship. He won four races and had seven podium finishes. He led the points standings for almost the entire season.

The 2020, 2021, and 2022 seasons saw Josef finish second in the championship each year. He continued to win many races. In 2022, he won the PeopleReady Force for Good Challenge. He did this by winning on an oval, a road course, and a street circuit.

Indianapolis 500 Victories

In 2023, Josef won the 2023 Indianapolis 500! This was his 12th try at the "Greatest Spectacle in Racing." He made a thrilling pass on the very last lap to win. He also swept the Iowa Speedway weekend, winning both races there.

In 2024, Josef won the 2024 Indianapolis 500 again! This made him the first driver in over 20 years to win the Indy 500 two years in a row.

Josef's Driving Style

Josef Newgarden is known as a very skilled and complete driver. He is fast in qualifying, which means he starts many races near the front. He is also very good at racing, which helps him win.

He is comfortable on all types of tracks in the IndyCar series:

Road courses (tracks with turns and hills)
Street courses (temporary tracks set up on city streets)
Short ovals (smaller oval tracks)
Superspeedways (very large, fast oval tracks)

Josef has been especially dominant on oval tracks since 2019. He has won almost half of the oval races during this time. This has earned him the nickname The Oval King. On road and street courses, he is famous for making bold passes on the outside of other cars. Some people call this the Josef Newgarden Move.

Josef is known for racing his teammates very hard. He was involved in a famous moment at the 2023 Indianapolis 500. After passing another driver on the last lap, he briefly moved into the pit lane area. This was to try and take away clean air from the car behind him. While it was legal then, IndyCar later banned this move for safety reasons.

Personal Life

Josef Newgarden was born in Nashville, Tennessee. His parents named him "Josef" to honor his mother's Danish heritage. He is half Danish and even holds a Danish passport! He grew up watching racing with his father, who loved NASCAR, IndyCar, and Formula 1.

He grew up in Hendersonville, Tennessee. He went to Pope John Paul II High School. Before racing, he played baseball, football, and basketball.

In 2019, Josef married his longtime girlfriend, Ashley Welch. In 2022, they had their first child.

Josef also has a YouTube channel. He posts videos about his race weekends and behind-the-scenes content. He used to have a video series with his teammate Scott McLaughlin called Bus Bros.

Beyond Racing

Josef Newgarden has appeared on TV shows like American Ninja Warrior and Nashville Squares.

He is an ambassador for the SeriousFun Children's Network. This charity was started by actor and race team owner Paul Newman. Josef hosts an annual ping-pong tournament to raise money for the charity. In 2019, it raised over $100,000!

Josef is also a gamer. He was a brand ambassador for the Forza Motorsport video game. His voice is even in the game!