Josef Newgarden, a two-time Indy 500 winner, begins his 15th season as the longest-tenured driver at Team Penske, a role that comes with the pressure of rebuilding the team’s image after two cheating scandals and the challenge of facing former teammates now driving for rival Andretti Global.
INDIANAPOLIS — Two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Josef Newgarden begins his 15th IndyCar season in a new role — as the most veteran IndyCar driver at Team Penske. This new leadership position comes as the 35-year-old champion attempts to rebound from one of his worst seasons in over a decade and help the series’ most successful team rebuild its image following two cheating scandals over the past two years.
The upheaval extends beyond the team’s internal structure. Newgarden is still trying to get acclimated to seeing longtime teammate Will Power and Ron Ruzewski, Penske’s ex-managing director, working together at a rival team, Andretti Global. The shift is a stark reminder that even in racing’s most stable organizations, change is inevitable.
“That was weird,” Newgarden said Tuesday, explaining his reaction to seeing Power and Ruzewski in Phoenix for a Firestone test earlier this month in their new jobs. “It was more weird seeing Ron. I was like ‘What the heck?’ Like I just wanted to debrief with Ron. I was like ’Yeah, what do you think of this? We like this tire, right?′ It was so silly. I’m like ’What are you even doing over there, both him and Will.”
For most of the past eight seasons, Newgarden has been able to maintain his focus on winning races and capturing championships for one of the series’ most stable teams. However, last season marked a turning point. Power, his teammate since 2017, entered the final year of his contract with a cloud of uncertainty that became an overarching theme of the season.
The situation escalated in qualifying for the Indianapolis 500, when Power and Newgarden were involved in the team’s second cheating scandal in just over a year. Moments before both drivers were set to make their pole runs, inspectors found both cars had a modified spec part. Although IndyCar stated it found no evidence the modification provided a competitive advantage, the act itself was illegal. The fallout was immediate and severe: Penske fired Ruzewski, team president Tim Cindric, and IndyCar general manager Kyle Moyer. In September, the team also announced that Power would not be returning, signing David Malukas as his replacement.
This seismic shift in the team’s lineup and leadership has given Newgarden a new title: the longest-tenured driver on a three-car team fighting hard to get back in the championship mix. “We are the evil empire, about to strike,” Newgarden joked. “I want to tell you, yeah it feels all different. It feels similar in a lot of ways. When I go in the shop, obviously, we’re going to have some changes, but it feels like business as usual in a lot of respects, so I’m excited.”
While Newgarden holds no ill will toward the teammate who welcomed him to Team Penske in 2017, the competition will be fierce. The 45-year-old Power is now with Andretti Global and has made his intentions clear. “There’s nothing more I want to do this year than beat Penske every single weekend,” Power said last week in Daytona Beach, Florida.
For Newgarden, the challenge is twofold: lead a team in transition on the track while navigating the personal and professional complexities of seeing former allies now as rivals. His strategy is simple, if a bit metaphorical. “I just have a pothole detector,” Newgarden said. “It’s like instead of not seeing where they are, I’m going to find them this year, so that’s my strategy. It’s not a good strategy, but if I can just avoid them without falling into the crevices, I think we’re going to be better off. I’m like 90% positive if we fall in less potholes. We’re going to be better.”
As the IndyCar season gets underway, all eyes will be on Josef Newgarden to see if he can guide a restructured Team Penske back to the top of the podium and re-establish the team’s legacy of excellence.
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