Josef Newgarden

2017 VERIZON INDYCAR SERIES CHAMPION

- Mac Morrison

NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE, native Josef Newgarden, 27, won four races and finished nine times in the top three during the 2017 Verizon IndyCar Series season, his sixth year competing at the pinnacle of American open-wheel racing. Notably, it was the affable Newgarden’s first year driving for the always-front-running Team Penske-Chevrolet organization, an opportunity he seized to become the first American IndyCar champion since Ryan Hunter-Reay accomplished the feat in 2012. With IndyCar steadily increasing its once almost-forgotten presence on the U.S. racing scene, Newgarden has established himself firmly as one of the faces of the current series—and the future.

Weren’t you supposed to play baseball?

JN: It’s probably my dad who said I was a good baseball player. I don’t think I was a bad player, but I didn’t start growing until 17, so I was always behind. But I always wanted to race go-karts. My dad caved when I was 13. We searched for a kart track near Nashville. New Castle Motorsports Park in Indiana was the closest place—300 miles one way. We raced there from when I was 13 to 15.

Were you naturally quick immediately?