Photo Credit: Chris Owens/IndyCar
Just a week shy of when Josef Newgarden made the announcement he would not be returning to Ed Carpenter Racing, it was announced Newgarden will be driving the No. 2 Verizon IndyCar entry for Team Penske.
Newgarden has been driving in IndyCar for five years has three wins, and finished a career best fourth in the 2016 Championship points standings. His soon to be teammates held the top three spots, as Simon Pagenaud won the championship, followed by Will Power and Helio Castroneves.
“For any open-wheel racer – or any race car driver in general – Team Penske is a dream job,” Newgarden said. “Roger Penske is a legend in the motorsports community and his team has done just about everything they’ve ever set out to do. I look forward to working with all of Team Penske’s great partners. To get an opportunity to work with Simon, Will and Helio, along with the rest of the team, will just help make me a better driver.”
The Nashville, Tennessee native spent his entire Verizon IndyCar Series started his career with Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing and then Ed Carpenter Racing after the merge of the two teams in 2015. 2015 was a spectacular season for the 2011 Indy Lights Champion, who won at Barber Motorsports Park as well as on the streets of Toronto, which lead to a seventh place finish in the championship standings.
This past season showed just how tough and how bad he wants to race because during the Texas race in early June he was involved in a wreck where he suffered a fractured right clavicle and right hand yet was back in the car racing when IndyCar returned to Road America later that month. Then he completely dominated the race at Iowa Speedway where he lead 282 out of the 300 laps and ended up in victory lane.
“When you look at the top talent in the series, both from a driving and commercial perspective, Josef is near the top of the list,” Roger Penske, owner of Team Penske added. “We are always looking to build toward the future and, when we had the opportunity to talk with Josef, we knew that he would be a great fit with our program. He is a fantastic driver on the track and will be great with our partners off the track. He is hungry to win more races and win championships and we hope to give him that opportunity as part of our team.”
