"I never interacted with Taylor Swift" - When Josef Newgarden refuted a report of him dating the pop icon

Team Penske’s driver Josef Newgarden was present at the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series race, Ally 400 at the Nashville Superspeedway. The IndyCar driver sat across from the reporters and was questioned about his relationship with Josh Berry and a rogue question about whether he dated Taylor Swift.

A clip from the interview was uploaded on NASCAR reporter Peter Stratta’s YouTube channel. Towards the end of the video, a reporter asked Josef Newgarden,

“To be clear, you've never dated Taylor Swift?” (1:56 onwards)

“No, I never interacted with Taylor Swift. I can't say that. I think she was a grade above us. So, we never crossed paths,” replied the Team Penske driver

Josef Newgarden, Josh Berry, and Taylor Swift were in the same middle school with the two racing drivers also sharing the same class. The pop icon is a year older than the two, and as mentioned by Newgarden.

The NASCAR driver recalled when Taylor Swift performed at the talent show during his Freshman year as he said,

“I want to say that I was a freshman and she was maybe a sophomore or junior. I’d have to go back and look through the yearbooks. I’m sure my dad has them somewhere.”

“One thing that stands out, I do remember her singing during the talent show, and we were like, ‘hey, she’s alright,’ you know what I mean. A talent show, sometimes they are alright or hit or miss, but Taylor was like, ‘Hey, she’s really good.’” (via nytimes)

Josef Newgarden and Josh Berry, despite being in the same class, never really became friends and remained acquaintances. It was only when Newgarden heard that Berry had become a professional racing driver that he connected with him over social media.

Taylor Swift is currently dating Kansas City Chiefs player Travis Kelce and will reportedly be present at the 2025 Super Bowl.

Josef Newgarden and Josh Berry to share the same sponsor for the 2025 season

Josef Newgarden reflected on his friendship with Josh Berry as the 2025 sponsorship announcement was made. PPG announced that it will continue the partnership with Team Penske and will be the primary sponsor for Newgarden in eight races, while also becoming Wood Brothers Racing’s Josh Berry’s primary sponsor for Brickyard 400.

“The PPG car is a fan favorite in INDYCAR. Soon NASCAR fans will get to enjoy it as well. Josh and I have known each other for a long time and actually went to middle school together. To now both be sponsored by PPG is pretty surreal. It’s exciting how things have turned out for two kids from Hendersonville, TN,” said Josef Newgarden as he reacted to the PPG announcement.

The PPG and Team Penske's partnership began in 1984 as the global manufacturer will continue sponsoring Team Penske's other drivers in both the NASCAR & IndyCar series as an associate sponsor.