"If you do that to someone, I'm going to fence you" - When Josef Newgarden blasted his IndyCar rivals for dirty driving

Josef Newgarden is known as an animated character in the IndyCar paddock. One such instance was witnessed in the 11th round of the 2023 season at Iowa Speedway, where the double champion was frustrated by the backmarker situation and asserted he would intentionally wreck a person's race who hindered him in winning the race in Iowa.

IndyCar drivers are provided the chance to fight to stay on the lead lap, unlike its European counterpart, F1. However, this liberty has often frustrated race leaders as they have to race wheel-to-wheel with a possible slower car, which hinders their progress in the race.

A similar incident happened with Josef Newgarden at the first Iowa race in 2023. The 34-year-old had to fight backmarkers on a sub-1 mile track and had particular difficulty in passing certain cars, which reduced his lead over Scott McLaughlin.

After the race, Newgarden was furious and asserted that drivers did not adhere to sportsmanship and asserted that he would ruin the race of the drivers who blocked him throughout the race when they were going to be a lap down, and said (via The Race):

"You don’t have to pull over, but just don’t be aggressive and weave in front of the leader, block the leader, chop the leader. Like there’s just a point where you’ve got to understand that that comes back around. If you do that to someone, I’m going to fence you the next time I see you. If you’re the leader the next time, I am going to do you so dirty if you did that to me. It’s common sense. Everybody in the paddock knows it, and for whatever reason, there’s just people who just can’t get it."

However, Josef Newgarden had stayed away from naming any specific drivers and now focuses on his 2025 campaign with Team Penske.

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Josef Newgarden lets in on his mentality before he gets racing

Josef Newgarden at the INDYCAR Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg - Day 1 - Source: Getty

Newgarden had started 10th for the St. Petersburg Grand Prix on March 2. To make in-roads towards the sharp end of the field, he gambled to start on the alternate green-walled tires and utilized the lap 1 caution to get rid of the wear-prone tires.

The double champion made the strategy work and finished on the podium. His warrior mindset enabled him to take on the challenge of the 180-mile race and gave a glimpse into his mentality before getting inside the cockpit, as he said (via FOX Sports):

"I wake up every day trying to figure out how to do better … how to be a warrior when I step into the car and deliver the best result for my team. I want to do it as a team player, too. And I want to deliver it as a group effort."

The next IndyCar race is scheduled to take place at the Thermal Club in California on March 23.