"68 wins, 8 championships, 5 Indy 500s": Josef Newgarden aims to shatter all of AJ Foyt's IndyCar records

Two-time IndyCar champ Josef Newgarden has ambitiously laid out his intention to become the American open-wheel series' 'GOAT'. The Team Penske driver wants to conquer the records for most wins, most championships and most Indy 500 wins, all of which are currently held by retired racing legend AJ Foyt.

The 90-year-old American, who owns his own IndyCar team, AJ Foyt Racing, has 67 race wins, seven championships and four Indy 500 victories to his name. Newgarden is considerably far on all three fronts. However, the defending two-time Indy 500 winner wakes up every day with a sole focus on reaching the said milestones.

In his recent appearance on a podcast named Athletes and Assets with Noah Lack, Josef Newgarden spoke about his love for IndyCar and how he wants to take the series to greater heights. While doing so, he also displayed his strong ambitions to leave a historic mark on it.

"I care tremendously about IndyCar. As a competitor and at my core, like I want to be the best that's ever been a part of IndyCar racing. Like I want to be the number one driver that ever sat behind the wheel. I want 68 wins, I want eight championships, I want five Indy 500s - that puts you in your own category as the GOAT. I want it so bad, you have no idea. I wake up every day... like that's my motivation. But I don't care about my personal representation in it. What I do care about is the significance of IndyCar," he said. [12:22 onwards]

As of after the first IndyCar race of 2025 at St. Petersburg, Newgarden has 31 race wins, two championships and two Indy 500 victories. His main goal this year is to increase the count in the latter two stats by one each.

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Josef Newgarden not shying away from declaring his confidence for a historic Indy 500 three-peat

Josef Newgarden celebrates after winning the 108th Running of the Indianapolis 500 - Source: Getty

The Indy 500 is the cornerstone event of the IndyCar calendar. Josef Newgarden won the last two iterations of the race in 2023 and 2024 and is eyeing an unprecedented three-peat at the 109th running of the "Greatest Spectacle of Racing" on May 25 this year.

The No. 2 Team Penske Chevrolet driver won on both occasions with last-lap passes. In the 107th running, it was then-defending winner Marcus Ericsson who fell prey to Newgarden's overtake midway in the 200th lap, and in the 108th running, it was Arrow McLaren star Pato O'Ward who lost the race lead in the last turn.

During the Borg-Warner Trophy ceremony in December 2024, the 34-year-old expressed how talking about a never-before seen third consecutive victory at the Indy 500 doesn't intimidate him.

"I’m not shy to talk about (the possibility) because there is a chance to win it three years in a row. Talking about it isn’t going to change (anything) in what we do. We’re there to win. We know the process we have to go (through). I think Helio (Castroneves) said it perfectly: If it’s meant to be it’s meant to be. And I think that’s how it is," he said via IndyCar.

Josef Newgarden kicked off the 2025 season with a podium finish behind Chip Ganassi Racing's 1-2 at the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.