"He's got a ton of gut": Joey Logano bows down to Josef Newgarden for brave Indy 500 victory

Three-time defending NASCAR Cup Series Champ Joey Logano tipped his hat to two-time IndyCar champ Josef Newgarden for his historic Indy 500 victory in May this year. Both drivers race for Team Penske but in different motorsport categories.

Newgarden won his second consecutive Indy 500 this year, becoming the first driver since Helio Castroneves in 2001-02 to achieve the feat. The Tennessee native made a late final lap pass on Arrow McLaren's Pato O'Ward to win at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and give Team Penske its 20th Indy 500 victory.

On the latest episode of the Pit Pass Indy podcast hosted by Bruce Martin, Logano appreciated Josef Newgarden's brave move on O'Ward. He said:

"He's (Newgarden) a smart racer. Not only is he smart, he's got a ton of gut. Look at the move he made to win the race on the outside like that... at that speed, Wooh!"

Logano also emphasized how people often underestimate the courage needed to make such a gutsy move at top speeds of 240 mph. The 2024 Cup Series Champion, who was scheduled to race in the Coca-Cola 600 on the same day in Charlotte, further added:

"We were all excited when we watched that. The Coke 600 didn't start yet. We still had it (Indy 500) on TV to watch the end of it. It's definitely really cool to see him be able to pull that one off."

Joey Logano's appreciation, however, wasn't one-sided. Podcast host Bruce Martin also interviewed Newgarden separately for the same episode. The IndyCar champ returned kind words when talking about his NASCAR counterpart winning the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Championship.

Josef Newgarden commends Joey Logano for a brilliant photo finish in the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Championship

Joey Logano celebrates after winning the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race - Source: Getty

Joey Logano was nowhere near championship contention going into the 2024 Cup Series playoffs. However, a win at Atlanta in the first round and a disqualification for Hendrick Motorsports driver Alex Bowman in Charlotte ensured he made it through to the Round of 8.

After another win at Las Vegas, Logano was the top contender when he arrived in Phoenix for the season finale. He led 107 out of 312 laps and fended off his teammate Ryan Blaney, the defending champ, to win his third championship. Josef Newgarden spoke about Logano's comeback on the Pit Pass Indy podcast, saying:

"Joey certainly is no stranger to closing. He closed in great fashion at Phoenix this year for the NASCAR championship. It's always exciting for us on the team when we have people in the fight. To go into the Championship 4 with Team Penske NASCAR program and to have, basically a 50% shot with our two drivers, it was a fun race to sit down and watch and cheer on my teammate. Joey closed in great fashion."

2024 was indeed a fantastic year for Team Penske, which also won the Rolex 24 at Daytona in January after a 55-year wait. Newgarden was part of the winning team there as well.