IndyCar’s latest Josef Newgarden representation gets NASCAR champion Ryan Blaney’s approval

In the last two years, Josef Newgarden has been the hero IndyCar fans didn't expect to fall yet soar so high. 2023 NASCAR champion Ryan Blaney has reacted to IndyCar's social media tribute to the two-time IndyCar champion.

Newgarden's last championship came in 2019. In the three years to follow, he consistently finished runner-up in the standings before tumbling to fifth in 2023 and further down to eighth in 2024. Despite this drop in consistency reach, the Team Penske driver won two consecutive Indy 500s in 2023 and 2024, the latter after an astonishing last-lap overtake on Arrow McLaren's Pato O'Ward.

That was the biggest highlight of his 2024 season, making it to Newgarden's 'Top moments from the 2024 season' curated by IndyCar on Instagram. Blaney, who drives for Team Penske's NASCAR team, reacted to the post by leaving a like on it.

The carousel of clips also included Newgarden's overtakes in Detroit, Road America, and Nashville, and his superb save and win at St. Louis (his 31st IndyCar win which thrust him into the Top 10 all-time list). Blaney's reaction to this post doesn't come as a surprise. The NASCAR champ has interacted with his IndyCar counterpart on more than one occasion before this.

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Josef Newgarden got Ryan Blaney's face tattooed on his leg

Josef Newgarden (L) with Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney (R) - Source: Getty

Ryan Blaney emerged as a championship contender for the NASCAR Cup Series in 2023. Consequently, Josef Newgarden declared that he would get the No. 12 Penske driver's face tattooed on his thigh if he won the championship. Blaney won and the No. 2 driver kept his word and posted a photo of the tattoo with Blaney beside him pointing at it.

Newgarden never revealed if the tattoo was real or not. He dodged the question, saying (via the Daytona Beach News-Journal):

"You know, the great part of the question is nobody can see my leg right now. So, I’m not going to divulge if it was real or not. All I’m going to say is I put out a picture and that’s where it was. Until someone gets a new photo of me with shorts on."

In November 2024, Newgarden congratulated Blaney after the latter's victory at the Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway.

"We should all trust in our great American general, @Blaney. The fuller that beard, the more I believe," Josef Newgarden tweeted.

In 2024, Newgarden finished eighth in the IndyCar standings with 401 points and two wins, while Blaney finished second in the NASCAR Cup Series.