Josef Newgarden sends clear message about Roger Penske’s IndyCar team's potential

The 2024 IndyCar season was a paradoxical one for Josef Newgarden. He emerged victorious for a second consecutive time at the Indy 500 with a magnificent final lap pass on Pato O'Ward, but eventually finished eighth in the championship standings, his worst finish since 2015, where he placed seventh.

Looking ahead to 2025, Newgarden shared his thoughts about Team Penske's preparation and expectations. In his assessment, the Roger Penske-led team was still far away from its ceiling, and the yet-to-conquer potential encourages him. In an interview with host Bruce Martin for the Pit Pass Indy podcast, the No. 2 Chevy driver said:

"It's an exciting time. I'm really in the same spot I felt like I was 12 months ago. I've got one of the best teams around me in the world, if not the best, you know, it's subjective. I feel extremely confident in my group, especially the (No.) 2 car side. We've yet to reach our potential, which is always encouraging."

"When you sort of hit your ceiling, you worry about where else you can go. I think we're pretty far away from where our ceiling is located at. That gives me great energy and hope for 2025, and we're already knee-deep in the details trying to figure out where we can be a little bit stronger."

Newgarden has echoed this sentiment on more than occasions this year and also acknowledged its repetition in November, saying (via IndyCar):

"I don't want to sound like a broken record and continue to use that line, but it's true: we've still not reached our ceiling. That keeps me excited. We’ll reset for next year and try to be better."

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Josef Newgarden shared his thoughts about "disastrous" year for Team Penske's No. 2 team

Josef Newgarden at the Rolex 24 at Daytona - Source: Getty

After his second championship in 2019, Josef Newgarden finished runner-up for three consecutive seasons. Consistency was the name of his game. In 2023, however, he slipped to fifth in the standings and further down to eighth this year.

After the season ended, the No. 2 Chevy driver shared his thoughts on his side of Team Penske's garage. In November, Newgarden said (via IndyCar):

"Personally, for the 2 car from a championship perspective, it’s been a really disastrous year. I don’t know how to put it other than disastrous. I guess what I would say is sometimes it’s not your year or sometimes it’s not your day, those both have been true multiple times this season, and that’s the way it goes."

The Indy 500 victory and another triumph at the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 in August were the only highlights in 2024 for Josef Newgarden, which also included two poles and seven top five finishes.