Marco Andretti hilariously wishes Josef Newgarden a happy birthday with helmet buckling tip

Marco Andretti wished two-time Indy 500 winner Josef Newgarden a happy birthday on Sunday but with a tongue-in-cheek addition to the message. Newgarden celebrated his 34th birthday on December 22.

Andretti, who stepped away from full-time racing in IndyCar at the end of 2020, shared the birthday wish on his Instagram story with a photo of Newgarden putting on his racing gloves as if he was modeling them. He captioned it:

"Happy bday @josefnewgarden. It's going to be incredibly difficult to buckle your helmet with your gloves on first fyi."

A snapshot of Marco Andretti's Instagram Story (@marcoandretti)

Newgarden also received birthday wishes from the official social media pages of IndyCar, the Detroit Grand Prix, Team Penske, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and several others.

2024 was a groundbreaking year for the two-time IndyCar champ as he recorded his second consecutive Indy 500 victory, becoming the first driver to achieve the feat since Helio Castroneves in 2001. Newgarden aims to continue this level of success into 2025 and achieve an unheard of three-peat at the "Greatest Spectacle of Racing."

Contrastingly, Marco Andretti, who continues to compete in the Indy 500 despite retiring from full-time IndyCar racing, hasn't fared as well at the IMS oval. In his 19th attempt this year, the third-generation driver crashed out on lap 114. In the three preceding attempts, he secured a best finish of 17th, which came in 2023.

Josef Newgarden's birthday wasn't the only milestone Andretti celebrated in the past week.

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Marco Andretti celebrates his daughter Miura turning 3 months old with a wholesome Instagram post

Marco Andretti at the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Baptist Health 200 - Source: Getty

Marco Andretti and his model girlfriend Billie Jo Powers welcomed their daughter Miura at 1:58 pm on September 18 this year. The 6.7 lbs baby, whom Andretti playfully nicknamed the "Milk Monster" after she turned one month, turned three months old on December 18.

The now-part-time NASCAR Truck Series driver's Instagram feed has mostly featured Miura, barring a few racing-related posts. Moreover, his girlfriend Billie's Instagram feed entirely centers around their baby girl.

When Miura turned three months old last week, Andretti dedicated another post to her on Instagram. He shared a series of photos encapsulating his daughter's journey through her third month in this world, and it also featured a cute image of her grabbing her great-grandfather Mario Andretti's index finger with her whole left hand.

Marco, Billie, and Miura are currently spending the holiday season and embracing the Christmas spirit at their Nazareth mansion in Pennsylvania. In 2024, the 37-year-old racer competed part-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series with Roper Racing and the ARCA Menards Series with Cook Racing Technologies.