When did Josef Newgarden start racing? Everything you need to know about the two-time IndyCar champion’s roots

Josef Newgarden has very little left to prove of his caliber in IndyCar. With 2 championships and consecutive Indy 500 wins in 2023 and 2024, the Team Penske star will go down as one of America's all-time greats. But it might come as a surprise to know that he raced his first kart at age 13.

Newgarden was born on December 22, 1990, to Tina, his Danish mother, and Joey, his American father, in Hendersonville, Tennessee. His parents moved there from New York in the 1980s with their family photography business. Josef's father wanted him to play baseball for the New York Yankees, but the young gun's heart lay elsewhere.

He always wanted a go-kart to race, but it took years to convince his father to buy him one. But once Newgarden Sr. caved, Josef soared. He won multiple karting championships between 2006 and 2008 - a period when his father made over a hundred 324-mile trips from their home in Tennessee to the nearest kart racing facility in New Castle, Indiana.

To date, Josef Newgarden takes the same route to race in the Indy 500 each year. He revealed this sweet little detail ahead of his second win at the "Greatest Spectacle in Racing" in May this year.

"I was hanging out, and my dad was guiding the ship," Newgarden told IndyCar, reminiscing his karting days. "I was just coming up for the ride. But now, I've been sort of the captain of it."

After three impressive seasons in the Skip Barber Racing School series, in 2008, Newgarden's success landed him a Team USA scholarship to race in the Formula Ford Festival, where he became the only American to win the title.

The Tennessee native also competed in the 2010 GP3 series, recording his worst championship finish with P18 in the standings. In 2012, he eventually made it to the NTT IndyCar series with Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing, and the rest is history.

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Josef Newgarden published an inspiring autobiography to help children realize their racing dreams

The 108th Running of the Indianapolis 500 - Source: Getty

Somewhere in his heart, Josef Newgarden still has a 'What if?' What if he had begun racing karts a decade earlier than he did? This, coupled with his aspiration to inspire the next-gen racers, led to him penning a children's book.

Titled Josef's BIG Dream: An INDY 500 Story, the book documented his racing journey that culminated in his first Indy 500 victory in 2023. Ahead of the book's release before the 2024 Indy 500, Josef Newgarden said, (via WRTV):

"I am thrilled to be sharing ‘Josef’s BIG Dream’ with race fans ahead of the 108th Indianapolis 500 on Sunday. I’ve been wanting to write a children’s book focused on the values of hard work and dedication, and there’s nothing that requires that more than the Indy 500."

"Creating this book with my wife Ashley (Welch) and Andy Amendola was a fun journey and one we are all proud of. I hope families and kids that read this book are inspired to chase their dreams, no matter how big or small, and take pride in their efforts in pursuing them."

Josef Newgarden's son, Kota Nicolai, who was born in 2022, will become part of the book's target audience when he turns 5. Who knows, a younger Newgarden with more karting experience could take open-wheel racing by storm in the distant future.