When Josef Newgarden lauded NASCAR legend Jimmie Johnson’s IndyCar journey

When Jimmie Johnson made the bold switch from stock car racing to IndyCar, the motorsport world watched with curiosity and awe. Among those who were in admiration of the move was Josef Newgarden. The 34-year-old was full of praise for the NASCAR icon following his switch to open-wheel racing.

The Team Penske driver hailed Johnson for his willingness and resilience to challenge himself with a totally new racing adventure, despite the haul of achievements and titles he had racked up racing in NASCAR, with multiple victories in the NASCAR Cup Series and other stock racing events. Newgarden highlighted how impressive it is to see a driver of Johnson’s caliber leave his comfort zone for a new challenge.

Speaking in an interview with The Athletic in 2021, Josef Newgarden stressed that Johnson’s work ethic was one he admired.

“I definitely envy the work ethic side of a lot of guys. Someone like Jimmie is a great example. Right now he’s having to put a tremendous amount of work into IndyCar and understand what it takes to be skillful at this specific type of racing…”

“You can generally see that from the guys that are really successful, but they have a very strong work ethic about them. The true professionals, they work with the team, they push the team, and they push themselves, and they don’t leave anything on the table. And I love that. So I admire that about guys like Jimmie. Scott Dixon is another great example of that. Any strong champion within a sport has that quality.”

Jimmie Johnson, who spent a large part of his career in stock car racing, shifted to the open-wheel racing series in 2021 with the Chip Ganassi team. While he didn’t achieve the successes he had become synonymous with during his NASCAR racing days, he indeed put in a flurry of impressive outings racing in IndyCar.

Josef Newgarden, for his part, has etched his name as one of the finest drivers in IndyCar history. Since his venture into the racing series, the Nashville-born driver has racked up two drivers’ series titles among several collections of race wins.

Josef Newgarden names key element that could impact his Indy 500 win

Josef Newgarden, after winning the 108th IndyCar Series Indianapolis 500 race- Source: Getty

Josef Newgarden has identified a crucial element that could impact the outcome of the upcoming Indy 500 event. The Team Penske driver enters the 2025 race with the hope of achieving an unprecedented third consecutive win in the history of the showpiece.

The 34-year-old, who triumphed at the Indy 500 in both 2023 and 2024, detailed how the newly introduced hybrid technology engine could play a part in deciding the winner of the event. Speaking in an interview with IndyCar journalist Marshall Pruett, Newgarden explained how the new technology will significantly impact the race.

"I think the hybrid utilization here will be the most impactful of anywhere we've gone. It is going to be critical to use the hybrid correctly in race running compared to any other race. Most races that we run, it's sort of... it's a process thing. You're using the hybrid, you know where it's most efficient, etc., and you're doing it every lap," Newgarden said (0:30 onwards).

"Here, you can use the hybrid in any way you want, and using it is really, really critical. Because the car has such low drag here and such long straightaways, when you use the hybrid power, it makes a big difference," he concluded.

The new hybrid technology engine is expected to provide an additional 120 horsepower to the driver while racing. This, alongside the push-to-pass available to drivers, could largely decide the outcomes of wheel-to-wheel duels between drivers.

The last two editions of the Indy 500 race, which have been won by Josef Newgarden, witnessed him make crucial passes on Marcus Ericsson and Pato O'Ward. Whether such high-intensity moves will again unfold this year remains something only time will reveal.