MADISON, IL – Josef Newgarden can never be counted out.
In a year when Newgarden has finished races all over the grid at IndyCar’s halfway point, nothing about what Newgarden did — or hadn’t done — mattered at World Wide Technology Raceway, a short oval that the Team Penske driver had already won at five times.
Newgarden has been on the podium just twice this season. Both times have been wins. In a race that saw two rain delays and five different leaders, Newgarden captured the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 for the sixth time in the 11 races IndyCar has had at WWT Raceway since returning to the track in 2017.
Just two weeks ago, Newgarden veered his No. 2 Chevrolet too far inside on Turn 4 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, leading to the car hitting the curb and spinning into the outside wall on a restart. Newgarden, who won the 2023 and 2024 Indy 500s on tremendous last-lap passes, did not finish the biggest race of the year for the second straight year.
To make matters worse, Newgarden walked away from the crash with an unspecified injury to his left foot, as he’s worn a walking boot anytime he’s not in the cockpit. Newgarden somewhat miraculously finished 10th at last week’s Detroit Grand Prix, saying he “knew it wasn’t gonna be good” after the race. This week, he “knew this was going to be a different story” at WWT Raceway, which is a smooth oval — where braking using the left foot is rare — as opposed to the bumpy, tight street course in downtown Detroit.
“It’s frustrating when you’re in a race like that, you can tell the car has the potential to do more, the team executed in a way that should have produced more,” Newgarden said looking back on Detroit. “It’s tough when you’re the missing link. I hate that. I don’t want to be that. It was the reality of the situation.
“We got through it together. We knew it was going to be different when we came here. I’m happy we were able to capitalize on this weekend.”
Newgarden continues to capitalize on ovals and solidify his “oval king” nickname. Although the two-time IndyCar champion hasn’t finished in the top five of the series’ championship since 2023, he’s won three of the last four oval races, as he won at Phoenix Raceway in March and the 2025 season finale at Nashville Superspeedway.
Part of why Newgarden crashed in the Indy 500 was a concern about weather conditions. Newgarden was fourth in that race heading into the restart, and Newgarden’s team, led by strategist and Team Penske president Jonathan Diuguid, urged him to make a push toward the lead as the team felt the race could be called at any moment with incoming rain.
Newgarden didn’t lead during either of the rain-induced red flags Sunday, but this time, he and the team took a patient approach and were rewarded by getting all 260 laps in.
“It’s difficult to predict,” Diuguid said of the weather. “Good thing it was a hot, steamy and windy night in St. Louis. The track got dried up quickly.”
Newgarden led the final 40 laps of the race — all free of red flags — after trading the lead with Christian Rasmussen for six laps following the final weather delay. The first time that Rasmussen passed Newgarden on Lap 215, Newgarden’s No. 2 and Rasmussen’s No. 21 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet nearly made contact, as Rasmussen overtook Newgarden on the inside.
After the race, Newgarden admitted that he thought Rasmussen, who finished third, wasn’t on the lead lap. Newgarden said he let Rasmussen get by and didn’t realize Rasmussen was battling him for the lead until they took the podium alongside Marcus Ericsson — who finished second and led the most laps — after the race.
“Ultimately, I think we were able to get back by (Rasmussen) because we had a great car,” said Newgarden, who tied Al Unser Jr. with his 34th career win. “I think Marcus equally had a super good car. I think because we went the distance, you saw the quick cars finish up front tonight.
“If you’re being truthful about it, I think me and Marcus were pretty close on performance. It was just going to come down to execution. The team executed when we needed to. That’s what ultimately pulled off the victory.”
Count Newgarden out at your own peril. While Newgarden is just sixth in IndyCar’s standings and is 104 points behind championship leader Alex Palou, he remains a consistent threat to win — especially on ovals.
Zion Brown is IndyStar’s motorsports reporter. Follow him at @z10nbr0wn. Get IndyStar’s motor sports coverage sent directly to your inbox with our Motor Sports newsletter. Subscribe to the YouTube channel IndyStar TV: IndyCar for a behind-the-scenes look at IndyCar and expert analysis.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Josef Newgarden wins another oval despite foot injury: ‘We got through it together’:
Reporting by Zion Brown, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Zion Brown, Indianapolis Star | USA TODAY Network
