Is Iowa Double-Header Josef Newgarden's Chance To Turn Around 'Bizarre' IndyCar Season?
It has been a disappointing 2025 campaign for Newgarden and Team Penske
IndyCar is headed back to an oval this weekend for a pair of races at Iowa Speedway, and if ever there was a time for one of the series' most formidable oval aces, Team Penske's Josef Newgarden, to get off the snide, it's now.
Newgarden is a two-time NTT IndyCar Series champion and won a pair of Indy 500s in 2023 and 2024, which is why it's so surprising to see Newgarden way down in 19th place in the standings, 288 points behind series leader Alex Palou.
"Hitting a speed bump (this season) is a mild way of putting it. It's been more like land mines," Newgarden said, per The Tennessean. "We're excited to go to Iowa and very excited to come to Nashville at the end of the year."
Newgarden has failed to win a race this year, and sometimes for bizarre reasons. He stormed through the field in this year's Indy 500 with a mechanical issue after starting on the back row of the grid after Team Penske was caught altering their attenuators, but was forced to retire early with a mechanical issue.
Then, at World Wide Technology Raceway, Newgarden looked to be in position for the win, but was caught up in a freak, horrific crash while leading the race when he was inadvertently collected by Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing's Louis Foster.
He also crashed out of this past weekend's race at Mid-Ohio on the opening lap after qualifying down the order in 18th
"There's times when we haven't had speed this year, but I would say the majority of our results not transpiring haven't been speed," he said. "More times than not, it's been stuff outside of our control. Sometimes it's been mistakes here or there. It's just one of those bizarre years in the cycle."
No kidding.
One thing to note is that, in addition to Newgarden having a dry spell, Team Penske hasn't found victory lane with any driver this season, nor has the team's engine supplier, Chevrolet.
However, if ever there was a track where Newgarden would be most likely to end this drought, it would probably be Iowa, where he has won five times before.