Penske confirms Newgarden for 2017
Josef Newgarden has been signed to drive the #2 Team Penske-Chevrolet for 2017, replacing Juan Pablo Montoya whose term with the iconic team lasted three years and included a championship runner-up finish and an Indy 500 victory.
Newgarden, 25, makes the switch from Ed Carpenter Racing, having finished the 2016 campaign in fourth, as best of the rest behind a Penske 1-2-3. He has three IndyCar victories to his name, on a road course, street course and oval.
“When you look at the top talent in the series, both from a driving and commercial perspective, Josef is near the top of the list,” said Roger Penske.
“We are always looking to build toward the future and when we had the opportunity to talk with Josef, we knew that he would be a great fit with our program.
“He’s a fantastic driver on the track and will be great with our partners off the track.”
Newgarden himself commented: “For any open-wheel racer – or any racecar driver in general – Team Penske is a dream job.
“Roger Penske is a legend in the motorsports community and his team has done just about everything they’ve ever set out to do.
“I look forward to working with all of Team Penske’s great partners. To get an opportunity to work with Simon [Pagenaud], Will [Power] and Helio [Castroneves], along with the rest of the team, will just help make me a better driver.”
Newgarden, who graduated to IndyCar in 2012 on the back of winning the Indy Lights championship, becomes the first American to race in Penske’s IndyCar team since Sam Hornish Jr. in 2007.
Montoya's destiny is still in doubt, with options believed to be at Carpenter, KVSH Racing, AJ Foyt Racing. Penske is also believed to have offered him the role of test driver for their rumored forthcoming IMSA Prototype project, together with the option of running a fifth Penske entry in the Indy 500.
Previous article
Bryan Clauson honored with IndyCar Fan Favorite Award
Next article
Rossi gains ex-Newgarden race engineer
The lasting legacy of a fallen Indy car rookie
Jeff Krosnoff was plucked out of obscurity to become a respected and highly popular professional in Japan, and then got his big break in CART Indy car for 1996. But a tragic accident at Toronto 25 years ago cut short a promising career and curtailed his regular teammate Mauro Martini's passion for racing.
The winners and losers in IndyCar 2021 – Mid-season review
At the halfway point in the 2021 NTT IndyCar Series season, we've had seven winners in eight races, spread between five teams – none of them Team Penske. In this unusual season, even by IndyCar standards, who’s excelling and who’s dragging their heels? David Malsher-Lopez reports.
The joy that exposes F1’s key weakness
Long-awaited wins for ex-Formula 1 drivers Marcus Ericsson and Kevin Magnussen in IndyCar and IMSA last weekend gave F1 a reminder of what it is missing. But with the new rules aimed at levelling the playing field, there’s renewed optimism that more drivers can have a rewarding result when their day of days comes
Castroneves: How I kept it under control to make Indy 500 history
Helio Castroneves’ overwhelming vivaciousness outside the cockpit belies a hardcore racer who knows how to plot his moves – and then recall it all for us. A day after his fourth Indy 500 win, Helio explained his tactics to David Malsher-Lopez.
How 'chess master' Castroneves cemented his Indy legend status
Helio Castroneves joined AJ Foyt, Al Unser and Rick Mears with the most Indianapolis 500 wins after sweeping around the outside of Alex Palou on the penultimate lap in a thrilling climax. In one race, he validated Michael Shank's and Jim Meyer's faith in him, and Helio himself discovered there's life after Penske after all.
Indy 500 preview: Will experience or youth be victorious?
A quarter of the drivers racing in the 105th edition of the Indianapolis 500 are former winners - but are they the favourites? The veteran drivers largely impressed in qualifying - but there's also a plethora of young guns looking to secure victory at IndyCar's flagship race...
What will it take to get American drivers in Formula 1?
The FIA says it wants American drivers in Formula 1, but would it take an IndyCar driver to transfer or does an American need to join the European junior ladder system to get there? By David Malsher-Lopez.
Why IndyCar is satisfying Grosjean’s appetite for his second life
After spending the majority of his 179-race Formula 1 career in middling to tail-end machinery, Romain Grosjean finds himself once again with an underdog team in IndyCar. While not without its challenges, he's relishing the more level playing field that means his Dale Coyne Racing crew can expect to claim a few scalps...
