Josef Newgarden concluded one of the most difficult IndyCar seasons of his career by finishing 12th in the overall championship standings in 2025. The season’s struggles were linked in part to turbulence within Team Penske, which experienced challenges adjusting to new leadership following their disqualification from the Indianapolis 500 qualifying.
Despite achieving three podium finishes and securing a win at the season finale in Nashville, Newgarden was unable to reverse a series of disappointing outcomes that marked his lowest championship rank since 2014. When asked about the impact of the Nashville victory on future momentum, Newgarden was candid.
“Yeah, I don’t think [the win at] Nashville really does anything, to be honest,”
he said, tempering expectations ahead of the 2026 season.
Team Penske Prepares for Structural and Cultural Changes
Looking ahead to 2026, Newgarden described the upcoming season as a “hard reset,” signaling a fresh start at the St. Petersburg opener. Although he expects the team’s core personnel to remain recognizable to fans and insiders, some organizational shifts in structure and operations are anticipated.
Newgarden emphasized that these changes aim to improve their approach and restore performance, without altering the fundamental identity of Team Penske.
“We obviously hold ourselves very accountable for a high standard. We’re trying to just be the best versions of ourselves as we possibly can.”
His outlook stresses embracing change as a potential positive force that can help the team evolve and become stronger after a difficult campaign.
Focusing on Consistency to Reclaim Past Success
Consistency has long been a defining strength for Newgarden, helping him claim two IndyCar championships and top-two finishes in five of six seasons from 2017 through 2022. However, when consistency faltered in 2025, it contributed to unsatisfactory results and a shift in his mindset.
At 35 years old, Newgarden aims to regain that steadiness, recognizing it as essential to moving away from his recent slide down the standings.
He shared his main objective for the coming year:
“To be more consistent,” Newgarden said.
“For us we just can’t have as many bad results as we had. There’s a lot of them that could have been different. They’re not. So we’ve just got to focus on being more consistent.”
“It’s kind of simple to say that, but that’s just what it will come down to. If we don’t want to finish 12th in the standings, we’ve got to finish more races.”
2026 Season Kicks Off in St. Petersburg
The first race of the 2026 IndyCar season is scheduled to take place in just a few weeks on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida. Newgarden’s comments and the anticipated improvements within Team Penske set the stage for what figures to be a pivotal year as he works to reverse the setbacks of 2025. How successfully the team adapts during this “hard reset” could determine their competitiveness moving forward.
