Josef Newgarden Taught Me to Redefine Success

Josef Newgarden is Crazy. Crazy Competitive

Josef began begging his dad for a go-kart when he was three, and he was off competing as soon as his parents gave in.

“I'm crazy—I'm crazy competitive,” he shared. “I want so many results and I want them more than anybody.”

IndyCar, Formula 1, and stock car racing were the inspiration, but winning the Indy 500 became the goal, and he immediately set out to achieve it.

He raced in Europe for a period, but it was his return to the States and a subsequent Indy Lights championship win that promoted him into the IndyCar big leagues. And there his rise continued.

Season after season he climbed the standings until Roger Penske called and offered him a seat at Team Penske—an opportunity that isn’t for the faint of heart.

“I just remember being really excited about getting that potential around me. I knew I was stepping into a race-winning team, that we would have race-winning cars and race-winning crews every single weekend we showed up. And there's a pressure with that.”

For Josef, pressure is fuel. “It wasn't a pressure to me, it was more of a boost.”

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The Weight of the Wait

Team Penske turned out to be the perfect home for Josef. Six seasons in, he'd already won two IndyCar championships and finished runner-up in the standings three more times. But the dream prize kept slipping away: the Indy 500.

Eleven years running, his best finish on the Indy 500 podium was third. Would that win ever come?

“The 500s were so difficult to win, and I was at peace with not winning one. It's just so hard to get it right. You can be the best driver on the day, you can be the best team on the day, and that does not guarantee you a victory.”

For someone that competitive—who had already won two championships—how did that drought not destroy him?

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Big, Scary, Fun

The short answer? He learned to change how he viewed the world.

As Josef pointed out, you start with a love for racing; pure speed and the obsession to shave off seconds. Then you chase it as a professional, and even the big wins bring their own scary challenges.

If you watched Josef’s Indy 500 wins then you saw him climbing the fence and running into the crowd. You saw him showered in milk.

“Going through the celebrations, everything that encompasses the Indianapolis 500 win, it is indescribable.”

But what you didn’t see was how he felt as the dust settled and the cameras stayed fixated. “I am an introvert. So, the amount of public facing things that you have to do after the Indianapolis 500 is very tough, if you don't like naturally doing that. It's almost like a punishment in some ways.”

Thankfully, he learned to manage his mind as well as he manages his car. He stopped defining his worth by the trophies he collected and fiercely fought to protect his alone time and recharge for the spotlight. Most importantly, he leaned into his love for the process of chasing an edge with the team around him.

I sat down with Josef expecting tips to stay positive and persevere. Instead, he showed me that elite performance is about reframing the entire equation, so there’s fun in every moment, no matter how big or scary.

If you liked this look inside Josef’s mind, there’s more where that came from over on FanAmp’s YouTube channel.