It’s unclear whether it was the sheer pain of driving at the bumpy Detroit circuit or something else, but Josef Newgarden’s answers following the race in Detroit have drawn the eyeballs of IndyCar fans. 

Newgarden was left with an injury to his left foot after he crashed out at the Indy 500. The No. 2 driver for Penske commented on the possibility of his car winning the Detroit race if the team had put in Felipe Nasr, who was on standby for the race. 

Speaking about Newgarden’s comments, Will Buxton was left baffled in conversation with Kevin Harvick on their SPEED podcast. Buxton, who calls IndyCar races for FOX Sports, wondered if the comments were made by Newgarden in a manner to talk himself out of the team.

Buxton said, “He was full of praise for Felipe and talking about the great job that Felipe would have done in that seat. At the same time, is he talking himself out of the seat for next year? I don’t know where those comments come from.”

He specifically quoted Newgarden, who said, "If the team wanted to win, they would have put Felipe in the car."

Buxton said it will be interesting to see where Newgarden will be mentally at the next race in Gateway. 

Newgarden’s injury was to his braking foot, and that created a situation for him to drive more cautiously because of the constant pressure he needed to apply to the brakes harder.

While he finished 10th after starting 21st, being the biggest gainer in terms of positions at Detroit, outside his car, his leg was in a brace while he walked with crutches. 

Buxton quickly pointed to the fact that it may have been because Newgarden saw Nasr on track that triggered the reaction. Nasr was trackside through practice and qualifying in a plane suit with her seat ready to be put into the 2 car should the need arise. Penske also had Nasr prepare in the simulator ahead of Detroit. 

Newgarden unoptimistic about Gateway

Newgarden is a rapid racer when it comes to oval courses. He proved that long back when he took back-to-back Indy 500 wins in 2023 and 2024, but a mechanical issue in 2025 and the crash this time around mean he has two consecutive DNFs at the Greatest Spectacle in Motorsports. 

But even beyond that, a solid oval course driver in a Penske car that is also better on ovals, Newgarden should be going into the weekend confident, yet his comments post-race in Detroit make it seem otherwise. 

Asked if he was looking forward to the race at Gateway, Newgarden said, “I don’t know, I’m excited, but I’m, you know… I don’t know, I’m in two minds right now. Certainly, one of the minds id excited about it.”

Buxton expressed that this should be an easier race in terms of the strain on his left foot. Ovals require less braking, meaning he won’t have to put in as much pressure as required from a gruelling road course like Detroit.

“It was Newgarden’s comments after the race where he was kind of not all that optimistic about Gateway this weekend, which is a race where he always runs well and could very easily win. Not so much pressure on the left leg. There’s not a lot of braking around Gateway.”

IndyCar returned to Gateway in 2017. Newgarden won the return race and also picked up wins in 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2024. He holds the track record for most wins (5).

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Written by

Debrup Chaudhuri