Hey Josef Newgarden, what's up?
Hey, how are you guys doing?
Good, man. You got time for a couple questions?
Yeah. Sure.
See you coming out of the Icon exhibit, what's going on in there?
Yeah, I was just checking out the museum today. I always like seeing what's celebrated.
This year is Mario Andretti. It's his 50th anniversary for the Indianapolis 500, which is so cool.
Mario was one of my favorites growing up. He was one of those drivers that you always wanted to be like.
So to see the history that he has at the speedway and to celebrate him, it's very, very cool.
Awesome. Is there anything else we should check out while we're in here?
Oh definitely. There's cars from every year in here.
And they are always circulating, so you've got to check back in the museum often.
There's some great Penske race cars. For us, it's an honor to run around this place.
As everyone knows, we've won 17 Indy 500s with team Penske. So, plenty of really cool cars to check out.
Dan Wheldon has a very cool one from 2011, which I also like.
So, yeah, check back often just to see what these guys got.
Cool, man. You about to get out of here?
Yeah, I'm just headed out.
Care if we tag along?
No, you can come with, yeah, sure.
Hey, congrats on the engagement! You have plans for the honeymoon?
Yeah. I'm not sure where we're going yet for the honeymoon, but it's a secret.
I'm going to come up with something really good.
You got a lot of fun teammates on Penske. You guys have a pre-race ritual you do before this race?
Not many race rituals for me. I need a nap. If I get a nap, I'm happy.
Yeah, talking about the Team Penske guys. Who do you like to hang out with most off the track?
Oh, for me it's ... What are you doing? It's Helio Castroneves! He’s my favorite guy.
You planting flowers?
No, you know, Pennzoil actually is made by natural gas. So, I was just seeing nature, you know?
Oh, I love it. I love it. That's nice. Helio is my ping pong partner. We play all the time. We are champs.
What are you doing here?
Oh, I was just checking out the museum. I saw Mario Andretti has a new exhibit. Wanted to see that.
And wanted to check out the car. That was great, man. It's awesome. He... Isn't Mario the man?
Mario's the man.
One of the best.
Alright, brother, should go and take a look at the garage.
Yeah, let's go.
Let's check it out.
I'm glad I ran into you.
You too, man. So random, huh?
Super random. You looking at flowers?
Oh, did you like that?
Crazy random. You are from Miami. So... I guess you like that.
So, are you guys nervous about the race weekend?
I'm not too nervous. It's my 8th Indianapolis 500. I feel pretty good about it. What about you?
What year... Actually, how many years is this for you?
It's 20, 19, 20 I believe. It's been quite a long time. But I tell you what. I always get nervous a little bit.
It's part of the... It's the way it happens. If you're not nervous, I don't think you're ready.
But every driver, every person reacts different. So... But I'm excited. I always say, more excited.
This is such a historical race. You guys have a favorite Indy 500 moment?
Oh, for me, it's the ceremonies.
I love the Indy 500 ceremonies before the race. It's all the pageantry of it.
The releasing of the balloons, the national anthem. It's incredible. It's a whole hour.
And for me, I get goosebumps. When I get in the car and I get to do a parade lap in the race car.
It's actually difficult to drive in the race. I got to like calm back down. So that's my favorite part about it.
I have to say that, as soon as they start playing the National Anthem, and...
Whatever plane they get... Every year they come up with some -- B4, whatever, B16...
The Stealth Bomber? I think it's the Stealth Bomber.
Whatever it is, it is... That means I'm ready. Let's go. So that was one of my favorite moments.
How does it feel losing a race? Gutting.
It's not fun.
You get pissed off. You get really pissed off. Because you do all the homework.
Everybody, not only yourself, but the entire team, then all of a sudden you lose by a few inches.
It's, it's not fun.
Especially the 500, because it's three weeks, and if you lose on the day,
then you feel like you wasted all that time.
How does it feel to win this race?
Oh, it feels fantastic. Man, it's a dream come true. If you got to pick one race, this is the place.
What's that Penske truck over there?
Oh, that's our RP1, we should go over there.
That's our neighborhood, you know. RP1 is basically what, everything happens with our team,
and even beyond our team.
This is our at-track neighborhood. You got all the drivers in here and all the buses. It's pretty nice, actually.
You got some good neighbors, got some bad neighbors.
If there’s one thing you need to remember when racing on this track, what would it be?
Oh, patience. I think. The one thing you got to remember is patience.
It's about being there at the end of the race. It's 500 miles. It's grueling.
It's all about putting yourself in position for the end. So, you gotta be patient in the beginning.
I got a quick one here too. On a road trip, do you guys prefer listening to music or a podcast?
Music.
I like music too.
Alright, I got a quick scenario. You’re driving, your car gas light comes on. Where are you trying to stop?
Oh, Shell station for sure. Shell has... Shell has the best fuel, hands down, for your road car.
And if you want to take care of your engine, you want to make the most horsepower
and you want to fight against corrosion, wear, friction. You need the new Smooth Glide technology from Shell, baby.
Woo, my brother...
Yes, sir. You know it.
And don't forget, if you need to change oil, get the Pennzoil, made by natural gas. Boom.
Yeah. Helio, you have anything you want to ask Josef?
Yes. By the way, you showed the ping pong champion. So, am I going to be defending next year, the title or not?
Oh, definitely. Yeah. We had a little ping pong tournament. Raised some money for charity,
which Shell sponsored us with, they helped us raise a ton of money. And we won it.
I feel kind of bad, I won my own tournament, but I had Helio. So I brought in the best.
It's all about me. Boom.
You want to check out the garage?
Let's go.
Yeah, we're in here.
Do you have any pre-race routines?
So my pre-race routine is generally a nap. It's kind of weird, but I need to have a nap before the race. 101 00:06:05:00 --> 00:06:07:00 I get aboutan hour in, I'm eeling good.
You guys are on the road a lot. When you stop at a Shell station, what are you looking to grab for a snack?
Ooh, what do I like to grab at a Shell station? For me, it's a drink. I've got to have some sort of drink.
Normally fill back up. Probably use the restroom because I've been drinking in the car.
Then I've got to make sure that I have something good to eat. I need a power bar, something like that.
Whatever you need. They got plenty of snacks. You like candy. Most people like candy on the road.
Sometimes I do that too.
You grew up in Hendersonville, Tennessee. What was that like?
Hendersonville was great. It's right outside Nashville, Tennessee. It's a great spot.
Didn't have a lot of go-karting, I actually had to drive to Indianapolis, so there was a lot of road trips, 111 00:06:46,000 --> 00:06:48,000 a lot of stops at Shell stations. 112 00:06:48,000 --> 00:06:49,000 But it was all worth it.
600 miles round trip from Nashville to go go-karting was a dream come true for a kid.
Is that where you started playing ping pong?
Yeah, I've been playing ping pong since I was really young. Raced go karts, played ping pong,
and then I lost the ping pong.
I stopped playing for probably about 10 years, and then started picking it back up again.
It's a fun game. I think it's good for hand/eye coordination, actually helps you in the car.
If you had a dream ping pong opponent, who would it be?
Dream ping pong opponent? Forrest Gump. That would be the dream. You know?
Hopefully one day we get a shot.
What's the biggest difference going from the go-karts to the Indy cars?
So going from go karts to Indy cars, it's a lot of pressure. You know, you're representing a big group.
There's a lot of mechanics, a lot of engineers, a lot of people making your race car go fast.
And you're the guy at the end of the day that has to drive it. It's a team sport.
Everyone's gotta do their job well. The car's got to last. Pit stop has got to be on point,
and you've got to drive the car well.
So there's just that pressure I think, where karting is a little less. It's a smaller team, smaller group.
With Indy Car racing, you really, really feel the pressure to get it right.
Cool. I heard you play video games?
Yeah, I play video games. I love playing a Forza Motor Sport. It actually is, for me,
it's nice to play racing games when you're away from the race track. So it works.
Can I get your gamer tag?
Yeah, you can get my gamer tag. It's JNRacerTPX2. So, if you want to race me, that's where you'll find me.
Oh cool, okay cool. This is the car you’re racing this week?
Yeah, this is the car. You want to check it out?
Yeah, definitely. Are there any technical changes to the car this year?
Yeah, there's a couple of things this year. Mike Strauss, gear box mechanic, makes sure that my gears are fast,
race car is good. These guys are the best. They make sure we get every detail right.
Some of the technical changes, probably the biggest one is the new tires.
So, Firestone always brings a new tire every year to the Indianapolis 500.
This year we got a brand new front tire. It's supposed to make more grip, help the car turn in traffic. 143 00:08:51,000 --> 00:08:55,000 Just giving us better front end so that we're not understeering out and trying to wash out to the wall.
That's the biggest change.
Nice, that’s a hot new paint out. How do you feel about the new paint job?
I love this paint job. It's to me, what a race car should look like. It looks fast. It looks the part.
When I go to the Indianapolis 500 and I walk in the grid, this is the type of car that you want to see.
So it's an honor to drive it. I've watched Helio drive this car for a couple years and I've always dreamed
about getting to drive it myself, and I think it's the coolest looking car in the grid.
Alright, cool. Is there anything you want to say to the fans before we get out of your way?
Well, I hope you guys enjoy the Indianapolis 500. It's our biggest race of the year.
Biggest pressure. You rooting me on makes me go faster. And I don't think you'll miss the Shell paint scheme.
It's pretty fast and it's easy to spot.
Appreciate it, good luck this week!
Thank you. Have a good one!S