Josef Newgarden admits to getting "too excited" to try some moves at Indy 500 practice 

Team Penske driver Josef Newgarden entered Wednesday’s Indy 500 practice with a willingness to experiment. However, despite the confidence, his self-awareness kept his ambitions in check.

NTT INDYCAR Series championship leader Alex Palou topped Wednesday's speed charts on the second day of Indianapolis 500 practice at Indianapolis Motor Speedway with a lap of 227.546 mph, whereas Josef Newgarden came home in third with a speed of 225.545. Still confident of taking the checkered flag on May 25th, Newgarden made a lighthearted admission.

According to The Athletic's Jeff Gluck, the 2x Indy 500 winner wanted to "try some moves" but decided against his excitement.

"After ending practice early, a confident two-time #Indy500 inner @josefnewgarden says he wanted to try some moves today “and I was like ‘you probably need to park me. Just let me sit out. I’m getting a little too excited out there,” wrote Gluck mentioning Newgarden's words

Josef Newgarden is currently 12th in the Championship with a total of 92 points.

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Josef Newgarden wants to create history at the 109th Indianapolis 500

AUTO: DEC 04 INDY 500 Winner Josef Newgarden Borg Warner Trophy Ceremony - Source: Getty

Josef Newgarden has his sights set on a rare achievement at the famed Indianapolis 500. After back-to-back victories in 2023 and 2024, defending against tough rivals like Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward, he’s now chasing a third consecutive win.

The 2025 edition marks the 109th running of the iconic event, a cornerstone of the motorsport world and part of the prestigious Triple Crown. Despite over a century of being in operation, i.e., since its inception in 1911, no driver has ever managed to win the Indy 500 three years in a row, a feat Newgarden hopes to make history with.

A couple of months ago, Josef Newgarden joined the Athletes and Assets Podcast with Noah Lack, where he expressed his desire to make history at the Indy 500 by becoming the first driver to win the race three years in a row.

"Winning the Indianapolis 500 again and then following it up with a championship. That's kind of been the hardest thing to do for most individuals as of late because typically when you win the Indy 500 you have this thing that's called like 'the Indy 500 hangover' where you know you just kind of have some rough races afterwards," said Newgarden [55:16 onwards].

"Like we all care tremendously about the championship that is what shows you how the year really went so I want us to figure out how to win that Indy 500 again but more importantly if we win it again I want to figure out how we win the championship on top of it,” he added.

The Team Penske driver will be in action on Sunday, May 25th, for the 109th edition of the Indianapolis 500.