Josef Newgarden comments on grave state of IndyCar policing and concerns about driving standards

Josef Newgarden has shared that he has made peace with the increasing cases of aggressive driving and incidents in IndyCar. The two-time Indy 500 winner weighed in on the discussion in a conversation with fellow driver Conor Daly, who was on the unfortunate end of such incidents more than once in 2025.

On a recent episode of the Speed Street podcast hosted by Daly, Newgarden was asked about the drop in driving standards in IndyCar. The Team Penske driver compared the driving standards of today to those of a decade ago and admitted that it was a major concern. However, he chose to leave it alone because it wasn't in his control.

"I sort of removed myself from it at this point. I'll let people do what they want to do. I can't influence it is what I've learned. But it has changed dramatically from what it was 10 or 15 years ago. The paddock has changed," Josef Newgarden said. [1:25:00 onwards]

"The way I saw the paddock 10-15 years ago, there was a little bit more respect that was just in the atmosphere everywhere. People used to just understand that you want to drive to the limit, we're incredibly competitive people, and that's okay. But we got to somehow take care of each other at the same time. There's this understood line that you should really try and not cross. I don't see the respect off the track or on the track like I used to see it 10 years ago. That's a hard thing to fix."

Josef Newgarden and Conor Daly probably had similar seasons regarding the crashes they were involved in. The only difference in their incidents was that Newgarden's arose from pure misfortune - like Louis Foster collecting him at Gateway and Jacob Abel doing the same in Toronto, whereas most of Daly's were a result of rivals like Santino Ferrucci at Mid-Ohio and Christian Rasmussen at Portland not giving him enough space on track.

In July, the Juncos Hollinger Racing driver had claimed that the driving standards in IndyCar were at their "lowest."

Josef Newgarden highlights IndyCar's failure to call out aggressive driving from younger drivers

Josef Newgarden's car being lifted away at the NTT IndyCar Series Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio - Source: Getty

While speaking about the driving standards concerns in IndyCar, Josef Newgarden acknowledged the threat that many drivers faced because of unwarranted aggressive racing from younger drivers on the grid. The two-time IndyCar champion also highlighted how IndyCar is overlooking such incidents, which doesn't improve the case.

On the aforementioned podcast, Newgarden said:

"If you want to survive in that environment, you have to start to adapt to what is happening. The fact that this is starting to ramp up... and a lot of these young guys... I was a young guy at one point. It's not against the youth thing. I love young, fast, aggressive drivers. I was one of those guys too. So I've got no problem with that.

But you certainly see this next generation bring in a different level of aggression that's maybe a bit too much. And you just got to play in their playground because no one's stopping it. There's no one there to help you. No one's going to call a call, no one's going to throw a flag. If you get taken out, you just got to swallow the pill."

IndyCar has failed to penalize some drivers for major incidents this season. A prime example of it was Christian Rasmussen getting away scot-free after his Portland collision with Conor Daly, which sent the latter into the barriers at over 140 mph.

On the results front, both Josef Newgarden and Conor Daly ended the season on a high. The Team Penske driver took his first victory of the season on home soil at the Nashville season finale, and Daly went from P24 to P5 in the race to emerge as the biggest mover.