When Josef Newgarden upset Graham Rahal and Scott Dixon for his first IndyCar win

Josef Newgarden, who is leading the win count at the Barber Motorsports Park, has triumphed three times at the road course in 2015, 2017, and 2018. His first victory at the track was also his first of the IndyCar Series Championship, where he fought hard and upset Graham Rahal and Scott Dixon to take the chequered flag.

Helio Castroneves, who began the race from pole position, dropped back to 15th place, while the top three finishers, including Rahal, who gained six positions, and Dixon, who advanced by one, climbed through the field in pursuit of victory. Driving for CFH Racing at the time, Newgarden started fifth and gained three spots on the opening lap. In a thrilling contest against Rahal and Dixon, he ultimately claimed the win, holding off a fierce challenge from Dixon, renowned for his formidable defensive driving.

The official Instagram account of IndyCar posted a video of the intense battle from 2015, remembering the victory.

"🏁 Josef Newgarden’s first career #INDYCAR win (and a great battle between Graham Rahal and Scott Dixon) in 2015," the post was captioned.

Josef Newgarden currently sits 10th in the championship standings with 58 points to his name, trailing leader Alex Palou by 84 points. The 27-driver lineup of the 2025 NTT IndyCar Series Championship will next head to Barber Motorsports Park, a 2.38-mile road course in Birmingham, Alabama, for the Children of Alabama Grand Prix.

Josef Newgarden expressed his aim to create history at the Indianapolis 500

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

Now in his 14th IndyCar season, Josef Newgarden is chasing history at the sport's most iconic event, i.e. Indianapolis 500. Having captured the win in 2023, he successfully defended it in 2024, holding off strong competition, most notably from Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward.

A few weeks ago, Josef Newgarden appeared on Athletes and Assets with Noah Lack, where he articulated his aspiration to make history at the Indianapolis 500 by becoming the first driver to win the event three consecutive times.

"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."

"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,” Newgarden said via Athletes and Asssets. [55:16 onwards]

This year marks the 109th running of the Indy 500, one of the three prestigious races that make up motorsport’s Triple Crown. Despite its storied history dating back to 1911, no driver has ever achieved three consecutive victories at the event. The Team Penske driver will be in action on April 13 at 4:30 pm ET at the ACURA Grand Prix of Long Beach.