"They need to be put in their place": When Josef Newgarden confronted Santino Ferrucci after 'risky' oval incident

Josef Newgarden, the two-time IndyCar champion, once gave an earful to AJ Foyt Racing driver Santino Ferrucci back in the day. During the 2019 Bommarito 500 at Gateway, Ferrucci's erratic driving cost Newgarden several places in the race.

During the closing stages of the 248-lap race, Ferrucci made a daring move on Newgarden to secure P4, but immediately after passing the latter, Ferrucci slid up into the marbles and suddenly back onto the racing line to block Newgarden. Back then in 2019, Ferrucci was driving for Dale Coyne Racing in the #19 race car.

After ending the race in seventh place and considering Santino Ferrucci's antics on the racetrack, Josef Newgarden confronted Ferrucci on pit road. Via a press conference at a later time, he said the following:

"I already gave two cents on NBC. I'll be disappointed if people think I'm a whiner after giving my assessment. Rarely do I ever try and put someone in their place when I think they need to be put in their place. I think Santino needed to learn a lesson. This is no disrespect to fans or anyone. Most people will not understand what he did wrong in that final corner. They've never driven an IndyCar. They don't know the subtleties of it. I think what he did was very risky.

In 2019, Josef Newgarden secured his second IndyCar championship with 641 points alongside four wins, 12 top-fives and 14 top-ten finishes. Santino Ferrucci, on his end, was able to end the season in P13 with 351 points. In the process of doing so, he secured three top-fives and seven top-ten finishes.

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Josef Newgarden secured a P10 finish in 2025 Iowa Race 2

While Josef Newgarden let his frustrations out back in 2019 around Santino Ferrucci's on-track antics, the former also had a frustrating outing during last week's Race 2 at the Iowa Speedway. Despite starting the 275-lap race in P4, he ended the Grand Prix way down in 10th position.

Race 2 at the Iowa Speedway was full of cautions, and amid the chaos, Newgarden turned out as one of the unlucky drivers. After his disappointing outing, he said the following in a post-race interview (via Team Penske's official website):

"We just have to keep doing what we are doing. Team Penske is working incredibly hard; the whole group. Yesterday was a good day for everybody. You could see the spirits lift. We don't need to change what we are doing. They are doing a great job. They brought a fast Astemo Chevy here again today. We just keep doing the same thing."

After the first 12 rounds of the 2025 IndyCar season, Josef Newgarden currently finds himself in 14th place in the Drivers' standings with 207 points. Next up on the race calendar is this week's Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto.