There is just something different about Josef Newgarden when the series unloads at an oval.
You can feel it every May at Indianapolis. The confidence changes. The swagger changes. The speed is always there.
Newgarden opened Indianapolis 500 practice Tuesday with the fourth-fastest lap of the day at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and honestly, it should surprise nobody paying attention. The two-time Indy 500 winner remains the gold standard on ovals in modern IndyCar, and every time the garage rolls through those tunnel gates at 16th and Georgetown, the No. 2 Team Penske car immediately becomes the car to beat.
Last year still feels unfinished for Newgarden. After winning back-to-back Indianapolis 500s in 2023 and 2024, his bid for a three-peat unraveled before it ever really began. Mechanical issues buried him deep in the field, forcing him to carve through traffic from the back in a race where clean air means everything. Even then, he still drove like a man possessed.
Now, he looks ready to make it three wins in four years at the Speedway.
The scary part for the rest of the paddock? He already proved earlier this season that the oval package is elite once again. Newgarden dominated at Phoenix in March, the lone oval race on the schedule so far in 2026, reminding everybody that nobody attacks these places quite like he does. His ability to manage tire wear, run multiple grooves and stay aggressive in dirty air separates him from almost everybody else in the series.
Some drivers are great at Indianapolis. Newgarden feels built for Indianapolis.
And while Alex Palou grabbed the headlines with the fastest lap Tuesday, seeing Newgarden comfortably inside the top five this early in the Month of May feels significant. Team Penske always unloads with speed at the Speedway, but Newgarden’s comfort level around this place is on another level right now.
The month is young. The boost hasn’t even gone up yet. Qualifying drama still waits around the corner.
But if Tuesday proved anything, it is this: Josef Newgarden is once again lurking near the top of the pylon at Indianapolis, exactly where everybody expected him to be.
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