Newgarden to Penske? (7th Update)
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| Where will Juan Montoya end up in 2017? |
Roger Penske believes free agent Josef Newgarden would be a "great fit" for his IndyCar team and hopes to finalize his 2017 lineup, either with the 25-year-old or possibly current driver Juan Pablo Montoya returning, within the next few weeks writes Brant James of USA Today.
Penske told USA TODAY Sports before the Chase for the Sprint Cup NASCAR race at Dover International Speedway on Sunday that, "I think there's been conversation going on, yes," with the three-race winner formerly of Ed Carpenter Racing. Penske noted, however, that Newgarden may not necessarily push out Montoya, a 41-year-old former series champion. Montoya won the 2015 Indianapolis 500 but slumped to ninth in points this season after pacing most of the previous campaign but finishing second to Scott Dixon.
"I think Juan and I have talked about his opportunities and I think that he's got some things he's working on," Penske said. "In fact, that's one of the things that we have to do, is find out exactly what he's going to do and that's a conversation that he and I have to have."
Penske believes Newgarden would complement a lineup consisting of series champion Simon Pagenaud, former champion Will Power and three-time Indianapolis 500-winner Helio Castroneves.
"Well I think, obviously he'd be a great fit for our team," Penske said of the Tennessee native. "We've not made any deal with Newgarden as I stand here in Dover today. Obviously, he's someone we're looking at now that he's available."
Carpenter informed ECR officials on Thursday that he would not return. Newgarden has spent all 83 races of his five-year IndyCar career with some vestige of the team, Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing beginning in 2012, which became Carpenter Fisher Hartman and then ECR this season. He won two races and finished seventh in points in 2015 and improved to fourth this year with one win despite breaking his hand and collarbone in a crash at Texas Motor Speedway.
Penske wants his fourth spot filled soon.
"I would hope that something like this we need to get a decision made," Penske said. "I would say within the next couple of weeks at the latest." Brant James/USA Today
09/29/16 This rumor is upgraded to 'fact' with today's announcement that Newgarden will not return to ECR. See hot news page.
09/20/16
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| Newgarden lands the best job in the IndyCar paddock |
This rumor is upgraded to 'strong' today. What made sense all along is going to become a reality. RACER can report that Josef Newgarden will be joining Team Penske in 2017 according to Racer.com.
A source inside Roger Penske's operation confirmed to RACER.com on Tuesday that the 25-year-old native of Tennessee will be replacing Juan Pablo Montoya to join Simon Pagenaud, Will Power and Helio Castroneves on the most successful team in IndyCar history.
"It's Newgarden, not Rossi," said the person who requested anonymity, referring to the Sunday rumor that Alexander Rossi was suddenly in the picture to replace JPM.
"I can't say for sure he's signed yet, but I know he's the guy."
Newgarden is on vacation and couldn't be reached for comment, but has spent the past several weeks wisely saying nothing except he "hopes he's got a ride in IndyCar next year."
Asked over the weekend if he'd already signed Newgarden, Penske president Tim Cindric smiled and said: "I don't think he's available," referring to the fact Ed Carpenter's contract with Newgarden had not yet expired and there's a 10-day period for ECR to match any offer.
Joey Newgarden told RACER at Watkins Glen that Carpenter had made his son a very impressive offer to stay.
"Josef hasn't said no to our offer," declared Carpenter last Saturday at Sonoma. But the only owner/driver in IndyCar is covering his bases and already has met with Montoya about driving the Fuzzy's Chevy in 2017.
When Montoya, who won the 2015 Indy 500 for The Captain, first expressed concern last July he wouldn't be retained as a full-time IndyCar driver for The Captain in 2017, the immediate response from everyone in the IndyCar paddock was that Newgarden was the "Penske perfect" replacement in terms of age, talent, personality, popularity and availability. Robin Miller/Racer.com
09/17/16 Roger Penske is a master of saying very little with just a few words, but he seemed to speak volumes about Team Penske's plans for the next Verizon IndyCar Series season Saturday at Sonoma Raceway.
If Penske is to be understood, open-wheel racing's most historic and successful team will soon replace Juan Pablo Montoya with Josef Newgarden.
Penske was repeatedly asked about the status of his four-car driver lineup, and he didn't give a ringing endorsement for Montoya while offering that Newgarden "isn't available, I don't think, right now."
That's true. But Newgarden could be as early as Sept. 28.
Newgarden's current employer, Ed Carpenter of Ed Carpenter Racing, told The Indianapolis Star last month that the driver has 10 days after Sunday's season-ending race to act on a contract offer presented by the Indianapolis-based team. Even then, ECR has a right of first refusal, but it seems unlikely Carpenter, himself a driver, would stand in the way of anyone with an opportunity to join Team Penske.
As generally happens in this sport, Penske gets what Penske wants, and what Penske wants are drivers who can stand with sponsors as well as they stand on the gas. Helio Castroneves can do that as well as anyone in team history, and Penske said Will Power and Simon Pagenaud have worked to become quality representatives.
Penske did not include Montoya in that vein.
"It's not only important to the sponsors, it's important to me for the team," Penske said. "We use the drivers in our business all the time. In fact, there's an automotive situation coming up and they've asked me to come and bring one of my drivers. It's a really high-profile event.
"These are really ambassadors for our brand. We've built our Penske brand across all our businesses with racing, but the stars are the guys driving the cars. I think they've got to be articulate, they've got to understand the business. It's not just coming in and putting a hat on and signing a few autographs. They've got to go to the stores, they've got to understand the technology."
Penske said his partners "want more (from the team), they don't want less."
Moments before Penske said all this, he announced that John Menard's chain of Midwestern-based hardware stores will be the primary sponsor of Pagenaud's car for 10 races next season. The other seven races have other backers, Penske said, adding that the cars of Castroneves and Power have full financial programs in place for next season.
Montoya's apparently does not.
Regarding Montoya's future with the team, Penske said "we haven't made that decision yet. We're in discussion with him. Obviously, we have to look at the sponsorship available."
Montoya has made it clear he wants to remain in IndyCar next season, and there have been several team owners who say his talent is too rich to ignore. The Colombian won the season-opening race in St. Petersburg, Fla., and has 15 career wins, including a pair of Indianapolis 500 victories. He was CART's champion in 1999.
Newgarden, who is in his fifth IndyCar season, has only won three races, but he enters the season's final weekend with a chance to finish third in the standings. He is the only driver currently in the top six not part of either the Penske or Chip Ganassi Racing teams.
Newgarden also is one of IndyCar's most engaging drivers, a showman along the lines of Castroneves and James Hinchcliffe, and he is as willing as Graham Rahal to do anything IndyCar asks of him. Montoya? Not so much.
The other difference between Montoya and Newgarden: One turns 41 on Tuesday, the other will be 26 when next season begins.
When will Penske make his plans public? "Hopefully in the next 30 to 60 days we'll have an announcement about what our final lineup will be," he said.
It seems the decision has been made even as Penske chose his words carefully. Curt Cavin/The Indianapolis Star/USA TODAY Network.
09/05/16 Team owner Ed Carpenter describes retaining Josef Newgarden as his "Plan A" for 2017 as rumors continue to surround the 25-year-old from Tennessee.
Newgarden, who has scored three wins with Ed Carpenter Racing-Chevrolet over the past two seasons, is known to be out of contract, and is believed to have had recent talks with both Team Penske and Chip Ganassi Racing.
However, Carpenter says retaining his ace — who currently lies fifth in the championship, and has a strong chance of finishing the season in third – has become a priority.
He told Motorsport.com: "We've started the process of talking about next year. I think we've done a good job and will continue to do a good job and get better as we have every year so far.
"Where Josef is going is next year is a topic that's getting a lot of talk but we're doing everything we can do to make a good offer to him and make a good case for him staying here.
"Ultimately you can't control exactly how it's going to play out and obviously there's a lot of unknowns. So we're just gonna have to do what we do and play the game and see how it all shakes out.
Asked if either he or Newgarden is finding the rumors and speculative future plans a distraction, Carpenter said: "I can't speak for Josef, but from my point of view he's continuing to do a good job. And from the way we're dealing with it, along with the rest of his [management] group, I don't feel like there's much pressure.
"We've had good conversations, we know where each other is on everything and we'll go through the rest of the process and hopefully have an answer to the whole issue sooner rather than later. But it's no different from how it was last year, to be honest." David Malsher/Motorsport
08/09/16
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| Josef Newgarden is no dummy. If a top IndyCar team isn't willing to step up and sign him, he knows there's money to be made down south. As for NASCAR they'd love to steal another IndyCar star |
Josef Newgarden's contract with Ed Carpenter Racing expires after 2016, leaving fans wondering if Newgarden is headed to Penske, Ganassi or Andretti.
Is Josef Newgarden on the move?
As Newgarden's contract with Ed Carpenter Racing expires at the end of this season, rumors have begun to swirl that the Tennessee native will leave ECR for either Team Penske, Chip Ganassi Racing, or Andretti Autosport.
These are the same rumors that circulated in 2015, when Newgarden was courted but decided to sign a one-year extension with what was then Carpenter Fisher Hartman Racing.
But a lot has changed in a year.
The original folks that backed Newgarden's IndyCar efforts – Sarah Fisher, Wink Hartman and their crew – exited the sport when CFH dissolved in the offseason, leaving Ed Carpenter to return the team to the Ed Carpenter Racing banner.
Meanwhile, Newgarden has continued to show strong all around. He won at Iowa Speedway, and he's made headlines for weeks as fans and media continue to admire how he's gutted races out after the injuries he suffered at Texas.
He's the hottest driver about to hit the free agent market, so will this be the year he moves on?
If Newgarden had any inclination toward driving for the Big Three, this would seem to be his best opportunity. He has three wins over the last two seasons and is among the Top 5 championship contenders for the second year in a row.
He's no longer a potential star – he's a definite star.
Plus, he checks all the off-track boxes that a major team should want: someone who's got a great public image, is fantastic with fans, and oh yeah, happens to be a young American driver in a sport that's still trying to win over more American viewers.
And while Newgarden has a rapport with Carpenter, he's pretty much the one big piece that remains from what used to be Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing and then CFH. It's probably easier for him to leave now than it would have been a year or two ago.
So let's assume that he'd entertain the idea of another team. Where would Newgarden go?
Andretti Autosport has the most obvious need. Carlos Munoz‘s contract also expires after 2016 and the team could still lose Alexander Rossi to Formula One.
If Andretti decides to move on from Munoz, who has one win over three full IndyCar seasons, or if Rossi walks it would be a very nice save for Andretti to hire Newgarden and create an all-American lineup alongside Marco Andretti and Ryan Hunter-Reay.
But if Newgarden's short-term goal is an IndyCar championship it's also true that Andretti is a step behind both Penske and Ganassi at the moment.
Juan Pablo Montoya will soon be coming up to decision time for Penske, but the Colombian has made clear that he'd like to return. And while Montoya has struggled in 2016 it was just a year ago that he dominated the first part of the season.
Would Penske take a risk and let go of a veteran who's still performing very well in order to bring aboard a younger driver reaching new heights? It wouldn't be the first time we've heard that story, though it would seem unwise.
Likewise, fans are wondering how long Tony Kanaan will stay in the No. 10 at Ganassi, though he hasn't expressed that he wants to go anywhere.
The team just signed rookie Max Chilton this year to fill the spot left by Sage Karam – do they really want to abandon two rookie projects in two consecutive seasons to open up a seat for Newgarden?
Without a clear opening at either Penske or Ganassi, perhaps the wisest move upward would be for Newgarden to sign a short-term deal with Andretti until one of the veteran drivers does decide to retire.
But would Andretti even want what equates to a rental? Or in that case, Newgarden could also just sign another one-year deal with ECR and wait for Penske or Ganassi in 2018.
Newgarden still has three races left for ECR and then it will likely be months before the off-season picture becomes clear. But with how high his stock has raised over the last two years, it wouldn't be surprising at all to see him driving for a new team in 2017. Beyond The Flag
08/06/16 Verizon IndyCar Series driver Josef Newgarden is planning to attend Sunday’s Cheez-It 355 at The Glen to promote IndyCar’s return to Watkins Glen International next month, or is it to eye a NASCAR ride?
Watkins Glen, which hosted the IndyCar Series from 2005 to 2010, was added to the series’ schedule in May after the Grand Prix of Boston was canceled.
The IndyCar Grand Prix at The Glen is scheduled for Sept. 2-4. It is one of four remaining races this season for the series, which will have one race left after stopping at Watkins Glen.
Newgarden’s schedule will include meeting with the media, visiting hospitality locations and spending time with the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet of Jimmie Johnson, possibly to discuss (if rumors are to be believed) replacing a poorly performing Kasey Kahne on the Hendrick team.
Newgarden, 25, is a native of Tennessee, i.e. a rebel by nature – the perfect fit for NASCAR, who is fourth in the IndyCar points standings this season with four races remaining. He has three career victories.
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| Josef Newgarden is no dummy. If a top IndyCar team isn't willing to step up and sign him, he knows there's money to be made down south. As for NASCAR they'd love to steal another IndyCar star |
07/18/16 During NASCAR testing at Indianapolis Motor Speedway ahead of the Brickyard 400, IndyCar driver Josef Newgarden visited the garages alongside Ray Evernham, former championship crew chief with Jeff Gordon.
“It’s fun to learn the different terminology between NASCAR and IndyCar, there’s a lot of different lingo, there’s a couple of different procedural things but it feels the same," Newgarden said while walking through gasoline alley Wednesday. “When we come out here to test in IndyCar it feels the same, the vibe is a little different though."
Newgarden is fresh off a dominant win at the Iowa Corn 300 and admitted he’d explore an opportunity to drive in NASCAR.
"IndyCar has my heart," Newgarden said. "I love open wheel racing, IndyCar is the best, you can't beat the Indianapolis 500 and everything we do, but I always am intrigued with NASCAR. I love all forms of racing, if there's anything going on with four wheels I want to check it out. I would never rule out getting to drive one of these things one day, I'd be all for it."
While a move to the stock car could be in his future, Newgarden is thrilled with the position he and his Ed Carpenter team are in following the victory.
"I think we're in a good spot with Ed Carpenter Racing, specifically on the 21 side," Newgarden said. "We're second in the standings, Fuzzy's Vodka has been great for us this year. finally got a victory at Iowa last weekend. We've got an opportunity to maybe win the championship, we just have to stay focused on what we're doing." Fox59TV