Team Penske is working on a contract extension that would keep Josef Newgarden in the No. 2 Chevy after his current contract expires at the end of this year.
“I think we are making good progress,” Team Penske president Tim Cindric told RACER.
Having joined Penske in 2017, Newgarden has reached the highest level of success in IndyCar after winning championships in 2017 and ’19, and the Indianapolis 500 in 2023. With a desire to receive a greater level of compensation, Newgarden is known to have explored free agency, and as RACER learned last weekend from one of his potential destinations in the paddock, the embattled 33-year-old is tipped to stay with the Cindric-led team in 2025. It’s unclear whether the Tennessean is seeking a one- or multi-year extension with the team.
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Newgarden’s title hopes took a shot this week when he was stripped of his win at the opening race in St. Petersburg after he was found to have illegally used IndyCar’s push-to-pass system when it was disabled for other teams during starts and restarts.
The disqualification demoted Newgarden from first in the championship to 11th entering Sunday’s race at Barber Motorsports Park.