Josef Newgarden is confident and conditioned in his countdown to Indy

Josef Newgarden is confident and conditioned in his countdown to Indy

Josef Newgarden is considered one of the faces of the IndyCar racing circuit. Since his professional debut in 2012 - an 11th^thPlace at the Honda Grand Prix – the 32-year-old has developed into one of the most consistent drivers in the racing league. In addition to being a two-time IndyCar Series champion, Newgarden ranks third among current drivers with 26 wins.

The Tennessee native also flexes the muscles on the NTT IndyCar track every weekend, developing a physique that's equally prepared to be in front of the camera for a fitness magazine photo shoot as it is behind the wheel of a twin-turbo machine that maneuvers over 140 mph. And for Newgarden to finally develop a winning strategy to overcome his biggest racing challenge - overcoming his Indy 500 slump - it may require a combination of strength and skill. To date, Newgarden has come up short in every race in 11 attempts to make it to the winner's circle at the Brickyard, his best being a third-place finish in 2016.

This year's buildup to the sport's signature event on May 28 took a creative turn as racing fans got a behind-the-scenes look at Newgarden and other drivers on the new CW show "100 Days to Indy." The high-speed docuseries gives viewers an unusual take on Newgarden, including portions of his unusual workout routine as well as his quirky, off-the-cuff YouTube comedy skits he created with Penske teammate Scott McLaughlin - "Bus Bros." – showing a lighter side to the often hectic weekly indy grind.

And as IndyCar's popularity continues to grow - NBC reported that last year was its most-watched season since 2016 - it's becoming increasingly important for IndyCar to showcase its superstars. Newgarden, as one of his auto racing ambassadors, believes shows like "100 Days" can help catapult not only IndyCar back into the top tier of overall sports viewership, but also its superstars.

"IndyCar is really the most competitive product for me right now," says Newgarden, "so I know all of these personalities and I know how interesting everyone's stories are. I don't think everyone in the world really knows about them, and that's the beauty of '100 Days to Indy': you're going to get a glimpse into a lot of the different personalities and talents that are in the sport, not just the drivers, but a lot of the team members."

One of the stories includes a glimpse into the 6′, 180-pound weight room warrior's training program, which might look more like CrossFit than a motorsports athlete looking to build a better conditioning base to build endurance over the course of the season. His fit physique hardly goes unnoticed among other drivers - one fellow driver dropped a line during the series that Newgarden should think about losing weight because of "too much muscle." But so far there's no denying the results on the track or in the gym, as Newgarden's heavy reliance on rowing and the ski erg helps him dominate on the track.

“I think the best workout you can do is really, you know, take a concept that you know from rowing or jumping on a skier," Newgarden says. "Those are the best exercises because they're muscle dominant and they also have a big cardio component. So you can really train both sides of the world, which I think is exactly what you find in an IndyCar, you know, it's physical strenuous, its high G load makes for very heavy steering.”

Consistency and the challenge of competition are what drives Newgarden, who grew up playing basketball. In addition to being a two-time IndyCar champion, his athleticism has earned him invitations to participate in a variety of events, including being a featured athlete to participate in the NFL Combine, being a guest halftime member of the Indiana Pacers "Power Pack." Trampoline Slam Dunk Crew and a 2016 appearance on the television show “American Ninja Warrior” alongside fellow Indy drivers Helio Castroneves and Tony Kanaan.

Newgarden's progression as an athlete is a successful strategy of enjoying the process while remaining laser-focused throughout the journey.

“My philosophy has always been to be well-rounded,” Newgarden says. "I want to be able to do any task that anyone asks of me. And that means having great strength, great strength, endurance and good cardio. So whether they want me to run a marathon or a triathlon or lift 225 over my head, I want to be able to do all of those things. Focusing on being well-rounded has really helped me in the car."

Josef Newgarden's success strategy

1. It's okay to find the bright side of serious work

Personally, I'm not a big fan of social media, but it's a necessary evil in this medium in which we all work. This is how you learn about different brands and personalities that you either like or dislike - it's pretty much the main thing that people go through. So it's absolutely necessary if you want to showcase your brand and personality or generate interest in your sport.

Unfortunately, it's a big part of it, so we're trying to embrace it in a fun way. This was definitely a fun way to change the pace of the monotonous intensity that racing is - and I love that side of it, that's why I'm in it. But people also want to see the other side, you know, they just want to see what you know, what you're like outside of that intense environment. And we tried that. Me and my teammate Scott McLaughlin did this YouTube show called Bus Bros. It was literally like a joke – even the title of the show was a joke. And it somehow caught on. People found it really entertaining and it gained a cult following. And we just did it for fun.

Racing is very serious. We're coming to the race weekend and everyone is very excited about the practice qualifying process. The run-up to Friday, Saturday, Sunday is long and very intense. And we just wanted to lighten it up a little bit, have a little fun over the weekend, do something light-hearted that wasn't too serious. And then you know, it caught on and we've been doing it for about a year now. It's pretty stupid - they were in the first episode of the show, people can find it on the internet.

Nothing is really scripted. Scott likes to dress up in inflatables and we walk the streets all the time interviewing random fans. People seem to love that. It's simply an immersion in the fun side of a race weekend

2. Treat every decision like a game-changing decision

I always tell people that you make 1,000 decisions in a race. But if you make a wrong decision, your race day can be over and ruined. You can take a potential winning result and maybe you'll end up in the top five. So you really can't make a mistake, not just from the driver's point of view, but from everyone. It is truly a team sport.

I know this because I've just been a part of it for so many years, whether it's strategy, pit stops or car preparation. It all depends – nothing can go wrong. It can't just be because I drive the car perfectly that day - although I have to do that - we all have to do it. So it's over 1000 decisions, if you will, and one of them can't go wrong on race day. So the focus and execution has to be pretty flawless.

You [need a] well-prepared environment. You want to be so well prepared physically that you can be as well prepared mentally - they go hand in hand. If you are as well built as possible, I think you have a better chance of winning races more often.

There's usually an all-or-nothing moment in the race where you may not have started first - you started 10th^th. And you came in with a certain strategy and then suddenly the strategy reverses because of an unforeseen yellow and throws the field into disarray. You can go one way or change the strategy. There's always that make or break moment where you really have to capitalize on it. Maybe it's an in-lap. Maybe it's a run-off lap or a specific pit stop. It's like there's a moment where the strategy shift is about to happen right now, and you have to nail that moment. And if you do that, it can lead to you maybe winning the race from 10th place or something. We've had a ton of those days.

3. Enjoy the process regardless of the results

It's very true. It often happens that things don't work out, and maybe they should have. Everyone may not know the whole story. We probably should have won the race that day for these reasons or for other reasons, it didn't work out.

I often think back on those days and come back to simply loving the process of racing. I really love it.

So yeah, even though it didn't work out at Indy, I enjoy diving back into the process every year and trying to perfect it a little more. There's an element of luck and timing that obviously comes with you and in racing - it's just part of it, especially at an event like Indianapolis. I think that's more important in an event like this than, for example, in your standard race. But regardless of how it works, it's fun to dive back into the process and try to build a better weapon to fight with each year.

4. Josef Newgarden cultivates a mamba mentality

There are a lot more similarities between team sports and Indy Cars than you would think. I didn't know that until I really got to the highest level of motorsport. I was a traditional suburbanite growing up just outside of Nashville. Typically, these are the environments where you come into your bat and ball sports - baseball, basketball, football, hockey - and there are a lot of similarities.

I think the team building aspect of any sport is applicable to racing as well. It's exactly the same. It doesn't matter what position you are in on a racing team, every position counts. It requires everyone to pull together and do a great job on the day to make victory happen. And so you start to build that team dynamic where you understand how to work with people and maximize not just yourself but the people around you. I think this is probably one of the most important skills you can learn to be successful in a sporting environment. And you learn that very early in stick and ball sports. They are at least exposed to what that looks like or what challenges might exist when trying to interact with teammates. And you have to be able to implement that if you are at a professional level in motorsport, even excellent.

Preparation is something that was instilled in me. I've really learned, just from the environment and from a lot of people that I've been able to work with, that it just doesn't matter how much talent you have, you know you can't complement the preparation. It sounds a bit cheesy and silly, but it's so true. I think someone who is super talented and doesn't have to work that hard can be beaten by someone who isn't very talented but works insanely hard. But when you take someone who has a talent and you put the work ethic and hard work behind it, it's very, very difficult to beat that combination.

So if you're lucky enough to have a little bit of talent and whatever your chosen sport is, you know, then you should really grab it and run with it and make the most of it.

5. Bench press to decompress

It's a very personal answer, what may be true for me may not be true for everyone. I think you have to find the balance that works for you as an individual. You are the key to it. Everyone will have a different answer from me.

Personally, I'm very introverted and it can be a very stressful environment when you show up at the track just because there's a lot of interaction. There are a lot of interactions that I can't avoid, especially as a driver. Interaction as kind of the face of the team, one of the faces of the sport, in many ways you have partners, fans, all sorts of people looking for time. And so personally, as an introvert going through all of that on a race weekend, I need to relax just to reset myself. I can easily empty my energy tank. I know how susceptible I am to this.

SO for me it is. I don't necessarily need to get away from racing, I just need personal time. I don't do anything too crazy. I'm a pretty normal guy, probably boring outside of racing. I like basic things. I love training. I'm competitive by nature, so when I compete, I need to do something that is filled with competition when I'm not on the track. That's just my MO, so training has actually been a good vice for me when I don't have the outlet to race. That's where I invest my time and energy.

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