​Everything seemed to align against Nashville IndyCar driver Josef Newgarden throughout 2025, with a string of misfortunes that appeared to derail his season. Yet, there was one bright moment that stood out as a turning point: he closed the year by winning the Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix in the final race at Nashville Superspeedway. The victory snapped a 20-race winless drought and felt like a sign that Newgarden’s fortunes might finally be turning. As he entered 2026, the Team Penske driver carried momentum, claiming two of the season’s first 11 races and entering the year with revived hopes of defending his Music City Grand Prix crown on July 19.
So what changed for Newgarden in 2026 that did not happen in 2025, a year in which he failed to finish five of the 17 races and managed only three podiums? According to Newgarden, the difference isn’t easy to identify with pinpoint precision. “It just seems like someone wasn’t around the corner with a bat this year so far,” the 35-year-old noted. “I don’t know that I can pinpoint exactly what went wrong last year. Some of it was a little comical, and it just happens. That’s just timing and life. You can look around and go, ‘Hey, why is everything happening to me and our team?’ But sometimes you just don’t have the wave or the tide with you, and sometimes you do. Last year we didn’t have the tides with us.”
Newgarden’s resurgence began with his Nashville win in 2025, a race that unfolded in a way he favors: wide-open, multi-lane, side-by-side racing on the 1.33-mile trioval. The 225-lap affair that year produced a record 12 leaders and 20 lead changes, showcasing a high level of competitive excitement. Newgarden credited that event for helping reset his mindset and offering a blueprint for success. “Obviously, last year’s race produced a good show for us,” he reflected. “We had multi-lane racing, side-by-side racing. It shouldn’t be drastically different this year. This year we’ve taken a little downforce off the kit, but hopefully we can have that same style of racing we saw last year.”
The catalyst for his 2026 turnaround arrived when Newgarden capitalized on a late miscue by race leader Scott McLaughlin, who drifted and brushed the wall on Turn 2, triggering a caution. On the ensuing restart, Newgarden seized the lead on Lap 205 and held off Alex Palou to secure the win. The victory set a positive tone for the season, signaling that the rough patch of 2025 had given way to a fresh run of strong performances.
Following the Nashville triumph, Newgarden continued to rack up solid results. He opened 2026 with another victory at the Grand Prix of Phoenix—the second race of the season—before posting top-10 finishes at the Grand Prix of Alabama and the Grand Prix of Detroit. He then secured a fourth place at the Grand Prix of Indianapolis road course and added another win at the Grand Prix of Illinois on June 7. Those outcomes underscored a notable improvement in form and consistency, suggesting that his early-season success could be sustained over the long haul of the championship.
In discussing the progression through 2026, Newgarden highlighted the importance of learning from the previous year’s hurdles without letting them define him. He emphasized that while 2025 presented a sequence of unpredictable incidents and underperforming results, it did not necessarily reflect his capabilities or his team’s potential. Instead, he framed the past season as a learning curve that helped him approach races with a clearer perspective and a more resilient mindset.
Looking ahead to the Music City Grand Prix date on July 19, there is reason for optimism. With the momentum carried from two early-season victories and a track record of strong performances in Nashville, Newgarden enters the event as a legitimate contender. His recent performances have reinforced the idea that when the conditions align and the tide swings in his favor, he remains one of the sport’s most capable and unpredictable competitors.
As the season unfolds, fans and analysts will continue to watch whether Newgarden can sustain this improved level of performance and replicate or even surpass his 2025 Nashville victory this year. If the pattern from the early 2026 stretch holds, Newgarden’s trajectory could become a defining storyline of the season, signaling a return to the form that helped him secure multiple championships and establish himself as a perennial title threat.