Inside The Garage: Josef Newgarden Felt Pain Beyond His Foot In Detroit

Here's what's happening this week Inside The Garage:

• How Josef Newgarden raced with one good foot
• 23XI Racing welcomed a new Cup driver in 2027
• A special moment for Indy 500 champ and daughter

DETROIT — Josef Newgarden had this look of pain on his face.

But this wasn’t from his foot. It was for the award he was about to receive for the driver who gained the most positions during the race.

For Newgarden, that’s just a reminder that he qualified poorly. In some races, it would also be a little bit of a reminder of what could have been.

But on Sunday in Detroit, it at least was a sign of perseverance that he went from struggling early in the race to finishing 10th on a weekend where he walked with a crutch and a walking boot on his left foot, which was injured in a crash in the Indianapolis 500.

"I think a top-15 would have been a miracle today, so where we ended up, you’ve got to take that for sure," Newgarden told me and other reporters following the race. "I feel bad. I feel like the opportunity that the team put in place for this car was podium potential."

The Team Penske No. 2 driver has not talked specifics of the injury, which was termed as "minor" by the INDYCAR doctor following the crash a week prior in Indy. But it hurt bad enough that the team had its IMSA driver Felipe Nasr prepared to get in the car if needed, as he wore a firesuit and had his helmet for the opening practice Friday.

The two-time INDYCAR champion Newgarden admitted he was not at his best and in a moment of blunt honesty, saying Nasr possibly could have performed better. But like most drivers, Newgarden badly wanted to race and if the team wanted him to race, he was going to put on the firesuit and go.

Newgarden said if the team told him they were putting Nasr in the car, he would have understood the decision.

"If they didn't want me to drive, I would have accepted that," he said. "If they wanted to win the race, you put Felipe in this car. ... He was ready to rock.

"I wasn't going to be sitting out [voluntarily]. But this is not my team, so you’ve got to be open to it."

Newgarden could thank his team’s pit strategy that gave him some track position and then his ability to just stay out of trouble. That wasn’t easy because his competitors knew he wasn’t 100 percent.

"It was like everybody got the memo out there to use me up is what it kind of felt like, whenever they could — I felt like I was in just defense mode most of the race," Newgarden said. "And certainly at the end I was just defense mode, just trying to protect the car more than anything."

"But the team did just an amazing job to let me get in it and drive, and they did a great race. The only reason we finished where we did is because what the team did. Great strategy, great pit stops."

[INDYCAR TAKEAWAYS: Alex Palou Wins Detroit Grand Prix Slugfest]

Having driven with a broken clavicle and wrist in 2016, Newgarden said the race Sunday was more difficult.

"This was worse," he said. "This is definitely a less advantageous situation. ... I knew it wasn't going to be good. And it wasn't. I don't want to speak on [the pain] too much.

"It is what it is."

With another race this weekend at World Wide Technology Raceway (Gateway), Newgarden hopes the oval (and a week of therapy/rest) won’t be as much of a pain.

"We were here, we were in the race, and now we can go to the next one. ... I'm mixed [on Gateway]," he said. "I'm excited, but I'm in two minds right now."

Heim Time, Finally

Corey Heim finally will have a full-time Cup ride in 2027 as 23XI Racing announced he will drive the No. 35 next season, replacing Riley Herbst.

The organization started the third car for Herbst but also with an eye on the highly touted Heim having an established team for his rookie season. Heim, the defending truck series champion, has patiently waited while under contract for the full-time Cup ride, running a mix of trucks and Cup this year. 

"I just always felt like this is the most prepared race team I’ve ever worked with, and it just felt like a home to me and everyone felt like they were very welcoming and motivated," Heim said in a news conference Saturday at Nashville.

"When I ran my first race with these guys, and their preparation was just top-notch. I felt confident going into that race and everyone was firing on all cylinders. So to me, it was an easy decision to proceed to work with them for the long term."

Preece's Appeal Denied

In a 2-1 decision, a NASCAR-appointed appeals panel upheld a 25-point, $50,000 penalty to Ryan Preece for intentionally wrecking Ty Gibbs at Texas.

Preece had indicated on his team radio earlier in the race that he would wreck Gibbs. Later in the race, Gibbs tried to cut in front of Preece and Preece didn’t lift — whether that was intentionally wrecking Gibbs or just not cutting him a break appears to be in the eye of the beholder.

The appeals panel stated: ""Although not a unanimous decision, NASCAR and RFK Racing presented competing interpretations of common data. Neither side clearly proved their point, but Mr. Preece’s comments showed that he chose to not cut his competitor any breaks."

Preece and RFK Racing won’t appeal the decision to the final appeals officer. Preece is two points out of a Chase spot with 12 races left in the regular season.

The burden of proof on an appeal from the rulebook: "The Appeals Panel must determine whether NASCAR has shown that it is more likely than not that a violation occurred based on the NASCAR Rule Book, special rules, bulletins or any applicable agreements to which NASCAR is a party cited in the penalty notice."

Preece tried to have some humor but make a point with this social post:

Ford: No O’Reilly

There are no Ford teams in the O’Reilly Series at the moment, so where does that put Ford’s development program for its NASCAR Cup teams?

Ford Racing global director Mark Rushbrook had this response when I asked him about it as he met with a group of reporters Saturday in Detroit:

"We’re looking at our driver development program more broadly these days. There’s a strong focus on sports car. We see that as a potential path. ... There is the possibility to certainly go straight from trucks to Cup as some drivers have done before."

Rushbrook said they would only get back into the O’Reilly Series if there is the right program. He said the Cup has relevance with the Mustang and the trucks have relevance with the F-150.

"Right now, none of our [Cup] teams are in O’Reilly," Rushbrook said. "It has to make sense for Ford and our teams in terms of a place to race."

In The News

--Conor Daly, fresh from his Indy 500 start, will be in the Kaulig Racing No. 25 "free agent" truck at Lucas Oil Raceway (Indianapolis Raceway Park) next month.

--Mick Schumacher was named the Indy 500 Rookie of the Year by a voting panel of media members following the Indy 500. He was the best-finishing rookie in the race with an 18th-place finish.

Social Spotlight

They Said It

"What an unbelievable day — starting first, going to last, and back to first." — Denny Hamlin following his NASCAR win at Nashville.

In Inside The Garage, Bob Pockrass takes us behind the scenes of the motorsports world the way only he can.