New reason for Josef Newgarden's costly belt issue at Long Beach emerges
Josef Newgarden suffered a seatbelt issue at IndyCar's Long Beach Grand Prix on Sunday (April 13), which saw him go from being in Top 5 contention to finishing dead last. While it was earlier thought to be some kind of mistake from Team Penske's side, a new revelation from IndyCar insider Marshall Pruett clears the team.
Newgarden started the race in P15 after yet another disappointing performance in qualifying. His No. 2 Team Penske Chevrolet had the race pace for a solid finish, with teammates Will Power and Scott McLaughlin eventually finishing in the Top 10.
However, his seatbelt came loose after his third pit stop on lap 60, forcing another pit stop on the next lap. Because it was a safety issue, he had no choice but to fix it before racing again. Josef Newgarden had to come into the pits for a fifth time on lap 80 of 90. By then, the race leaders had lapped him twice.
IndyCar insider Marshall Pruett recently shared his conversation with Ron Ruzewski, Managing Director of Team Penske, when he learned about how the seatbelt could've come loose because of Newgarden's fault during the race.
"I rang Ron Ruzewski who runs the team and he said it was unrelated to previous issues. The belief is Josef managed to hit and twist the buckle in the Turn 11 hairpin with his elbow, which popped all of the belts loose," Pruett wrote on the RACER Mailbag.
By 'previous issues,' Pruet was referring to Team Penske driver Will Power and former driver AJ Allmendinger suffering the same issue in 2024 and 2014, respectively.
This P27 finish was Josef Newgarden's worst of the season. He began the 2025 season with a podium at the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg and a P13 finish at the Thermal Club.
Will Power sympathizes with Josef Newgarden for 'race-ruining' seatbelt issue at Long Beach
Before Josef Newgarden, it was his Team Penske teammate Will Power whose 2024 season finale at Nashville was ruined by a loose seatbelt. Power's situation was more dire because he was in championship contention against Alex Palou and Colton Herta. The 2018 Indy 500 winner lost out on a third potential IndyCar title because of the issue.
After the Long Beach Grand Prix this past weekend, Power, who finished in the Top 5, felt sorry for Newgarden falling victim to the same belt problem.
"Well, I got to see what it was, but man, it is just a race ruiner," he said via Frontstretch on YouTube [2:08 onwards]. "We got to really look into that stuff and see how that happened. It cost us a shot at the championship in Nashville... and it cost Josef [Newgarden] a very big result today."
After the first three races of 2025, Team Penske is nowhere to be seen in the hunt for a championship. The trio of Scott McLaughlin, Will Power, and Josef Newgarden stand eighth, ninth, and 10th in the championship, with drivers from four different teams ahead of them.