By David Morgan, Associate Editor
MADISON, Ill. – Josef Newgarden was seemingly out for a Sunday night drive in the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 at World Wide Technology Raceway until it all came to a crashing halt.
As Newgarden’s No. 2 Team Penske Chevrolet paced the field just past the halfway mark of the 260-lap race, holding a more than six-second lead over his closest challenger, danger awaited him just ahead in the form of the No. 45 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda of Louis Foster.
After getting up into the marbles and making contact with the Turn 4 wall, breaking a toe link on his car, Foster was unable to keep control on the frontstretch, spinning directly into the path of the rapidly approaching machine of Newgarden.
As a result, Newgarden collided with Foster’s car nearly broadside in a massive impact, sending Newgarden’s Chevrolet up and over onto the inside SAFER barrier before skidding down the track upside down in a shower of sparks.
Fortunately, the AMR Safety Team was able to get to Newgarden’s car in rapid fashion, working in tandem to flip his car back over right side up. Newgarden would then climb from his machine, seemingly no worse for wear, with Foster also climbing from his mangled Honda unhurt.
Between the time of Foster’s impact with the outside wall and the collision with Newgarden, some six seconds had elapsed, leaving Newgarden to have to try and evade Foster when he hurtled off Turn 4, but it was too late and the collision between the two was all but inevitable.
MASSIVE impact involving Louis Foster and Josef Newgarden 😳 pic.twitter.com/L0Y2M4VCLh
— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) June 16, 2025
The night was shaping up to be a turnaround point for Newgarden and Penske, still winless on the season, but at a track in which Newgarden has won in five of the last six races. Prior to the crash, Newgarden had led 20 laps after starting in fifth place.
After being seen and released at the INDYCAR Medical Unit, Newgarden declined to speak to the media about the incident.
For his part of the crash, Foster explained once he got too far out of the groove and into the outside wall, he was just a passenger along for the ride at that point.
“We were running the high line all race. The 45 Desnuda Honda was really, really quick. One, maybe two laps too long running the high line,” said Foster. “I got up behind [Santino] Ferrucci and got a bit of a wiggle, I had wiggles all race there. But just got a bit too high onto the dark stuff…you can see it right there, I have a wiggle and just got into the marbles and was a complete passenger.
“At that point, I bent my toe link and just couldn’t stop my car from spinning there. Obviously, a pretty scary impact with myself and Josef. Glad he’s OK.
“Really, really annoying because we were fast. We were really fast. Just a shame it had to end that way. Marbles caught me out. But anyway.”
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