FOX debuts first IndyCar driver promo

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FOX Sports has made a strong impression with its first IndyCar Series driver promotion video which debuted on Sunday morning on social channels and aired on the FOX network in the third quarter of the NFC Wild Card Game featuring the Green Bay Packers and Philadelphia Eagles.

Featuring Josef Newgarden who drives for series owner Roger Penske, the two-time champion and two-time Indianapolis 500 winner was given a familiar promotional treatment by FOX Sports which used humor, brash takes, and one of its marquee stars in NFL analyst Tom Brady to present the Team Penske driver to a new network audience.

In an end-of-year visit to FOX Sports in Los Angeles, Newgarden, reigning IndyCar champion Alex Palou from Chip Ganassi Racing, and IndyCar's most popular driver, Arrow McLaren's Pato O'Ward, filmed promos that will be used throughout the season. According to FOX Sports, Newgarden, Palou, and O'Ward are the only drivers scheduled for the short-form features.

"IndyCar hit it out of the park," team owner Mike Shank of Meyer Shank Racing told RACER. "They got it right. They f****** got it right. I thought it was great. And now we've got Tom Brady involved in IndyCar."

After approximately 36 hours since Newgarden's ad appeared on FOX Sports' social media channels, it had generated over 1.2 million views at the @IndyCaronFOX account on X, and it was posted on the @NFLonFOX account, which boasts 4.8 million subscribers. FOX reports the Packers-Eagles game which aired the Newgarden spot. drew an average of 35.9 million viewers and peaked with 39.5 million.

Welcome to the fastest racing on earth. March 2 on @FOXTV.@IndyCar | @josefnewgarden | #INDYCARonFOXpic.twitter.com/yWFIOlDVa3

— INDYCAR on FOX (@IndyCarOnFOX) January 12, 2025

In a nod to the Indy 500 tradition where the winner drinks milk, the FOX promo included the unique practice in the clip, and for fans who recall the last IndyCar promo involving Newgarden and milk, FOX Sports succeeded in steering clear of the direction chosen for the bizarre 'Veins of Milk' feature that aired on ABC ahead of the 2014 Indy 500.

Speaking about the fetish-themed 'Veins promo during a podcast visit in 2021, Newgarden detailed the bondage-looking switcheroo that took place as a third-year IndyCar driver.

"This is the gift that keeps on giving," he said. "I think we’ve established that anyone that doesn’t know about it, you’re gonna learn about this gift…in 2014 I was approached by a very prominent network provider that said they were gonna turn me into a gladiator and make me a warrior and do this incredible intro for the Indy 500.

"Naturally, very excited. I loved Gladiator the movie itself. I thought it was really cool. You know, Russell Crowe looks good in that and I thought they could do that to me.

"Little did I know that the shots that I shot were not the only things that were being put in this piece. And there was a whole 'nother side of the story, a whole 'nother piece. And when it was cut together, it’s a majestic little tidbit that was put in the intro the 500 and there’s a lot of milk. There’s just a lot of fascination with the milk. The milk does things to people, including myself, and I don’t know…that’s really all I can say."

Starting an impressive eighth and locked into race-day activities with the Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing team, Newgarden was oblivious to the risqué nature of the ABC promo that was presented to the millions of viewers for IndyCar's largest event.

"Here’s the problem," he continued. "I didn’t see it before the race. I don’t think anyone saw it before the race, which is not the normal protocol. I’ve since learned in my time as a professional driver that you know generally approve things before that goes out on the biggest race of the year as an intro piece.

"So no, I never saw it. Had no idea. Don’t think I had a great 500 that that year (he finished 30th), and I just remember getting home at night and I think it was my family, they were like, 'I don’t know if you’ve seen the intro for the 500 but you need to watch it. You need to just understand what’s out there.

"And being told that is a little scary. I don’t know what I’m stepping into. I have no idea what’s out there and why you’re sounding like it’s very bad.

"I remember seeing it for the first time and being extremely confused at how that was put together. It was just so opposite of what I was told it was going to be, that it was head scratching. So, you know, it happened. It’s there. It’s the gift that keep on giving."