Mo(torsports)town: Newgarden, Penske, Cadillac F1 take center stage at auto show
Posted by Talbot Payne on January 18, 2025
Detroit — Detroiters took a break from Lions-mania Friday to celebrate Racing Day at the Detroit Auto Show.
While motorsports (and other sports, for that matter) can’t rival football for its economic value, Racing Day illustrated how central racing has become to Detroit’s automakers, economy and global standing.
Headlined by Team Penske superstar driver and two-time Indy 500 winner Josef Newgarden, the event showcased the breadth of Motown’s investment in racing, from June’s Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix, to Bloomfield Hills-based Team Penske’s global ambitions to win the NASCAR/Indy 500/Le Mans trifecta, to General Motors Co.’s elevation of its Cadillac brand to compete against Ferrari and Mercedes in Formula One.
“I haven’t been involved in (GM’s) F1 project, I’m focused 100% on IndyCar,” said the 34-year-old Newgarden in between giving show attendees hot laps in the Detroit GP pace car, the 655-horsepower Corvette E-Ray. Team Penske cars are powered by Chevy engines. “GM’s involvement is great globally for the brand and I’m excited to see them represent our country and represent as a manufacturer.”
Newgarden’s comments came as part of a whirlwind, two-day tour of Detroit to promote the launch of ticket sales for the May 30-June 1 Detroit Grand Prix — and to accept the coveted “Baby Borg” trophies for winning the Indy 500 along with his boss and legendary team owner, Roger Penske.
Cadillac’s acceptance into F1 in 2026 has set off a frenzy of rumors about the drivers the team will choose after promising at least one race jockey will be American. Speculation at IndyCar’s opening, 2025 Content Day in Indianapolis this week centered on Colton Herta (who drives for Andretti Global, which is managing the Cadillac effort). But Herta would not qualify for the so-called FIA Super License required to compete in F1 since he has not won an IndyCar championship Newgarden has won two.

Like Mario Andretti before him — the last American driver to win a F1 race in 1978 — Newgarden is the face of IndyCar, a hugely popular figure in the sport. That popularity was turbocharged last weekend when Fox, IndyCar’s new broadcast partner for all 17 races, debuted its first IndyCar ad on NFL Sunday on Jan. 12.
Newgarden starred in the funny, fast-paced spot and it instantly went viral with a staggering 39 million views. A line of fans queued up at the auto show’s indoor track Friday morning to ride shotgun with Newgarden (and four other race drivers).
First in line was Vimal Saigal, 45, of West Bloomfield, who arrived a half-hour before the show’s doors opened.
“It was a sweet opportunity to get a ride with a two-time Indy 500 winner,” he smiled after Newgarden took him for a quick spin in the ‘Vette. “Josef loves the car. He gave it a little gas and said if we were outdoors he really could have opened it up.”
F1 also brings views to Cadillac as it launches an ambitious international rebranding as an electric car brand. The world’s most prestigious race series has big ambitions of its own as it adopts 50-50 gas-electric hybrid power plants. Cadillac sees the global sport as the perfect vessel. It opened a showroom in downtown Paris last summer — the first of many planned in Europe.

Team Penske also has international ambitions. “The Captain,” as its 87-year-old chairman is affectionately known to his troops, has won everything there is to win in NASCAR, sportscars, and IndyCar — including 20 Indy 500s. Only the world’s greatest endurance race, the 24 Hours of Le Mans in France, has eluded him.
“What big race have we not won? The 24 Hours of Le Mans,” he said at The Henry Ford Museum after picking up his 20th Baby Borg. “With the relationship with Porsche, great drivers, and three cars this year, it’s up to us to make that happen.”
Team Penske’s hybrid-powered Porsche 963 GTP racers will also compete in Detroit streets as part of the June Grand Prix. The IMSA Weathertech Sportscar Championship will feature a who’s who of Detroit brands, including Team Penske and Cadillac racing for the front-running GTP class — and Chevrolet (Corvette) and Ford (Mustang) knocking heads in the production-based GT3 class.

From left, Howard Perkins of Ann Arbor and Sharon Jorgensen of Clinton Township view the No. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963 at the Detroit GP Racing Day exhibit at the Detroit Auto Show on Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025. Clarence Tabb Jr., The Detroit News
Detroit automakers say racing is key to their cultures — not just in proving track-to-production technologies, but also in recruiting top engineers.
F1’s premier Las Vegas street race has had a love-hate relationship with the city — shutting down The Strip and snarling city traffic. By contrast, the downtown Detroit GP has been embraced by the city since it relocated from Belle Isle two years ago.
“When it went back downtown, people felt like that was really where it was supposed to be,” Detroit GP President Michael Montri said in an interview. “In addition, we introduced the idea of having over 50% of the track open and free to the public. I was at (the Vegas) F1 race; it was totally different feel.”
Penske is part of Detroit’s fabric from the GP to bringing Super Bowl XL here in 2006. But the Indy is closest to his heart.

“In 1951, my Dad took me to the Indy 500 as a young kid,” he said. “Racing became a passion, and continues as a thread through our business.”
Newgarden puts it at the top of his priorities. “Our goals for 2025, as in every year, start with the Indy 500. Then we want to win the (IndyCar) championship.”
At The Henry Ford on Thursday night, the dynamic duo accepted their Baby Borg trophies at the museum’s “Driving America” exhibit — seven months after Newgarden crossed the finish line on Memorial Day and took a traditional swig of milk on the victory stand.

“Go Lions!” Newgarden exclaimed, cradling the trophy. “Winning back-to-back is beyond my wildest dreams.”
He has won it twice now in 13 starts — one of only five drivers to claim that distinction. His second win was one for the books — featuring a last lap pass to win (only the fourth time that’s happened).
“The pass you made to take the lead was amazing,” Penske told his ace. “The skill, the guts.”
Their trophies are miniature versions of one of sport’s most famous baubles, the Borg-Warner. The massive, sterling silver trophy stands over 5 feet tall, weighs 110 pounds and bears small busts of every driver to win the storied race.

“I’d like to thank my boss, Roger Penske,” Newgarden said at the ceremony. “He’s one of the titans of the industry, and one of the best men I know.”
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.