IndyCar’s Josef Newgarden Had No Idea Who The RHOSLC Cast Was During Cameo

Despite the The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City fangirling at the sight of him, IndyCar driver Joseph Newgarden was left perplexed after making an appearance on the Bravo reality series.

Newgarden, 34, made an appearance in a November 2024 episode of the series, in which Bronwyn Newport treated the cast to a trip to an IndyCar race in Thermal, Calif., outside Palm Springs. When Newgarden met the Housewives on the runway, Newport called him “the most handsome” member of the cast. Lisa Barlow shouted, “Take off your shirt!” »

The women even tried to create Newgarden with just one actor. Heather Gaybut it was said that Newgarden was married to his wife, Ashley Welchand the couple shares a 2-year-old son Kota.

“I didn’t even know what was going on,” Newgarden admitted in an exclusive interview with Us every week “I’m serious, that’s how it happens. We’re on the track, we’re at this race. Someone walks into our engineering office and says, “Hey, there are people here, there are guests. Can you please come out and say hello?’

Newgarden continued, “I came out and said hello to everyone. They say, “They’re going to film you, so don’t worry.” » I’m like, “Okay, no problem.” »And then you don’t hear anything about it for a few months, right? And then I get all these text messages when the show is on. I don’t know this show. I didn’t see it.

The driver had “no idea” that his interaction with the Housewives would be featured on the show, but called them “super nice.”

After the episode aired, Newgarden joked about the surprising demographic that responded the most to his Bravo debut.

“You know what was funny? You get text messages from your husbands,” Newgarden said. “They are all men. Each text message was from a man and he said, “I was watching with my wife” or, “My wife had it on TV and I noticed you were there.” It’s pretty cool. I received about 20 text messages like that. I thought it was really funny.

Apart from his new Housewives fame, Newgarden is also the face of IndyCar’s inaugural season on Fox, which officially begins March 2. Newgarden is featured in a flashy ad to promote the collaboration, which highlights Newgarden’s chiseled jawline and features an appearance from Tom Brady.

For Newgarden, taking such a prominent position for IndyCar is not something he takes lightly.

“I care about growing the sport, just by being a competitor and loving IndyCar,” he said. “I want to see him reach the highest heights possible. I remember when I was younger, IndyCar was a household name in North America. This went beyond just America. It was a global sport. I think it may come back to that point.

Newgarden added: “I care deeply about its representation and how it is perceived. I think Fox is really going to capture the essence of what IndyCar is, the cool side of it. Because it’s always been there. It’s just a matter of exposure.

Fox’s coverage of the 2025 IndyCar season begins with the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg in St. Petersburg, Florida on Sunday, March 2.