NASCAR’s Josef Newgarden Gets Thigh Tattoo of Teammate’s Face

NASCAR driver Josef Newgarden has followed through on a daring bet he made with his Team Penske teammate Ryan Blaney. The NTT Indycar Series phenom had his thigh emblazoned with a tattoo showcasing Blaney’s bearded face, per USA Today Sports. The fresh ink was to Blaney’s win at the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series Championship on November 5.

Newgarden, who won this year’s Indianapolis 500, posted a photo to X (formerly Twitter) showing off his new ink. He was standing next to No. 12 himself, who, in contrast to his tattoo counterpart, was cleanly shaven.

.@Blaney pic.twitter.com/1ZNMzSnFAZ

— Josef Newgarden (@josefnewgarden) December 1, 2023

The day after Blaney won the crown, he posted a screenshot of a text conversation between himself and Newgarden. “If you win this championship, I’m getting your face tattooed on my thigh,” Newgarden’s message reads.

“Let’s talk numbers,” Blaney captioned the image. “What’s the diameter of this portrait going to be?”

“No one said anything about size, Mr. President,” Newgarden shot back in a reply post.

Lets talk numbers, what’s the diameter of this portrait of an 1800s president going to be? https://t.co/Uitoidm0jx

— Ryan Blaney (@Blaney) November 6, 2023

Blaney specified to USA Today that even though he may have shaved since the championship, he expected to have the full 19th-century look in Newgarden’s tattoo. “Full beard. We won the championship, full beard, full mustache. I want my face,” the racer specified. “You gotta go full beard. 1800s U.S. president is what he called me, so that’s what I want.”

NASCAR noted that the tattoo was temporary, though neither driver has confirmed whether or not this is true. Even if Newgarden’s ink isn’t permanent, he’ll still be walking around with his teammate’s face on his thigh for about a week. We couldn’t imagine a finer tribute.