Well, it looks like Josef Newgarden is a man of his word because it appears he’s got some new ink after making a little wager.
The two-time IndyCar Series champ and reigning Indianapolis 500 winner is a big supporter of his Team Penske teammates on the NASCAR side, so when Ryan Blaney remained in contention for the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series championship, Newgarden made a deal. He texted Blaney: “If you win this championship, I’m getting your face tattooed on my thigh.”
“Oh let’s [expletive] GO,” Blaney replied.
Well, not long after that, the No. 12 Team Penske driver won his first NASCAR championship. And afterward, Blaney told For The Win he was eager to see if Newgarden would follow through, hoping for a full-beard portrait and all.
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
And now, it appears that Newgarden did, in fact, get Blaney’s face and the NASCAR trophy tattooed on his leg. (It could be temporary, but we’re hoping it’s not.)
.@Blaney pic.twitter.com/1ZNMzSnFAZ
— Josef Newgarden (@josefnewgarden) December 1, 2023
Blaney previously explained that the tattoo had to be of him with a full beard, even though he’s looking mostly clean-shaven now:
“Full beard. We won the championship, full beard, full mustache. I want my face. I sent him a picture. I sent him a reference photo. I was like, “How about this to base it off of?” But yeah, you gotta go full beard. 1800s U.S. president is what he called me, so that’s what I want.”
That’s exactly what he got.