despite The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City Fangirling saw him, Indycar driver Joseph Newgarden After appearing on the Bravo reality series, she was stunned.

Newgarden, 34, made a cameo in a November 2024 episode of the show, where Bronwyn Newport The cast was treated to a trip to an IndyCar race in Thermal, California, outside of Palm Springs. After meeting housewives on the Newgarden track, Newport calls her "handsome" and cast member Lisa Barlow "Take off the shirt!" he shouted.

The women even attempted to set up Newgarden with a single cast member Heather GayBut Newgarden was said to have married his wife, Ashley WelchAnd the couple shares a 2-year-old son the quota.

"I didn't even know what was going on," admitted in an exclusive interview with Newgarden our weekly “I'm serious, this is how this thing happens. We're on track, we're in this race. Someone pops into our engineering office and they're like, 'Hey, there's some people here, some guests. Could you please come out and say hi?'

Newgarden continued, “I came out and said hi to everyone. They're like, 'They're going to film you, so don't worry about it.' I'm like, 'Okay, no problem.' And then you don't hear anything about it for months, right? And then I get all these texts when the show is on. I don't know this show. I haven't seen it."

Driver "had no idea" his interactions with the housewives would be featured on the show, but called them "super sweet."

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

"You know what was funny? You'd get texts from husbands," Newgarden said. "It was all men. Every text message was from a guy and they were, 'I was watching it with my wife,' or, 'My wife saw this on TV.' And I noticed that you were there, it's a little quieter.' I got like 20 texts like that. I thought it was really funny."

Beyond that, his new quest housewife Fame, Newgarden is also the face of IndyCar's inaugural season at Fox, which officially begins on March 2. Newgarden is featured in a slick ad to promote the collaboration, which spotlights Newgarden's chiseled jawline and makes an appearance from Tom Brady.

For Newgarden, being in such a prominent spot for IndyCar is not something he takes lightly.

"I care about growing the sport, just being a competitor and loving IndyCar," he said. “I want to see it reach the highest heights. I remember when I was a kid, Indica was a household name in North America. It reaches beyond just America. It was a global game. I think it might go back to that point."

Newgarden added, “I care deeply about its presentation and how it is perceived. I think Fox is really going to capture the essence of IndyCar, the cool factor of it. Because it's always there. It's just a matter of exposure."

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