Josef Newgarden wins Indianapolis 500

INDIANAPOLIS – The Indianapolis 500 is the one race that Josef Newgarden was so eager to win.

It’s actually the only race that matters to his boss.

Eleven straight years coming empty had become personal for Newgarden, a two-time IndyCar series champion.

However, he finally made his breakthrough on Sunday, winning the Indy 500 to extend team owner Roger Penske’s record to 19 wins and give him his first win in the race since Penske agreed to buy Indianapolis Motor Speedway in late 2019. Newgarden did it with a daring pass from last year’s race winner, Marcus Ericsson, during a frenetic 4km sprint to the finish.

“We’ve struggled here for the last three or four years and we have a lot of questions to answer every day, after every qualifying weekend,” said Newgarden. “We had to come out and put on a brave face. It’s just not an easy place to succeed. I don’t necessarily agree that if you don’t win the 500, your career is a failure.”

He continued: “But I think a lot of people look at this race and this championship through that lens. The 500 stands on its own and if you can’t get one, the career is really a bust.”

After the race was red-flagged for the third time in the last 16 laps, race control moved Newgard from fourth to second after a running order review at the time the yellow flag was waved.

He took advantage of his improved position to swing around Ericsson on the restart.

After the race, Newgarden brought his Chevrolet-powered car to a stop on the front stretch, jumped out and found a gap in the fence, and dove into part of the crowd, estimated at over 300,000, to celebrate. Next, Newgarden climbed the fence to emulate Helio Castroneves, longtime Team Penske driver and four-time Indy 500 winner.

Newgarden, a 32-year-old from Nashville, is the first American to win the Indy 500 since Alexander Rossi in 2016. He led five of the 200 laps and beat Ericsson in the fourth-closest finish in 107 years by a margin of 0. 0974 seconds.

Ericsson immediately criticized IndyCar’s decision to hold a one-lap shootout to the checkered flag. He felt that the race should have ended cautiously, with him the winner, rather than wave the green flag out of the pit lane on the first lap.

“I think it wasn’t enough laps to do what we did,” said Ericsson. “I don’t think it’s safe to go out of the pits for a restart with cold tires when half the field is still trying to get on track when we go green. I cannot agree with that.”

Newgarden and Ericsson were followed by Santino Ferrucci, who gave 88-year-old AJ Foyt, nicknamed Super Tex, his team’s best finish since Kenny Brack hit victory lane in 1999.

Alex Palou, the pole sitter and race favorite for Chip Ganassi Racing, finished fourth after recovering from a crash on the pit lane, and Rossi was fifth on what was otherwise a disappointing day for the Arrow McLaren team.

What was on track to become the fastest Indy 500 in history ended with three red flags in the final 16 laps.

The first was a crash involving Felix Rosenqvist and Kyle Kirkwood, who were at the front of the leading pack. Kirkwood’s car crashed into the catch fence upside down and began a terrifying, spark-filled ride through the short chute.

One of Kirkwood’s wheels sailed over the railing and narrowly cleared the packed grandstand. The steering wheel did not injure anyone, but damaged a parked car, Indianapolis Motor Speedway spokesman Alex Damron wrote in an email. One person was treated at the field care center and released due to other debris from the crash, the spokesman added.

On the restart, Pato O’Ward – who had already canceled a restart for setting too slow a pace – was shuffled from first to third as Newgarden rocketed into the lead. O’Ward and Ericsson then entered turn 3 side-by-side and touched the wheels, and O’Ward slid into the wall and out of the race in another disappointment for Arrow McLaren.

Agustín Canapino made a 360 spin behind him, breaking a brake line. He was unable to stop and collided with O’Ward’s car.

Suddenly the race got its second red flag with six laps to go.

Last year’s race was red-flagged with five to go, as Ericsson led O’Ward to the finish. Ericsson held him off the rest of the way and many criticized O’Ward for not making a more aggressive move for the win.

Newgard didn’t make the same mistake with Ericsson before him.

As Newgarden crossed the stone yard, Penske and his entire board of directors jumped up and down to celebrate on a raised platform at the start-finish line. And for a moment, Penske, the 86-year-old team owner, looked like a child full of joy.

“The last two laps I forgot I was the track owner and said, ‘Let’s go for it,'” said Penske, who completed a victory lap around the speedway with Newgarden in an open Chevy Camaro.

Penske’s parking lot within the speedway has been marked with only 18 for the past four years. Newgard was still fulfilling his post-race media obligations when the spot was changed to 19.

Livia Albeck-Ripka reporting contributed.