Josef Newgarden braves fear of heights atop the 1,250ft Empire State Building on his victory tour

Josef Newgarden is literally and figuratively on top of the world after his first win at the Indianapolis 500.

But that victory comes with some downsides, such as facing your fear of heights, as Newgarden did when he was photographed atop the Empire State Building.

As part of an annual tradition for the winners of “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing,” the Nashville native was photographed wearing his victory wreath while standing 1,300 feet above Midtown Manhattan.

He went on to Tweet about the experience, saying: ‘Do not like heights. As evidenced by my deadly grip on the rail.’

In a sequelNewgarden tweeted that he had an “amazing experience,” but added that it “tested my comfort level.”

Newgarden made the stop as part of his victory tour after winning the Indianapolis 500

Newgard, seen here with his wife, Ashley, with southern Manhattan behind them

Newgarden, the two-time IndyCar Series champion, won the Indy 500 for the first time in his long and decorated career.

With one lap to go at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday, Newgard passed last year’s winner and former F1 driver Marcus Ericsson to take the win.

He earned the right to all the traditions given to the victor, including the chance to kiss the stones and be doused with milk on the victory lane.

After 12 years in the sport, he said this win was one of the best of his career.

“Each year gets harder when you do it 12 years in a row. It just gets harder and harder to leave here heartbroken,” Newgarden told The Associated Press.

“You know, anyone who doesn’t win the race, I believe, ends up heartbroken, or at least I’ve left broken every year, and you have to build yourself back up real quick and keep going.

“So you know, I just took it out of the equation that it had to happen. It’s because maybe if it doesn’t, that’s okay.

My career would not be a failure. I don’t feel that way. And I don’t think anyone else should.”

Newgarden (R) passed last year’s winner, Marcus Ericsson (L), to take the black and white checkered flag

He was allowed to participate in all the traditions of the race – including a milk bath and kissing the stones

After reflecting on the win, he insisted that the IndyCar Championship was a more difficult task

Even after he finally got over his last demon for his prolific racing career, he still felt it was harder to win the season title.

“I’m still in the camp that the championship is tougher,” Newgarden admitted afterwards. “But I don’t know how you compare the two. You look at one standalone versus a championship, and putting together a championship is, I think, very, very difficult.

“You really see the best climbing to the top. You see the best team, the best pit stop performance. Consistently it adds up over a year, and it’s very hard to do that.

“This is the most difficult race in the world to win,” added Newgarden. ‘I stand by that. There’s no doubt.’