Josef Newgarden becomes first repeat Indy 500 winner in 22 years
Josef Newgarden put his cheating scandal behind him to become the first consecutive winner of the Indianapolis 500 since Helio Castroneves 22 years ago and give Roger Penske a record-extending 20th victory in the race.
The Tennessean passed Pato O’Ward on the final lap of Sunday’s rain-delayed race to become the first driver to win consecutive 500s since Castroneves did it for Penske in 2001 and 2002. And like last year, Newgarden retired his Chevrolet-powered car on the track and climbed through a hole in the fence to celebrate with fans in the stands.
“I love this audience. I always have to go into the crowd when we win here, I always do that,” Newgarden said.
O’Ward dropped his head over his handlebars in bitter disappointment. He was trying to become the first Mexican in 108 races to win the Indy 500. O’Ward finished sixth in his Indy 500 debut, then fourth and then second in 2022, when he was accused of not being aggressive enough to race Marcus Ericsson for the win. Last year he refused to back down and crashed while racing for the win.
On Sunday, as O’Ward bided his time in the closing laps – he and Newgarden traded the lead several times – he waited for the winning pass on the final lap. Newgarden regained the lead two turns later.
“It’s hard to put into words – we went back, we went forward, we went back, some people were riding like maniacs,” O’Ward said. “We had so many close race endings. So close again… I put that car through things I never thought it could do. It’s always heartbreak when you’re so close, especially when it’s not the first time and you don’t know how many chances you have.”
O’Ward has finished second behind Newgarden in six different races and was still struggling with his emotions an hour into the race. He said he had been battling the flu for the past week and had barely slept for the past five days.
“I’m doing well. It’s been a tough month, there’s so much to this race,” said O’Ward. “I think I’m a person who wears my heart on my sleeve. I don’t really hide anything. And it’s just, when you get that close, and it just doesn’t seem to happen, it’s just a lot of emotion.”
Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon finished third as the highest finishing Honda rider and sympathized with O’Ward. A six-time IndyCar champion and considered the greatest driver of his era, Dixon has only one victory in the Indy 500.
“It’s a privilege to race here, right? I’m in a situation where I’m lucky to have won, but Pato has come close a few times,” said Dixon. “It can go in cycles. As I’ve said many times, finishing second sucks. It’s terrible. You’d rather finish last, I think, almost at this spot and be out of the race early. He’ll be fine. He has plenty of time.”
The win was an incredible rebound for Newgarden, who was disqualified from his season-opening win in March last month because Team Penske had illegal push-to-pass software on their cars. Newgarden used the extra horsepower three times in the victory, and it took IndyCar almost six weeks to discover the Penske manipulation.
Newgarden was delighted with the win and put the push-to-pass scandal behind him.
“Absolutely, they can say whatever they want, I don’t even care anymore,” he said.
Rain delayed the start of the race by four hours and ruined Nascar star Kyle Larson’s chance to drive “The Double.” Due to the Indy delay, he missed the start of the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Although Larson rode well for most of the day, two rookie mistakes led to an 18th-place finish.
“I’m proud to have finished, but disappointed in myself,” said Larson, who has a two-year contract with Arrow McLaren and Hendrick Motorsports for Indy and could return in 2025.