Newgarden Prevails in Second Consecutive Indy 500 Win; “Two Corners Short” for O’Ward

Josef Newgarden takes the checkered flag in the 108th running of the Indianapolis 500 (Photo: Wayne Riegle | The Podium Finish)

SPEEDWAY, Ind. — The torrential mid-day downpour may have delayed the start of the 108th Indianapolis 500, but it did not dampen Josef Newgarden’s spirit in pursuit of his second consecutive win in the Greatest Spectacle in Racing. 

Newgarden wheeled his No. 2 Shell Powering Progress Team Penske Chevrolet to the team’s 20th Indy 500 victory by a slim .3417-second margin over Pato O’Ward’s No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. Newgarden became the first repeat Indianapolis 500 winner since Penske alum Helio Castroneves won in 2001 and 2002.

After a software violation in St. Petersburg, the No. 2 crew came to Indianapolis for the Month of May missing a couple of important team members, including team president and strategist Tim Cindric and race engineer Luke Mason. Despite not having these crucial voices in the garage, teammates Newgarden, Will Power and Scott McLaughlin swept the front row in qualifying for the second time in INDYCAR history, with McLaughlin setting a new four-lap average pole speed record of 234.220 miles per hour. 

The momentum continued for the Team Penske Chevrolets on Sunday as the green flag waved following a four-hour rain delay. McLaughlin shot to the lead with Power and Newgarden following closely behind. Chaos immediately ensued towards the back of the field as Tom Blomqvist ran too deep into Turn 1, hitting the apex of the corner and spinning out, collecting 2022 Indy 500 winner Marcus Ericsson and Pietro Fittipaldi.

This was not the only caution of the day, however. Two more cautions plagued the first 30 laps alone; a surprise to the crowd since last year’s race went green for 90 laps before the first yellow flag waved. 

Newgarden and McLaughlin continued to hit their marks throughout the 200-lap event, giving up the lead only a handful of times when pit strategies differed and the Arrow McLaren Chevrolets of O’Ward and Alexander Rossi raced into the picture. Unfortunately, the dream of a 1-2-3 Penske sweep was dashed when Power spun out and crashed on Lap 147, ending his day. Despite the team’s setback, Newgarden’s incredibly fast race car persisted and showed up to battle O’Ward for the lead in the closing laps.

Both drivers passed each other multiple times, with the final pass occurring on the last lap, when Newgarden pushed his car to the limit and overtook O’Ward in Turn 3 to seize the checkered flag in his 30th INDYCAR series victory.

Just like last year, Newgarden hopped the fence and celebrated with the fans in the grandstands. “Unbelievable. I love this crowd,” Newgarden said as he struggled to catch his breath. “Honestly, that wore me out more than the race.

“I’m just proud of this team. They crushed it, I mean crushed it. They came here with the fastest cars. We worked our tails off. Team Chevy brought it.”

Josef Newgarden won his second consecutive Indianapolis 500, becoming the first driver to do so since Helio Castroneves in 2001 and 2002. (Photo: Wayne Riegle | The Podium Finish)

On the opposite end of the emotional spectrum, O’Ward parked his car in his pit stall, heartbroken. He had to take some time to process the overwhelming disappointment of another runner-up finish before exiting the cockpit, with his head in his hands. 

“Oh man, it’s just so painful when you put so much into it and then two laps short, I guess. Or two corners short,” O’Ward said in his post-race interview with tears in his eyes. “We had so many near-race enders. So close again. So (expletive) close.

“It’s always a heartbreak whenever you’re so close, especially when it’s not the first time. You just don’t know how many opportunities like that you may have.”

Pato O’Ward raced his heart out in Sunday’s Indianapolis 500, only to finish as a runner-up once again. (Photo: Katherine Miller | The Podium Finish)

Scott Dixon’s No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, Alexander Rossi’s No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet and Alex Palou’s No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda rounded out the top five. Even though the cameras mainly focused on the tight battle for the lead in the last few laps, the top five drivers were only separated by a total of 1.5079 seconds at the start/finish line. 

Next week, the NTT INDYCAR Series hits the streets of the Motor City in Detroit, Michigan. Race coverage will begin on Sunday, June 2nd at 12:00 PM on USA Network and Peacock.