Josef Newgarden finally captured a long-awaited Indianapolis 500 win on Sunday and gave team owner Roger Penske his 19th and first since buying Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Newgarden clinched victory after he made an audacious pass of defending race winner Marcus Ericsson during a frantic 2.5-mile sprint to the finish.
After the race was red-flagged for the third time in the closing laps, Newgarden was moved from fourth to second by race control. The two-time IndyCar champion, who had been 0 for 11 in the Indy 500, took advantage of the decision by slingshotting around Ericsson on the restart and then holding him off through the last two turns for the win.
Newgarden brought his Chevrolet-powered car to a stop on the front stretch, jumped out and found a hole in the fence, diving into a crowd estimated at more than 300,000 to celebrate. Then he climbed the fence to mimic longtime Team Penske driver and four-time Indy 500 winner Helio Castroneves.
“I’m just so thankful to be here. I started out as a fan in the crowd, and this place is amazing, regardless of where you’re sitting,” Newgarden said. “Everyone kept asking why I hadn’t won this race, and they look at you like you’re a failure if you haven’t won it. I knew I was capable. I knew I could.”
Ericsson finished second for Chip Ganassi Racing. He was followed by Santino Ferrucci, who gave 88-year-old AJ Foyt his team’s best finish in the race he won four times as a driver since Kenny Bräck won it in 1999.
“I think it was an unfair and dangerous way to end the race,” Ericsson said. “I think I did everything right behind the wheel.”
Pole sitter Alex Palou, the race favorite, was fourth for Ganassi and Alexander Rossi rounded out the top five for Arrow McLaren.
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