Josef Newgarden Wins Indianapolis 500 With Last-Lap Pass

Since his first race at Team Penske, Josef Newgarden has been one of the two best drivers in IndyCar. Two titles, 23 wins, no championship finish worse than fifth, and a mastery on every oval but Indianapolis were great, but the biggest prize in the series had eluded him. Newgarden had never even finished in the top three while racing here for Penske, and all of that speed seemed to translate everywhere but here. Today, starting from 17th, that finally changed.

The opening of the race looked nothing like the end. Over the first hundred laps, the leaders aggressively saved fuel. Newgarden and two Andretti drivers, Colton Herta and Kyle Kirkwood, used that time well; they saved fuel in traffic, making up a few spots on track and others with overcuts on their longer fuel stints. All three found themselves near the top ten when Dale Coyne Racing rookie Sting Ray Robb crashed, bringing out the day's first yellow just before the halfway mark. That's when the race turned: Leaders Alex Palou and Rinus VeeKay collided on pit lane, with VeeKay spinning while trying to avoid traffic exiting on cold tires and hitting Palou as he left the pole sitter's pit box. VeeKay was assessed a penalty, while Palou was forced to pit again for a front wing replacement.

With Palou and VeeKay out of the way, the day suddenly opened up for Chip Ganassi Racing's Marcus Ericsson, AJ Foyt Racing's Santino Ferrucci, and a McLaren trio of Pato O'Ward, Felix Rosenqvist, and Alexander Rossi. A fueling issue forced O'Ward to go off-cycle, stopping earlier than the rest while Ericsson, along with the group of Herta, Kirkwood, and Newgarden, moved into the leading group. Herta's race turned to disaster on the next scheduled stop, with Herta not seeing a hand sign from a crew member not to accelerate as teammate Romain Grosjean came into the pit lane ahead of him. Herta hit Grosjean, leading to a penalty and knocking another leading car out of contention.

Grosjean would crash laps later, dividing the second-to-last stint and opening the option for an alternate strategy. Pato O'Ward, whose fueling issues meant that he had no chance of saving fuel, led a group also including Herta down the pit lane. Most of the field made their final stop shortly after the restart, while O'Ward and a few others from that group stayed out to make up time at full throttle in clean air. O'Ward came out a shocking third after his stop, making sensational time while the leaders raced among themselves. A few laps later, he had the lead.

Then, with less than 15 laps to go, a massive crash. Felix Rosenqvist lost control in turn 1 while fighting among the leaders, spinning back into the short chute between 1 and 2. One of his tires caught one of Kyle Kirkwood's, severing the tire-securing tether on Kirkwood's car and flinging it past the grandstand into a parking lot near the track's golf course. Kirkwood then rolled into the outside wall, sliding down the track on his roll bar. Nobody was hurt in the accident, either in the crash or in the resulting debris field.

That brought out a red flag.

The first restart was waived off, as Pato O'Ward was said to be going too slow heading into turn 4. On the next lap, O'Ward's more conservative restart strategy led him to falling from first to third. Josef Newgarden took the lead for the first time all day on the move, while Ericsson took second. Two corners later, he saw an opening to make a move on Marcus Ericsson for second and make up for the moment in last year's race where he lifted out of an outside move for the lead on the same driver to win the race on the final lap. O'Ward instead made slight contact with Ericsson's car, spinning at full speed into the wall and bringing out a second red flag.

Newgarden led the next restart, with Ericsson and Santino Ferrucci behind. Both Ferrucci and Ericsson seemed poised to pass Newgarden into 1 when a crash occurred further back in the field. The timing of the yellow meant that Ericsson would lead Newgarden and Ferrucci, although Ferrucci seemed to lead the trio seconds after the caution. He briefly attempted to catch up to Ericsson in the turns approaching the crash scene on the front straight to seemingly contest his position, but the group was held to the originally-announced restart order. Another red flag, an unprecedented third, meant the race would end with a restart on the 200th and final lap.

On that one, the leader finally held on. Ericsson led Newgarden into 1 and successfully held on into 2, but Newgarden had a strong run and made a move on the back straight to take the lead into 3. Ferrucci and Palou fought for third well behind the leaders, a battle Ferrucci would win for his best career finish in any IndyCar race. Ericsson had a run coming off 4, but Newgarden threw a block all the way into the pit lane entry just as Ericsson did to win last year. The two-time IndyCar champion became an Indianapolis 500 winner.

In a unique celebration, Newgarden leapt into the stands. He ran toward a fan with a Penske flag, joining the entire section of grandstands in celebration before climbing the grandstand side of the fence as Helio Castroneves so famously has on the track side. Eventually, he was wrangled by track security and escorted to the podium for a more traditional winner's celebration. His legacy as one of IndyCar's best ever is secure, and soon it will be carved in metal alongside his face on the Borg-Warner Trophy.

From a championship perspective, the biggest results were those of O'Ward, Ericsson, and a surprising fourth-placed Alex Palou. O'Ward's crash plummets him out of the championship lead, while Palou and Ericsson benefit. Palou's recovery drive was just one of a few notable in the top ten; Scott Dixon, for instance, climbed to sixth after being forced to pit early with a vibration in the opening stint. Colton Herta found his way back to ninth after his pit lane penalty, salvaging a passable day for an often-winning driver who has struggled throughout the early races of the 2023 IndyCar season. Rinus VeeKay got back to tenth after a penalty of his own, a fine finish after a disappointing fade from contention.

The IndyCar championship continues with a new street race in downtown Detroit next weekend. For now, though, the focus is on here and now. Josef Newgarden has had a defining moment, the biggest win of a stellar career.

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