Newgarden relied on Penske Perfection during repeat win at Indy
Josef Newgarden. Photo by Michael C. Johnson
By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio
Penske Perfection was on full display during Sunday’s 108th running of the Indianapolis 500, as Josef Newgarden and his “backup brain trust” celebrated the team’s record-extending 20th victory at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Josef Newgarden takes the checkered flag to win the 2024 Indianapolis 500. Photo by Michael C. Johnson
Newgarden’s bold-and-brilliant, last-lap pass around Pato O’Ward through Turn 3 of the 2.5-mile oval allowed him to become the first repeat Indy 500 champion since Team Penske’s Helio Castroneves in 2001-2002.
“Yeah, hard to know if it’s going to work,” Newgarden said of the dramatic winning moment, completed in twilight conditions after a midday rainstorm delayed the scheduled start by four hours. “From our side, we left it all on the track. There was nothing that we were going to come home and regret. I definitely felt that way in the final (laps). I’m like, ‘We’re going to put it all on the line.’ You have to if you want to win Indy. That’s just the way it’s got to be, especially nowadays.”
A two-time NTT IndyCar Series champion for team-owner Roger Penske, Newgarden drove his No. 2 Shell Powering Progress Team Penske Chevrolet to victory by 0.3417-seconds over O’Ward. Newgarden and O’Ward, driver of the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, swapped the lead four times during the final eight of 200 laps.
Pato O’Ward leads Josef Newgarden on the white-flag lap during the 2024 Indianapolis 500. Photo by Michael C. Johnson
And while Newgarden celebrated with fans in the frontstretch grandstands for the second consecutive year, O’Ward hunkered down in his car’s cockpit to catch his breath, and reflect.
“I really thought that I did everything in my power to get it done,” said O’Ward, a 25-year-old native of Mexico with family ties to San Antonio. “I’m fine. It’s been a tough month. So much goes into this race. I think I’m somebody that wears my heart on my sleeve. I don’t really hide anything. It’s just when you’ve come so close and it just doesn’t seem to…you just can’t seem to get it right, it’s just a lot of emotion, I would say.”
Newgarden’s victory re-emphasized the incredible depth of talent at Team Penske during a “Month of May” that began with team-owner Penske, 87, suspending Team Penske President/Newgarden strategist Tim Cindric and engineer Luke Mason. Cindric and Mason accepted blame after the team’s three cars _ driven by Newgarden, 2018 Indy 500 champion Will Power and Indy 500 pole-sitter Scott McLaughlin _ were found to have violated INDYCAR’s push-to-pass rules in the season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.
Josef Newgarden celebrates after winning the 2024 Indianapolis 500. Photo by Michael C. Johnson
Newgarden saw his win on the Florida street-circuit and all championship points erased by sanctioning body INDYCAR, and his integrity among his peers questioned.
“Hmm, lessons,” said Newgarden, the 33-year-old native of Tennessee measuring his words. “In an odd way, I think it’s a very…I’m grateful for the experience. I think it’s good. It’s been a very illuminating experience to me, more from the outside world.
“I know what I take from that personally. I know what it showed me, which I’m thankful for. I think it shows you things that maybe weren’t fully clear but are very clear now. I think it’s an experience that it’s got to either break you or tough-you-up, and for me, that’s all I’ll say about it. We’ve been moving forward. We’ve never worked together more as a group than this weekend, and I thought that was difficult to do.”
Jonathan Diuguid and Raul Prados substituted for Cindric and Mason, respectively, this month in what proved a seamless transition.
Josef Newgarden celebrates with his crew after winning the 2024 Indianapolis 500. Photo by Michael C. Johnson
“I’m just so proud of this team. They crushed it. Crushed it!” Newgarden said. “Luke, Tim _ they’re not here, but they’re a huge part of this. I’m just so proud for everybody at Team Penske. That’s the way I wanted to win the thing, right there.
“This is the most tight-knit team I’ve ever seen. It’s been a pleasure to be a part of it. Everybody works so well together. It’s fun to show up here. It’s fun to go to work. I’ve never had it better than this month. Excited to go forward.”
Strategist Diuguid, who joined Team Penske in 2007, has worked in the organization’s INDYCAR, IMSA, and ALMS programs. Sunday, he added a line as Indy 500 winner to his resume.
“To be able to come in _ and this isn’t my fulltime job, as they say _ to be able to come in and represent the team and the amount of work that went into showing up,” Diuguid said. “I think I’ve done Indy probably over 15 times and this is the smoothest, easiest weekend as far as preparation. We showed the cars were fast out-of-the-box, and when you’re in a situation like that you can start to focus on the details.
Josef Newgarden kisses the bricks after winning the 2024 Indianapolis 500. Photo by Michael C. Johnson
“The details are what got it done. I was talking to Raul after the race and I turned to him and said, ‘Raul, I don’t think we made any mistakes today.’ Might have made a 50/50 decision one way or the other but there was no mistakes, and that’s what it takes to be in a position like we were at the end.”
Seven caution periods marred the first 117 laps, as the race struggled to find a rhythm. But the intensity ratcheted-up in a second half that produced 32 lead-changes in the last 70 laps.
Rookie Kyffin Simpson of the Cayman Islands was the last driver on an alternate pit sequence to surrender the lead with his final stop on Lap 184. That set the stage for a four-driver scramble for victory among Newgarden, O’Ward, 2016 Indy 500 champion Alexander Rossi of Arrow McLaren and 2008 Indy 500 winner Scott Dixon of Chip Ganassi Racing over the closing 15 laps.
2024 Indianapolis 500. Photo by Michael C. Johnson
Newgarden took the lead on Lap 193, with O’Ward climbing to second. A series of slingshot passes between the two drivers occurred over the last seven laps. O’Ward passed Newgarden on the outside just before the start/finish line as the white flag flew for the final lap. O’Ward stayed out front in Turns 1 and 2 ahead and down the back straightaway. But Newgarden tucked-in behind O’Ward’s car and made a daring pass outside of O’Ward in Turn 3 to take the lead for good.
“I think on the final restart there was an alternate strategy that came into play and we were cycled back in line,” Diuguid said. “I think I said to Josef, ‘You’re going to have to do it the old-fashioned way. Can’t really help you out anymore.’ The old-fashioned way is passing on-track, and that’s what we did. There were some amazing restarts in addition to the pass on the outside of Turn 3 that everyone on the timing stand stopped looking at the television screens because we didn’t know if we were going to come out the other side.
“I think the confidence that Josef had in the car allows him to do that.”
2024 Indianapolis 500. Photo by Michael C. Johnson
Newgarden added he also had confidence because he was dicing with O’Ward. “I don’t think it works unless you’re racing someone like Pato,” Newgarden said. “It’s not that Pato didn’t race me hard, he just raced me clean. That move doesn’t work unless you’re racing someone like that. It just doesn’t. It’s very easy that that doesn’t work out.
“So I think he’s a tremendous champion. He could have easily won the race himself. He was very capable of that with his team. For us, it worked out. He drove me excellently. He’s one of the best competitors we have in this field. He’s a really nice guy. Every time I talk to Pato we have great conversations, and I think we have a lot of respect for each other.
“It’s tough to not win it. I can’t say anything to ease that for him. When you don’t win, it hurts. I’ve left here 11 times prior with a broken heart, so I know the feeling. Whether you’re close or you’re far, it’s a broken heart. I can’t ease that.
“But he’s a champion. I think he knows it. I definitely have a lot of respect for him.”
2024 Indianapolis 500. Photo by Michael C. Johnson
Recall that O’Ward finished second to Marcus Ericsson, then of Chip Ganassi Racing, in the 2022 Indy 500. O’Ward thanked Arrow McLaren CEO Zak Brown and Team Manager Gavin Ward for giving himself, Rossi, Englishman Callum Ilott and Indy 500 rookie Kyle Larson the tools to fight for the win.
“As for my race, it was just such a stressful race,” O’Ward said. “We were up-and-down, up-and-down. The car definitely wasn’t the easiest to drive at certain moments. I just tried to keep pace as much of the race as I could. I feel like I did. Really prepared to open the doors to ultimately have a chance to win at the end of this, and yeah, it’s just heartbreaking. Two corners short.
“I’m glad that we finished the race. Congratulations to Josef, two in a row. But yeah, I put that car in certain points where I didn’t know if I was going to come out the other end and in one piece because I just want to win this race so freaking bad. It owes me nothing, so every time we come back, there’s always a smile on my face to have another opportunity.”
2024 Indianapolis 500. Photo by Michael C. Johnson
O’Ward added that Newgarden truly is a great competitor _ witness that winning pass in Turn 3. “I’ve raced wheel-to-wheel with him so many times,” Pato said. “He’s obviously one of the stars in the series, one of the strong ones. I knew it was going to be a fight until the end.
“I think everybody’s path (at IMS) is different. Some guys obviously get it done very early-on and then never again, and some guys take a long time and get it. But I don’t think any of these guys have been basically in contention five years in a row and not gotten the win. That’s what I’m going through.
“I think probably the closest one that’s been through that is probably Helio. I know he has four (Indy 500 wins), but he’s been second a lot of times. So, I think it’s a good thing that I’m finishing second. Maybe I get a couple in a row in the future. I don’t know. Maybe I don’t get any.
“This place, like I said, it doesn’t owe me anything. It’s just very cool to be a part of this event.”
2024 Indianapolis 500. Photo by Michael C. Johnson
Dixon, the six-time NTT IndyCar Series champion from New Zealand, finished third in the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, followed by Rossi in the No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet.
Two-time/reigning series champion Alex Palou of Spain completed the top-five in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. Only 1.5079-seconds separated the top-five cars despite the last 46 laps running caution-free.
Christian Rasmussen of Denmark was the top-finishing rookie, 12th in the No. 33 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet. Larson, the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion, finished 18th in the No. 17 Hendrickcars.com Arrow McLaren Chevrolet in his highly-anticipated first 500 start, his result hampered by a pit road speeding penalty.
2024 Indianapolis 500. Photo by Michael C. Johnson
Newgarden’s win marked only the fourth time in Indy 500 history that the race was decided by a last-lap pass. Newgarden also achieved the feat in 2023 by passing Sweden’s Ericsson on Lap 200. This race saw an event-record 18 of 33 starters leading at least one lap. NTT P1 Award winner McLaughlin, a native of New Zealand, led the most laps, 64, before finishing sixth in the No. 3 Pennzoil “Yellow Submarine” Team Penske Chevrolet. There also were 649 on-track passes _ most in the 500 since 2017.
Numbers-wide, Newgarden was reminded that his 30th career series victory delivered “The Captain” his record-extending 20th Indy 500 win.
“They’re very important (numbers). I think they’re important to Roger,” said Newgarden, whose contract with Team Penske expires at season’s end. “It’s one of the things that I love about him is his vision to always be moving forward. I think some people, maybe it doesn’t work for them, but you don’t have the success and the integrity of someone like Roger Penske without that vision.
“I’ve seen it personally over the last eight years. I have a tremendous amount of respect for him, and the numbers matter. I know how bad he wanted 20 and I can tell you I really wanted the second one, and this entire group wanted to win.”
Newgarden exchanged a brief word with Penske once his car had been lifted into Victory Circle.
2024 Indianapolis 500. Photo by Michael C. Johnson
“He was the same RP,” Newgarden said. “He’s not changed. He was just _ look, he was happy for the group. When Roger sees everybody execute, there’s nothing that makes him happier because that’s what we preach. We try and work together as a team.
“It is one team. He genuinely does not care which car wins the race, and I think oddly enough that’s how a lot of individuals feel. Of course, selfishly, we want to win for each car. But when Roger sees us execute as a team and a car win the race and to do it through execution, he’s very proud.
“I’m going to tell you, he’s going to be on to No. 21 now. Everybody thought he wants 20 and that’s his number. But like he’s going to be, ‘OK, how do we get to 21?’ He might even say something silly like we got to get to 25 or something.
“I just love it. I love his mentality. We’re always moving forward, and that’s what I felt.”
Next NTT IndyCar Series race is the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear on Sunday, June 2, on the Streets of Downtown Motown. The race will be broadcast live on USA Network, Peacock and the INDYCAR Radio Network starting at noon (EDT).
The Indianapolis 500 purse record has been shattered for a third consecutive year, with two-time race-winner Josef Newgarden of Team Penske earning $4.288-million from a total of $18,456,000.
After record-breaking payouts in 2022 and 2023, the 108th running was capped by the largest purse and largest winner’s payout in history of “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.” The year’s average payout for NTT IndyCar Series drivers was $543,000, exceeding last year’s average of $500,600.
Josef Newgarden – Indianapolis 500 Day After Photo Shoot – (Photo by Joe Skibinski | IMS Photo)
In 2023, the Indianapolis 500 purse was $17,021,500, and the winner’s payout was $3.666-million. In 2022, the Indianapolis 500 purse was $16,000,200, and winner Marcus Ericsson, then of Chip Ganassi Racing, earned $3.1-million. Prior to 2022, the largest Indy 500 purse was $14.4-million for the 2008 Indianapolis 500, won by Scott Dixon of CGR.
Second-place finisher Pato O’Ward of Arrow McLaren earned $1,050,500, exceeding the take-home prize for Ericsson, last year’s second-place finisher.
“The Indianapolis 500 is the greatest race in the world, and this record-breaking purse is reflective of just how monumental competing in and winning at Indy is for these drivers,” Penske Entertainment President and CEO Mark Miles said. “Despite weather challenges, the ‘Month of May’ featured packed grandstands and intense on-track action. Presenting this purse is the ideal end-cap to an epic month.”
Kyle Larson, the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion, earned Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year honors. Larson, driving for Arrow McLaren with Rick Hendrick, made his first attempt to complete “The Double,” by racing in both the Indy 500 presented by Gainbridge and Cup Series Coca-Cola 600. Larson earned a $50,000 bonus for ROY honors, adding to a total take-home prize of $178,000.
The Indianapolis 500 purse consists of Indianapolis Motor Speedway and NTT IndyCar Series awards, plus other designated and special awards. Purse awards are presented annually at the Victory Celebration, which was held at the JW Marriott in downtown Indianapolis Monday night.
Newgarden’s purse included a $440,000 rollover bonus from BorgWarner for earning back-to-back wins on the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval. The jackpot increases by $20,000 each year but has only been awarded one other time since its inception, when native Brazilian Helio Castroneves won the Indy 500 in both 2001 and 2002 for Team Penske.
Results of the 108th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge NTT IndyCar Series event on the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway, with order of finish, starting position in parentheses, driver, engine, laps completed and reason out (if any):
- (3) Josef Newgarden, Chevrolet, 200, Running
2. (8) Pato O’Ward, Chevrolet, 200, Running
3. (21) Scott Dixon, Honda, 200, Running
4. (4) Alexander Rossi, Chevrolet, 200, Running
5. (14) Alex Palou, Honda, 200, Running
6. (1) Scott McLaughlin, Chevrolet, 200, Running
7. (11) Kyle Kirkwood, Honda, 200, Running
8. (6) Santino Ferrucci, Chevrolet, 200, Running
9. (7) Rinus VeeKay, Chevrolet, 200, Running
10. (29) Conor Daly, Chevrolet, 200, Running
11. (15) Callum Ilott, Chevrolet, 200, Running
12. (24) Christian Rasmussen, Chevrolet, 200, Running
13. (28) Christian Lundgaard, Honda, 200, Running
14. (10) Takuma Sato, Honda, 200, Running
15. (33) Graham Rahal, Honda, 200, Running
16. (23) Sting Ray Robb, Chevrolet, 200, Running
17. (17) Ed Carpenter, Chevrolet, 200, Running
18. (5) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 200, Running
19. (26) Romain Grosjean, Chevrolet, 200, Running
20. (20) Helio Castroneves, Honda, 200, Running
21. (18) Kyffin Simpson, Honda, 200, Running
22. (22) Agustin Canapino, Chevrolet, 199, Running
23. (13) Colton Herta, Honda, 170, Contact
24. (2) Will Power, Chevrolet, 145, Contact
25. (19) Marco Andretti, Honda, 113, Contact
26. (12) Ryan Hunter-Reay, Chevrolet, 106, Contact
27. (9) Felix Rosenqvist, Honda, 55, Mechanical
28. (27) Linus Lundqvist, Honda, 27, Contact
29. (31) Katherine Legge, Honda, 22, Mechanical
30. (16) Marcus Armstrong, Honda, 6, Mechanical
31. (25) Tom Blomqvist, Honda, 0, Contact
32. (30) Pietro Fittipaldi, Honda, 0, Contact
33. (32) Marcus Ericsson, Honda, 0, Contact
Race Statistics
Winner’s average speed: 167.763 mph
Time of Race: 2:58:49.4079
Margin of victory: 0.3417-seconds
Cautions: 8 for 46 laps
Lead changes: 49 among 18 drivers
Lap Leaders
McLaughlin, Scott 1 – 23
Robb, Sting Ray 24 – 26
Daly, Conor 27 – 31
Robb, Sting Ray 32
McLaughlin, Scott 33 – 34
O’Ward, Pato 35
Daly, Conor 36 – 42
McLaughlin, Scott 43 – 48
Rasmussen, Christian 49
McLaughlin, Scott 50 – 57
Daly, Conor 58 – 64
Robb, Sting Ray 65 – 76
McLaughlin, Scott 77 – 87
VeeKay, Rinus 88 – 91
Rahal, Graham 92
Lundgaard, Christian 93
VeeKay, Rinus 94 – 96
Lundgaard, Christian 97 – 99
Newgarden, Josef 100 – 112
McLaughlin, Scott 113 – 125
Newgarden, Josef 126 – 129
McLaughlin, Scott 130
Rossi, Alexander 131
Ferrucci, Santino 132
Dixon, Scott 133 – 134
O’Ward, Pato 135 – 136
Dixon, Scott 137 – 140
Daly, Conor 141 – 143
Robb, Sting Ray 144 – 150
Dixon, Scott 151 – 154
O’Ward, Pato 155
Rossi, Alexander 156 – 159
O’Ward, Pato 160
Rossi, Alexander 161 – 163
O’Ward, Pato 164
Rossi, Alexander 165
O’Ward, Pato 166 – 169
Dixon, Scott 170 – 171
Palou, Alex 172
VeeKay, Rinus 173
Kirkwood, Kyle 174 – 175
Ilott, Callum 176
Carpenter, Ed 177 – 179
Larson, Kyle 180 – 183
Simpson, Kyffin 184 – 186
Rossi, Alexander 187
Newgarden, Josef 188 – 190
Rossi, Alexander 191 – 192
Newgarden, Josef 193 – 194
O’Ward, Pato 195
Newgarden, Josef 196 – 198
O’Ward, Pato 199
Newgarden, Josef 200
Point Standings _ 1, Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing, 183; 2, Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing, 163; 3, Will Power, Team Penske, 157; 4, Pato O’Ward, Arrow McLaren, 134; 5, Colton Herta, Andretti Global, 134; 6, Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske, 131; 7, Josef Newgarden, Team Penske, 122; 8, Alexander Rossi, Arrow McLaren, 120; 9, Felix Rosenqvist, Meyer Shank Racing, 116; 10, Kyle Kirkwood, Andretti Global, 115;
11, Christian Lundgaard, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, 102; 12, Santino Ferrucci, A.J. Foyt Racing, 95; 13, Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, 87; 14, Rinus VeeKay, Ed Carpenter Racing, 87; 15, Marcus Armstrong, Chip Ganassi Racing, 81; 16, Romain Grosjean, Juncos Hollinger Racing, 79; 17, Linus Lundqvist, Chip Ganassi Racing, 73; 18, Kyffin Simpson, Chip Ganassi Racing, 70; 19, Marcus Ericsson, Andretti Global, 68; 20, Augustin Canapino, Juncos Hollinger Racing, 56;
21, Christian Rasmussen, Ed Carpenter Racing, 51; 22, Pietro Fittipaldi, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, 50; 23, Jack Harvey, Dale Coyne Racing, 47; 24, Tom Blomqvist, Meyer Shank Racing, 46; 25, Sting Ray Robb, A.J. Foyt Racing, 46; 26, Callum Ilott, Arrow McLaren, 39; 27, Theo Pourchaire, Arrow McLaren, 38; 28, Conor Daly, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing-Cusick Motorsports, 21; 29, Kyle Larson, Hendrickcars.com Arrow McLaren, 21; 30, Takuma Sato, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, 19;
31, Ed Carpenter, Ed Carpenter Racing, 14; 32, Luca Ghiotto, Dale Coyne Racing, 14; 33, Helio Castroneves, Meyer Shank Racing, 10; 34, Colin Braun, Dale Coyne Racing, 10; 35, Nolan Siegel, Dale Coyne Racing, 10; 36, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing-Cusick Motorsports, 6; 37, Marco Andretti, Andretti Herta with Marco & Curb Agajanian, 5; 38, Katherine Legge, Dale Coyne Racing with Rick Ware Racing, 5.
