Josef Newgarden solidified his place among the immortals by becoming just the sixth driver to win the Indianapolis 500 in consecutive years. After edging Pato O’Ward in a scintillating race, Newgarden said “I knew we could win this race again. There’s just no better way to win this race than that. I’ve got to give it up to Pato, as well. He’s an incredibly clean driver. It takes two people to make that work.”

The intense battle saw Newgarden and O’Ward swapping the lead four times over the final eight laps. O’Ward briefly took the lead on the final lap before Newgarden made a daring pass. “It’s hard to put it into words,” O’Ward said. “So close again. I put that car through things I never thought it was going to be able to do. Sometimes I said, ‘Aw, that’s it,’ and somehow I came out of the other side of the corner. Oh, man: It’s just so painful when you put so much into it, and then two corners short.”

For Newgarden, the victory was even sweeter after his team overcame adversity earlier in the month. “They can say whatever they want after this point; I don’t care anymore,” he stated. “I’m just so proud of this team. They crushed it. Crushed it. Luke, Tim – they’re not here today, 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.”

With his back-to-back Indy 500 triumphs, Newgarden joined elite company and cemented his legacy as one of the all-time greats at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.