On Sunday, at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Team Penske driver Josef Newgarden clinched victory in the Indianapolis 500. The race, marked by heavy rain and lightning delays, was filled with excitement and incidents. Newgarden held off a late challenge from Pato O’Ward from Mexico to secure his second consecutive win, making it the first back-to-back victory in 22 years.
Scott Dixon finished third place in the competition, which had been delayed for four hours due to severe weather conditions involving heavy rain and lightning. The patient crowd was rewarded for waiting out the storm delay with a thrilling end to the race. O’Ward made a strong push towards the finish line, briefly taking the lead on the final lap in turn one. However, Newgarden fought back and managed to pass him going into turn three, securing Penske’s 20th victory at the Indy 500.
Newgarden finished just 0.341 seconds ahead of O’Ward from Arrow McLaren and celebrated by jumping into the crowd. Reflecting on the race, Newgarden commended O’Ward for his clean driving and expressed his pride in the team’s performance. The last driver to achieve back-to-back wins at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway was Helio Castroneves from Brazil in 2001 and 2002.
O’Ward was disappointed after coming so close yet again but emphasized that he would not give up his dream of winning at Indy 500 despite challenges faced during competition such as Alexander Rossi from Arrow McLaren finishing fourth place followed by Spaniard Alex Palou from Chip Ganassi Racing in fifth place. Scott McLaughlin from Penske who started in pole position finished sixth place.
Throughout the 500 miles, there were numerous changes of lead with a total of 87 times with different race leaders showcasing intense competition at Indy Motor Speedway
