NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — For the second straight year Josef Newgarden made a daring pass on the final lap to win the Indianapolis 500, becoming just the sixth repeat winner in the history of the Great American Race.
You can watch Steve Layman’s full interview from Sunday Sports Central in the video player above.
Newgarden, who passed Marcus Ericsson on a final lap re-start last year to win the 107th edition of the 500, powered his no. 2 Chevy past Pato O’Ward and was able to keep his foot on the fuel for the final two turns to pull off the impressive repeat.
The Hendersonville native joins an exclusive club of drivers that have won the Indianapolis 500 in consecutive years. Only five men had done it previously; the last being Helio Castroneves in 2001-02.
Newgarden led 26 of the 200 laps in a race that featured 16 different leaders on a competitive day at the Brickyard.
It was a gratifying moment for the driver and Team Penske, which was stripped of their season-opening win at St. Petersburgh after the fact when an override on team’s push to pass mechanisms was discovered. Under an increased microscope, and without two key crew members, in Indianapolis, Team Penske delivered with the top three cars in qualification for the first time since 1988.
Then Newgarden backed up his victory from last year with another thrilling spring to the finish to pick up his 30th career IndyCar win.
