Tag: Pato O’Ward

Q&A: Two-time Indy 500 winner Josef Newgarden reveals the moment he knew he’d win the 2024 race

“You never come into [the Indy 500] expecting to win it. It’s so tough to get right.”

Josef Newgarden went from being an elite IndyCar Series driver to the member of some exceptionally exclusive clubs after winning his second straight Indianapolis 500 on Sunday.

Following a four-hour weather delay to begin the race, the Team Penske driver started third, and Newgarden and his No. 2 team had a strong race. But at the end, the 33-year-old put on a racing masterclass in the final laps to take the checkered flag. For a peak Indy 500 finish, he out-dueled Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward in the last few times around Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s iconic 2.5-mile oval, pulling off a stunning last-lap pass for the victory.

Newgarden is now the first back-to-back Indy 500 champion since Hélio Castroneves did it in 2001 and 2002, and he’s also now the 11th two-time winner of The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.

For The Win spoke with Newgarden about his victory, the famous milk celebration afterward and the moment he knew he had the edge over O’Ward.

This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.

Congratulations. How are you? Have you slept?

I have not slept, and it was not from a lack of trying. I tried to get back early [Sunday] night. We celebrated a little bit with the team. We also got done very late [Sunday] with the four-hour delay. Everything after that gets pushed, and it’s a long process to go through with this event.

Team Penske driver Josef Newgarden (2) celebrates with his crew members, Sunday, May 26, 2024, after winning the 108th running of the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. (Alex Martin / Journal & Courier-USA TODAY NETWORK)

How did that four-hour delay affect you, if at all, ahead of the race?

It’s difficult to keep yourself mentally where you need to be. You wake up, and you’re expecting the intensity of race day and for the moment, and then you see this impending storm that’s barreling down on us, and you sort of already know that the race is gonna be put into jeopardy as far as the timeline.

I ended up taking a nap. I didn’t actually feel that great [Sunday] morning, and my son was scheduled for a nap. So I took one with him. I got about an hour and a half in, and then it stopped raining when I woke up and it seemed like we had an opening. … But just, yeah, roller coaster of emotions and energy and just trying to stay in the program for what we’re about to do. It’s a tough race to get right, and ultimately, it’s the only day that matters this month. We’re here for three weeks; this is the only day that matters.

You’re the sixth driver to have back-to-back Indy 500 wins, the first in more than 20 years. You’re the 11th two-time winner. You joined a lot of exclusive clubs. Has two-time Indy 500 winner sunk in yet?

It’s crazy. I let go of the fact, last year, that we were ever gonna win this race just because it’s so difficult to win. And to finally break through last year and then to follow it back up with this year, it’s pretty extraordinary. That’s the only way I can put it. It was unexpected. You never come into this race expecting to win it. It’s so tough to get right.

And just really proud of the team. They executed all day, and it’s a team sport, more so than people realize in racing. And every race we go to is a team effort. But nowhere else that we go to exemplifies the team like Indianapolis, and it really is about everyone doing their job perfectly on the day. And we were able to do that two times in a row, which is pretty cool.

Josef Newgarden, driver of the #2 Shell Powering Progress Team Penske, celebrates in Victory Circle after winning the 108th Running of the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on May 26, 2024 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images)

It looked like you very politely sipped from your bottle of milk instead of pouring it everywhere. Was that lessons learned from last year, or did this one just feel different and a different celebration followed?

Well, I wasn’t super polite. I still had a bunch dripping all over me, so it wasn’t very clean. But I think you celebrate however you want to. I don’t think there’s a wrong way to celebrate. But a lot of times people will pour the milk over their heads after they have a drink, and I did that last year. It was fun to do. It just seems like you want to do that for some reason. But having already gone through that and done that, I thought, well, we don’t need to do that again. I’m just gonna enjoy the milk this time and savor it. And so that’s what I tried to do.

May 26, 2024; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Indycar Series driver Josef Newgarden celebrates after winning the 108th running of the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Oh, you didn’t want to sit for six hours in a milk-covered suit?

Yeah, not this time. It definitely helps with the clean up. It wasn’t all over the car. Yeah, it’s a better process it seems like.

Was there a moment before you took the checkered flag where you thought, “Oh, my gosh, I’m going to win this thing again”?

Yeah, right entering Turn 4. When I passed Pato in Turn 3, I saw that I had the momentum on him, and I think it’s because of the nature of that pass. I passed him basically right at the apex is where I cleared him — the middle of the corner in [Turn] 3 — and I could see that he lost momentum because of it. And I felt really good about the fact that I had enough gap now to get to the line, and it’s gonna happen.

It’s crazy when it does. You almost can’t believe it when you’re headed to the line, and you see that it’s gonna be yours, it’s the team’s. But yeah, that was the moment. Definitely, entering Turn 4, I knew we had it.

This is only the fourth time the Indy 500 has been decided with a last-lap pass, and you’re responsible for the last two. Can you explain the strategy with that and why you’re able to make it work so well in such a high-pressured situation?

It’s definitely not my strategy — I promise you. It’s just the circumstance. The race last year was pretty different, but it was intense with a one-lap shootout. So if you were gonna win it, it needed to be a last-lap pass. There was really no choice. And then [Sunday], there was no game plan. I didn’t know how that was gonna ultimately shape up at the end, but I felt like, whatever happens, I’m gonna react to it, and I’m just gonna try and be ready for the moment.

Pato chose his point to go, and I just tried to basically rebuttal pretty quickly. And it ended up being the right place, right time, right moment. So it worked out for us. I think he’s a great champion too. He’s a great driver. He drove me with a lot of respect, and that’s ultimately what made the move possible. You can’t just drive with everyone like that. Pato is a really hard racer, but he races clean.

Can you expand a little bit on how if it were a different driver or you were raced differently, why you might not have been able to pull that off?

I don’t know that I would have done anything different. The likelihood of it being pulled off, I think, is higher with someone like Pato because he’s a fierce competitor, but he’s very clean. He’s gonna race you fairly, and that was on full display. He raced me incredibly fair, and I didn’t know if it was gonna work out with him. But I think the likelihood is much higher with someone like Pato.

He’s definitely someone I have a lot of respect for, and he deserved to win this race just as much as me. I think he drove a great day. His team did a great job, and it just fell our way. And sometimes that’s the way it rolls. It’s heartbreaking for him. I know it is. I would have been heartbroken on the other end of it, but that’s the Indy 500. That’s why it’s so gratifying when you get it right.

May 26, 2024; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Indycar Series driver Pato O’Ward (5) passes Josef Newgarden coming to the white flag during the 108th running of the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

When you and Pato and Alexander Rossi were trading for the lead and racing hard at the end, the broadcast described it as a “220-mile-an-hour game of chess.” Is that what it felt like?

Yeah, pretty much. We were all sizing each other up, trying to understand. No one was gaming it. We were all just trying to lead and show who’s the superior car at the very end. It was a 30-lap shootout for sure, and you’re just trying to study everybody on the fly. There’s not enough time to study everything and come up with an articulate plan for how it’s all gonna unfold, so you’re just reacting within the learnings that you have throughout those laps.

But it was definitely a chess fight just trying to see where you’re gonna be positioned and when you’re gonna make the move at the right time. There’s no perfect recipe. It’s really hard to understand what the right thing to do is. So that’s why I always say it’s reactionary because, in a lot of ways, it’s not planned. You can’t plan exactly how it’s gonna go, so you’re just trying to understand how it’s flowing and then react accordingly.

In these few hours since you won, what has been the best celebration moment for you?

Oh, it’s the traditions. When you win the race, you get to come back. You can celebrate differently — everyone does — but I like to go back to the Yard of Bricks, right on the start-finish line. I like to celebrate with the crowd, and then it’s everything that comes after that. It’s the milk, it’s the wreath, it’s the kiss from one of the [500 Festival] Princesses.

There’s so many little details that this race has accumulated over the years that have just built tradition, and it’s fun to go through that whole process. There’s nothing like it. There’s no other race that rivals it. So I just cherish all of that. That hour period right after the win is really cool here.

What was it was a different running in the stands this time? Did you know you were going do that or was it like, let’s run it back and do it again?

Well, I always wanted to do that [and did] last year. Ever since I’ve been here, I’ve been dreaming of going into the crowd. And I knew where to go, and I was maybe thinking of something different but I couldn’t come up with a good scenario. So I thought, “Well, I’m gonna do that again, but I’m gonna go into a different spot.”

I think I was a little filled with adrenaline, to be honest with you. It was so unexpected to win the race again that I didn’t really have a plan. I just wanted to get into the crowd as quickly as possible. So, yeah, still pretty nuts and cool to do.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 tag=1168941]

Pato O’Ward talks about heartbreaking finish in the 2024 Indianapolis 500

Pato O’Ward talks about his heartbreaking finish in the 2024 Indianapolis 500. Find out what O’Ward had to say about the final moments!

[autotag]Pato O’Ward[/autotag] thought he had finally accomplished his dream. In Turn 1 on the final lap of the 2024 Indianapolis 500, O’Ward passed Josef Newgarden for the lead, which is the turn where he lost the 2022 event. However, the Arrow McLaren driver’s dreams faded quickly after Newgarden pulled off a remarkable pass in Turn 3, winning his second straight Indy 500.

O’Ward climbed out of his No. 5 car in devastation. The 25-year-old driver was in tears as he thought the 2024 Indianapolis 500 was his to lose. Then, O’Ward talked to NBC Sports about the defeat and didn’t hold back his emotions.

“It’s hard to put it into words,” O’Ward said. “I’m proud of the work we did today; we recovered, we went back, we went forward, we went back. Some people were just driving like maniacs. We had so many near-race ends and were just so close again, so [expletive] close.”

“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.”

The words don’t do it justice. O’Ward was absolutely devastated, and everyone could see it after the race and during the interview. The Arrow McLaren driver was so close to winning the biggest racing event in the world. Instead, O’Ward has to settle for another second-place finish and wait for his turn at winning the Indianapolis 500.

[lawrence-related id=12810]

Indy 500 race report with O’Ward, Dixon, Rasmussen and Ferrucci

RACER’s Marshall Pruett recaps race day at the Indy 500 and interviews Pato O’Ward, Scott Dixon, Christian Rasmussen, Santino Ferrucci and Newgarden superfan Greg Dixon. Presented by RACER’s Indy 500 Trackside Report is presented by The American …

RACER’s Marshall Pruett recaps race day at the Indy 500 and interviews Pato O’Ward, Scott Dixon, Christian Rasmussen, Santino Ferrucci and Newgarden superfan Greg Dixon.

Presented by
RACER’s Indy 500 Trackside Report is presented by The American Legion. 90 Minutes to Save a Life – Sign up for FREE Suicide Prevention Training from American Legion and Columbia University Lighthouse Project at BeTheOne.org.

Heartbroken O’Ward cracking the Indy code but still licking wounds

Pato O’Ward is convinced that he couldn’t have done anything different in the final laps of Sunday’s Indianapolis 500, where he finished a heartbroken second after an extended battle with Josef Newgarden. “I think in a way I’ve cracked a code and I …

Pato O’Ward is convinced that he couldn’t have done anything different in the final laps of Sunday’s Indianapolis 500, where he finished a heartbroken second after an extended battle with Josef Newgarden.

“I think in a way I’ve cracked a code and I know how to position myself to win this race,” he said. “I know I can win this race, and I know that I know how to also protect a good result when maybe the win isn’t in the cards for me.

“But in a race like that where it was a constant emotional roller coaster, where things — things weren’t going perfectly smooth, they really weren’t, but I think the team did a fantastic job, gave me an opportunity and called a really good strategy to then get ourselves back to the front and made a very strong overcut which ultimately put us into contention there in the end.

“Then just trying to get into the top two cars the last few laps was like… it’s so hard to do with these cars. You’re just stuck there, and you have to risk so much. I think on both fronts, on Scott [McLaughlin] and Alex [Rossi], I was probably a higher probability of shunting the car than getting back in one piece. But that’s what you have to do, I guess. Today we’re second.”

O’Ward and Newgarden battled to the finish. Josh Tons/Motorsport Images

O’Ward’s demeanor immediately after the race stood in stark contrast to Newgarden’s jubilant charge into the grandstands — he remained with his car, head down, helmet on, for some time after coming to a stop, and was clearly emotional when interviewed for the TV broadcast.

“It was just very wet in there,” he said of keeping his helmet on. “I didn’t want to take it off just yet. Just wanted to calm down a little bit.

“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 you just can’t seem to get it right, it’s just a lot of emotion, I would say.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1408]

“I think in a few hours [the pain will subside]. I feel very proud of what I did today. I really do. It’s just after all that work and all those very risky kind of choices that I had to make in order to put myself in that position, it just stings to not be able to just finish it. But it is what it is.”

Outside of his final showdown with Newgarden, O’Ward’s highlight reel moment was an extraordinary save on Turn 2, where the in-car cameras caught a whirl of corrections as he fought to keep the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet off the wall.

“It wasn’t the only [save],” he said. “I don’t know if they televised the other ones.

“Man, if there was one time where I had to put so much trust in my skill, it was today. There were so many times where I was like, ‘I don’t know if this is going to work out.’

“I was so loose, so, so, so loose. It was just wiggling so much, moving around a lot. There were so many moments like that where I knew what to expect, but sometimes you just never know when it’s going to want to bite.

“That’s just what makes it so much more like… oh. Right? I risked so much today to put myself in contention to win this race, but that’s what you have to do whenever you’re stuck in line like that.

“I did it when it counted, and yeah… probably the most crazy 500 that I’ve had for sure, just in terms of issues that I was having within my car. So many moments.”

What Kyle Larson said after his first Indy 500 before flying to NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600

Kyle Larson wants to try the Indy 500 again…

No matter how it went down, Kyle Larson was always going to have a hectic Sunday in his Memorial Day Double attempt, racing in the Indianapolis 500 first before heading to Charlotte Motor Speedway for NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600.

With the 108th Indy 500 delayed about four hours because of inclement weather, Larson couldn’t make it to Charlotte in time for the start of the NASCAR race. So Justin Allgaier started behind the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, waiting for Larson to arrive.

After starting fifth following an impressive qualifying round last weekend, Larson finished 18th in his first Indy 500 behind the wheel of the No. 17 Arrow McLaren/Hendrick Chevrolet. His best lap speed was 223.584 miles per hour, and he led four laps.

Josef Newgarden became the sixth driver to win consecutive Indy 500s, edging out runner-up Pato O’Ward in a thrilling finish.

Larson told NBC after the Indy 500:

“I would definitely love to be back next year. I feel like I learned a lot throughout the race. I made a couple of mistakes early there with the restart. I’m not sure what I did wrong there, but I somehow got myself in a third, and then I felt like I did a really good job on the restarts and was able to learn a lot.

“And definitely feel good about knowing what I would need different for the balance, I think, coming back to help runs and stuff. And then, yeah, obviously I smoked a left-front [tire] or something into the green-flag stop and killed our opportunity. So proud to finish, but pretty upset myself. So I just could have executed a better race.”

After the interview, Larson took a helicopter to the airport and a jet to Charlotte. As Fox Sports’ Coca-Cola 600 broadcast noted, Larson landed in Charlotte at 9:19 p.m. ET and should be able to take over for Allgaier when he gets to the track, weather permitting.

UPDATE: Larson arrived at Charlotte Motor Speedway around 9:30 p.m. ET, but the race was paused for lightning.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 tag=1168941]

Indy 500 runner-up Pato O’Ward gave the most devastating interview after close loss

“So [expletive] close.”

In a thrilling and dramatic Indianapolis 500 finish, Josef Newgarden and Pato O’Ward duked it out on the final laps, trading the lead with each other. But Sunday’s 108th race ended, again, in absolute heartbreak for O’Ward, who finished second behind now-back-to-back winner Newgarden.

O’Ward has come close to winning The Greatest Spectacle in Racing in past years too, finishing second in 2022, fourth in 2021 and sixth in 2020.

And in the Arrow McLaren driver’s post-race interview, his devastation was painfully obvious, and he appeared to be holding back his emotions while speaking with NBC. Still, O’Ward gave a classy, yet heartbreaking interview as the 2024 Indy 500 runner-up.

“It’s hard to put it into words,” O’Ward said. “I’m proud of the work that we did today. We recovered, we went back, we went forward, we went back. Some people are just driving like maniacs. We had so many near-race-enders and just so close again. So [expletive] close.”

When asked about battling with Newgarden at the thrilling end of 200 laps, O’Ward continued:

“I put that car through things I never thought he was going to be able to do. sometimes I said, That’s it. And somehow I came out the other side of the corner. I just — oh, man. This is so painful when you put so much into it, and then two laps short, I guess. Two corners short. …

“[Indianapolis Motor Speedway] owes me nothing, but just, yeah. I’d much rather obviously finish the race rather than compared to last year [when he didn’t finish]. But it’s always a heartbreak whenever it just is so close, especially when it’s not the first time and you just don’t know how many opportunities like that you have.”

A crushing runner-up finish in the biggest race of the year is always tough, and you’ve gotta feel for O’Ward.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 tag=1168941]

Josef Newgarden jumped into the stands (again!) to celebrate with fans after close Indy 500 win

Josef Newgarden loves the fans at Indy 500!

Jumping into the stands at the Indy 500 is becoming a habit for Josef Newgarden!

On Sunday, Newgarden finished first in a thrilling Indy 500 race after overtaking Pato O’Ward on the final lap to take home the grand prize. The Team Penske driver is the first in 22 years to win back-to-back Indy 500 championships thanks to his spectacular move on the track.

And after his win, Newgarden replicated his move from last year by jumping into the stands with the fans to celebrate his hard-earned win! Here’s how the moment played out on the broadcast, with Newgarden excitedly jumping out of his car and sprinting to the stands.

What a moment for the 33-year-old driver!

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=421398338]

See Josef Newgarden’s thrilling last-lap pass vs. Pato O’Ward to win his second straight Indy 500

WHAT A FINISH!

For the first time in 22 years, an Indianapolis 500 champion successfully defended his title for back-to-back championships after Josef Newgarden put on a racing masterclass on the last laps of Sunday’s weather-delayed race.

The Team Penske driver won his second consecutive Indy 500 after a hard-fought battle against Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward. With about a dozen laps left in the 500-mile race, Newgarden was fighting 2016 Indy 500 winner Alexander Rossi for the lead, but by the final five laps, it was basically a two-man race between Newgarden and O’Ward.

With five laps left, O’Ward was in front. With four to go, it was Newgarden. O’Ward stole the lead with just one lap around Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and all he had to do was hang on.

Unfortunately for O’Ward, who’s had his heart broken multiple times at Indy, Newgarden pulled off a stunning last-lap move to take the lead and win the 2024 Indy 500.

It was a “220-mile-an-hour game of chess,” as NBC broadcaster James Hinchcliffe described it.

Newgarden joins an exclusive club with this victory as the 11th driver to be a two-time Indy 500 champion. The last time there was a back-to-back winner was 2001 and 2002 with now-four-time winner Hélio Castroneves.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 tag=1168941]

Indy 500 2024 post qualifying catch up with Pato O’Ward and Marcus Ericsson

Pato O’Ward and Marcus Ericsson join RACER’s Marshall Pruett after Saturday qualifying session at the 2024 Indianapolis 500. Presented by RACER’s Indy 500 Trackside Report is presented by The American Legion. 90 Minutes to Save a Life – Sign up for …

Pato O’Ward and Marcus Ericsson join RACER’s Marshall Pruett after Saturday qualifying session at the 2024 Indianapolis 500.

Presented by
RACER’s Indy 500 Trackside Report is presented by The American Legion. 90 Minutes to Save a Life – Sign up for FREE Suicide Prevention Training from American Legion and Columbia University Lighthouse Project at BeTheOne.org.

 

McLaren fights through a day of Indy 500 qualifying struggles

It was a truly strange day for the team led by Gavin Ward. Kyle Larson’s first qualifying attempt was interrupted when an “engine event” – a fire in the turbo plenum – robbed power from the No. 17 Arrow McLaren/Hendrick Chevy. Callum Ilott’s strong …

It was a truly strange day for the team led by Gavin Ward.

Kyle Larson’s first qualifying attempt was interrupted when an “engine event” — a fire in the turbo plenum — robbed power from the No. 17 Arrow McLaren/Hendrick Chevy. Callum Ilott’s strong qualifying performance was disqualified when the No. 6 Chevy’s left-rear wheel offset was found to be illegal in the post-run technical inspection. Pato O’Ward’s No. 5 Chevy was due to roll out for its first qualifying attempt, but the Arrow McLaren team decided it didn’t like something with the car and kept it in the garage for more investigative work.

Alexander Rossi rolled out and fired the No. 7 Chevy into the fourth-fastest speed in the heat of the day. O’Ward made it out and, as the team declared for the second time in two hours, another “engine event” hampered one of its cars and left him with the second slowest average of the day at that point in time. Larson, with a ready and recalibrated machine at his disposal, flew to sixth. Ilott followed in suboptimal conditions but salvaged a run that placed him 18th.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1408]

O’Ward completed his first proper run at 3:39 p.m. and flirted with being on the second row but lost speed on each of the four laps and fell to 19th.

For Arrow McLaren, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway was the worst kind of roller coaster on Saturday, but it all came good in the end as Rossi (fourth), Larson (sixth) and O’Ward (10th) will run for the pole Sunday in the Fast 12, while Ilott (15th) persevered and was rewarded.

But not before Ward held his breath for what felt like hours on end.

“We feel like we made hard work for ourselves today, but at the end of the day, we were confident that we would get some good [qualifying] runs and be where we think we deserved to be,” the Canadian told RACER. “And that’s where we ended up. You always want more. This team has resilience. It’s just fun to see a team of racers come together who love to do this. This is the coolest day in motor racing.

“I can safely say that, with all my all my experience with everything I’ve seen, I don’t think it’s any better than Saturday when there’s bumping at the Speedway, and it is a chance to get to do what we love to do. Yeah, it was a little stressful at times, but you know, you’ve just got to appreciate you get to do this for a living. I love it man.”