Josef Newgarden celebrates first Indy 500 win with leap into stands: 'I've always wanted to go into the crowd'

David Suggs

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Josef Newgarden celebrates first Indy 500 win with leap into stands: 'I've always wanted to go into the crowd' image

Josef Newgarden made sure his first Indy 500 win was one to remember.

The Team Penske star sat in second place on the final lap, firmly behind reigning champion Marcus Ericsson.

Then came the pass, a split-second move from the outside lane to surge past Ericsson. He then held off the No. 8 Honda at the line and captured IndyCar's ultimate prize.

Indy 500 wins tend to be followed up with quite the celebrations. Winning racers typically climb the chain-link fence by the flag stand, waving their limbs erratically as they come to grips with the significance of their accomplishment.

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That wasn't going to do for Newgarden, though. As he parked his No. 2 Team Penske Chevy on the cobbled finish line, Newgarden spurned the usual hysterics. Instead, he slipped through an opening in the fence and raced into the stands.

Check out the move here:

Newgarden was the most popular man in Indianapolis on this day. And that was reflected in the frenzied celebrations, replete with T-shirted fans swarming the ground that the Nashville native walked on.

Newgarden explained his decision post-race. He said he had always wanted to do something like that, explaining that the race-day atmosphere has always been too alluring for him to pass up a chance to embrace a victory with the fans.

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"I've always wanted to go into the crowd here at Indianapolis. I've seen people go up in the fence," Newgarden said. "I wanted to go through the fence. I wanted to celebrate with the people. I just thought it would be so cool to be in that energy, because I know what that energy is like on race day. This is a dream of mine. If this was ever going to happen, I wanted to do that."

Embrace it, he did. He capped his momentous day in style by enjoying the finest whole milk of his life in victory lane. All in a day's work.

David Suggs

David Suggs Photo

David Suggs is a content producer at The Sporting News. A long-suffering Everton, Wizards and Commanders fan, he has learned to get used to losing over the years. In his free time, he enjoys skateboarding (poorly), listening to the likes of Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye and D’Angelo, and penning short journal entries.