Celebrating with milk at the end of the Indy 500 is the goal of every driver. Now, Josef Newgarden can say he’s not only done it twice—but back-to-back!
After winning the 108th Running of the Indianapolis 500, Newgarden joined Team Penske in Victory Circle and was handed a bottle of whole milk by 2024 Veteran Milk Presenter Alex Neuenschwander, co-owner of Neu-Hope Dairy in Bluffton. The milk celebration in Victory Circle is presented by American Dairy Association Indiana.
A drink for the history books! 🥛 #WinnersDrinkMilk | #Indy500 pic.twitter.com/a6iJIVtH9D
— Indianapolis Motor Speedway (@IMS) May 27, 2024
Newgarden started third on the outside of Row 1 and led a total of 26 laps throughout the race.
Newgarden drove his No. 2 Shell Powering Progress Team Penske Chevrolet to the victory by 0.3417 of a second over the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet of Pato O’Ward, as they swapped the lead four times over the last eight laps.
“I knew we could win this race again,” Newgarden said. “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 repeat victory delivered a $440,000 bonus to Newgarden from BorgWarner, the sponsor of the winner’s Borg-Warner Trophy.
Newgarden is now only the sixth person to win the Indianapolis 500 in back-to-back years:
- 1939-40: Wilbur Shaw
- 1947-48: Mauri Rose
- 1953-54: Bill Vukovich
- 1970-71: Al Unser, Sr.
- 2001-02: Helio Castroneves
- 2023-24: Josef Newgarden
In addition, Newgarden is now the 11th driver to win the Indianapolis 500 twice and one of only 21 drivers to have won “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” more than once.
The race was delayed by four hours due to a midday rainstorm over the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
For his first victory last year, Newgarden was handed the victory bottle of milk by Indiana Dairy producer Kerry Estes. The two had met previously as Newgarden was invited to Estes’ farm near Fountaintown in Shelby County to shoot a promotional video on behalf of American Dairy Association Indiana.
Click BELOW to watch Josef Newgarden, winner of the 107th and 108th Running of the Indianapolis 500, as a guest on Kerry Estes’ dairy farm on behalf of American Dairy Association Indiana in 2022.
Sources: Indianapolis Motor Speedway, American Dairy Association Indiana.
