Has Newgarden won Indy 500 before?

American racing driver, Josef Newgarden has finally won his first Indy 500 after over a decade of struggling to achieve the milestone. He is the first American to win Indy since Alexander Ross in 2016.

He led five of the 200 laps and beat Ericsson in the fourth-closest finish in 107 years with a margin of victory of 0.974 seconds.

“I’m just so thankful to be here. I started out as a fan in the crowd, and this place is amazing, regardless of where you’re sitting. Everyone kept asking why I hadn’t won this race, and they look at you like you’re a failure if you haven’t won it. I knew I was capable. I knew I could,” he said after his amazing victory on Sunday, May 28, 2023.

“I think it wasn’t enough laps to go to do what we did. I don’t think it’s safe to go out of the pits on cold tires for a restart when half of the field is sort of still trying to get out on track when we go green. I don’t think it’s a right way to end the race so I can’t agree with that,” Ericsson also said.