Josef Newgarden in the No.2 Shell Team Penske Chevrolet says that he knew they could win the Indianapolis 500 again which is exactly what the team did.

The Tennessee native became the first NTT INDYCAR SERIES driver to win back to back Indianapolis 500 races since Helio Castroneves did it with Team Penske in 2002.

The win also marked s milestone 20th Indianapolis 500 victory for Roger Penske.

Speaking following the race Josef Newgarden who started the race from third said:

“I knew we could win this race again; it was just a matter of getting it right. There’s no better way to win a race than that. I got to give it up to Pato (O’Ward) as well. He’s an incredibly clean driver. It takes two people to make that work. It’s not just a good pass, it’s also someone that you’re working with that’s incredibly clean. I have to give hat’s off to Pato (O’Ward). He could have easily won this race, too, but it just fell our way. I’m just so proud of everybody. I’m proud of this whole team. Everyone that partners with us, Team Chevy. Just a great day.”

“We just had an incredible car. I got just a little out of position at Lap 150; we were restarting eighth. I don’t think I got that sequencing correct. I really thought I went too soon, and then tried to back up and then put us in a hole. JD came over the radio and said you’re going to have to win this the old fashion way, I can’t help you. There’s not going to be stops, not going to fuel. So, I just went for it. I said alright, the car was good enough. You guys have done your job, let me drive to the front. They backed me the entire way. You can’t win this race without a great car. This is the best car in the field, I think, today. Hat’s off to the team.”

Mark Reuss, President of General Motors said:

“Congratulations to Josef and the No. 2 Penske team on winning back-to-back at the Indianapolis 500. What an incredible accomplishment. I’m so happy to see Roger get his 20th win here. Chevrolet engineering, our partners at Ilmor and race teams worked hard in the off-season to prepare for the 2024 Indy 500. They delivered power, speed and performance all month long.”

 

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