Josef Newgarden wins Indianapolis 500 with a thrilling last-lap pass

Newgarden is the first driver since Helio Castroneves in 2001 and 2002 to win the Indianapolis 500 in back-to-back years. 

"Unbelievable," Newgarden said, standing on the frontstretch post-race. "I love this crowd. Just so proud of the team, they crushed it. They worked their tails off. I'm just so proud of everybody at Team Penske."

Newgarden celebrated with the over 300K fans in attendance at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, many of whom waited out a rain delay that delayed the start of the race for over four hours. Safe to say, the 108th running of the Indianapolis 500 was well worth the wait.

A jubilant Newgarden celebrated even more in victory lane, with the reality of his accomplishment finally sinking in. 

"I knew we could win this race again," Newgarden said, wiping sweat off his forehead. "It's just a matter of getting it right. There's no better way to win a race than that. I gotta give it up to Pato (O'Ward) as well. He's an incredibly clean driver. He could've easily won this race too."

The camera then cut from Newgarden's celebration to a shot of a clearly heartbroken O'Ward, with the agony of defeat clearly etched across his face. 

The final quarter of the race consisted of daring move after daring move, with O'Ward, Newgarden, 2008 winner Scott Dixon and 2016 winner Alexander Rossi swapping the lead back and forth. O'Ward will once more walk away heartbroken, as Sunday marks his second runner-up finish in the Indianapolis 500. 

Dixon finished third, while Rossi and Alex Palou rounded out the top-five. Four-time Indy 500 winner Helio Castroneves faded to 20th in the final stages, while NASCAR champion and Indianapolis 500 rookie Kyle Larson finished 18th after a pit road penalty. 

Pole sitter Scott McLaughlin finished sixth after leading the most laps of any driver in the race. The 108th Indianapolis 500 set a race record for leaders, with 16 drivers leading at least one lap.