INDIANAPOLIS — Josef Newgarden walked into the DEX Imaging Media Center at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, talking about stocks.
No, I didn’t make that up.
“I am into finance,” he said. “I think it’s a great career path. It’s probably something I would be doing if I wasn’t driving cars. It’s kind of as simple as that. I won’t bore everybody, but I love that world. I think it’s super fun.”
As Newgarden says this, the video screens both in the deadline room and around the track play a highlight package of his Indianapolis 500 victory.
With one lap to go, Newgarden overtook Marcus Ericsson on the backstretch, using the same move Ericsson used to win in 2022.
And Newgarden knew exactly how he wanted to celebrate.
Go up in the stands.
He parked his car on the yard of bricks, exited his Team Penske Chevrolet and hopped through a crossover gate to celebrate with the fans.
“Yeah, I knew exactly where the gap was,” he said. “I’d been over there many, many years. I’ve seen that photo, whole spot, and really it’s just like an access point that you can crawl under. It looks like it’s closed but there’s a way to get through. I knew exactly where I was going at the end of this race.”
He wanted to go higher up, but thought better of it. So he hugged a couple of people and crawled back through the gap.
“But it was really cool,” he said. “You just can’t beat the Hoosier hospitality, the energy that people bring here. It is second to none when it comes to a sporting event.”
Meanwhile, his crew channels Helio Castroneves and hangs from the catch fence.
Visibly crying as his crew wheeled his car to victory lane, he climbed out and followed through the traditional victory lane celebrations, from the wreath to drinking the milk.
“The milk, I felt good about it,” he said. “It tasted so good. I love milk. I drink a lot of milk. So for me, the Indy 500 is kind of the greatest thing ever. Other people might not like to get milk after. That’s the choice I would have made, too. I love Louis Meyer. I love that he threw that up as a tradition. I’m a big milk guy.”
Compare this to his 2016 post-race interview, after he finished third. He was dejected, frustrated, and in despair.
Now, the newest Indianapolis 500 champion talked about how fascinated he is with finances.
FULL DISCLOSURE: I asked him what fascinates him about finances.
When Newgarden’s press conference wrapped up, he put the wreath back on and turned his focus to the rest of the season. As well as getting Roger Penske his 20th Indy 500 victory, next season.
“I put my hand on his shoulder in Victory Lane and said, ‘Now we got to get 20,'” he said. “He was the first one to go, ‘Absolutely.’ He didn’t even take a breath. He was ahead of me in the thought process, as you know.
“He’s eyes forward. It will be important. We need to come back. There’s still areas we can be better, so we’ll go and analyze after this weekend and see where we can improve. But we’ll come back ready to fight and get No. 20 for him.”
