Josef Newgarden expresses his emotions after teaching 4th graders the sacred tradition of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway

The Indianapolis 500 is one of the three crown jewels of motorsports and is deemed the greatest spectacle of motor racing. The race has had 108 editions as of 2024. Josef Newgarden, who has won two back-to-back Indy 500 races, recently shared sacred traditions of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway with 4th graders.

Team Penske driver, Newgarden, often shares life updates, mostly centered around racing, with his 150K followers on Instagram. On April 21, he posted four stories on his handle, sharing glimpses of his visit to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the Education Program presented by Indiana University Health.

The 34-year-old shared the 'Kissing the Bricks' traditions with the children. The said historical practice debuted at the third running of NASCAR’s Brickyard 400 event in 1996 as a lighthearted bet between crew chief Todd Parrott and his driver, Dale Jarrett. Since then, it has been kept alive by Indy 500 winners.

The most successful American of the series visited the course as a part of the non-profit organisation, the 500 festival, which aims to celebrate the spirit of the Indy 500.

Image via Instagram (@josefnewgarden)

"Having fun @500festival today teaching 4th graders about kissing the bricks!", wrote Newgarden

The two-time IndyCar champion Josef Newgarden will be participating in the 109th running of the race, aiming to achieve a historic feat of three back-to-back wins.

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Conor Daly reacts boldly to Team Penske's oversight resulting in Josef Newgarden's belt issue

AUTO: JUL 23 IndyCar - Iowa Speedway Race 1and 2 Qualifications - Source: Getty

Team Penske driver Josef Newgarden's seat belt came undone at the 50th ACURA Grand Prix of Long Beach on April 13. This wasn't the first time a Team Penske driver suffered a seatbelt issue, the previous one being Will Power last year. Juncos Hollinger Racing driver Conor Daly reacted bluntly to the incident.

Two-time Indy 500 winner Newgarden was running in fifth when the undone seat belt issue pulled him down to last. Daly commented on the disastrous oversight by the team. (via Speed Street Podcast)

"What is Penske doing with their seat belts? I have no idea, I've never in my entire life, and I've been racing now a long time, a lot of races, I've never had my seat belts come undone," he said on his Speed Street podcast. [39:35 onwards]

"I don't know if they've got some wild lightweight seat belts or they're they're seated in a position where it's good for the center of gravity and the weight distribution to where they have to be in a certain spot, and it gets their arms (crossed up)."

Conor Daly, Josef Newgarden, along with the rest of the 25-driver grid, will be in action in two weeks time, on May 4.