Josef Newgarden to receive ‘live’ honors previously earned by legends like Helio Castrovenes, Emerson Fittilpadi, and Rick Mears

Josef Newgarden will be honored for his Indy 500 victory on Wednesday night, December 4 in Indianapolis. The Team Penske driver's face will be added to the prestigious Borg-Warner trophy beside his sterling silver cast face sculpted in 2023 to commemorate his first Indy 500 victory.

The Instagram pages of the Borg-Warner Trophy and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway made a collaboration post to make this special announcement. The caption read:

"Attention race fans: @JosefNewgarden’s face will officially take its place on the legendary Borg-Warner Trophy tomorrow! 🏆 Witness this historic unveiling live in downtown Indy - streaming on @indianapolismotorspeedway’s YouTube channel. Watch live via the link in our bio!"

Newgarden will join a long list of multiple Indy 500 winners on the trophy including Helio Castroneves (4 wins), Emerson Fittipaldi (2 wins), Rick Mears (4 wins), and more. As part of the custom, under his face on the trophy, will be his name, the year of victory, and the average speed of the race. His 2024 win at the Brickyard came breathtakingly as he overtook Arrow McLaren's Pato O'Ward in Turn 3 of the final lap, making the crowd rise.

The Borg-Warner trophy is the permanent winner's trophy of the Indy 500, the first iteration of which took place in 1911. It has become one of motorsport's most iconic trophies.

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Josef Newgarden's "unbelievable experience" getting his face sculpted on the Borg-Warner Trophy

2023 INDY 500 Winner Josef Newgarden at the Borg-Warner Trophy Ceremony - Source: Getty

Josef Newgarden's first Indy 500 victory in 2023 was straight out of a fairytale. Not many expected him to win the race starting in 17th position. However, with several crashes during the race, including three in the last 16 laps, Newgarden capitalized during the race restarts to gain positions.

After the third red flag restart, there was only one lap left. Newgarden overtook race leader Marcus Ericsson on the back straightaway to win the race by 0.0974 seconds in his 12th Indy 500 attempt. On that day, his perspective changed. The Indy 500 win meant more to him than his two championships.

In December, Newgarden was overjoyed when he was invited to have his face sculpted to become the 110th addition to the Borg-Warner trophy. He said (via BorgWarner):

"I was honored to sit down and work with the legendary William Behrends and have my face sculpted onto the Borg-Warner Trophy, representing Team Penske and the great state of Tennessee. This has been an unbelievable experience and I’m so grateful to forever be a part of this renowned trophy. I’d like to extend my sincerest thank you to BorgWarner and everyone at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Team Penske."

The No. 12 driver's face on the Borg-Warner trophy was unveiled at The Stutz Museum in Indianapolis. In 2024, Josef Newgarden finished eighth in the IndyCar standings with two wins and 401 points.