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Josef Newgarden

 Casey Gower/Nashville Post

The 12th time proved the charm for Hendersonville’s Josef Newgarden when it came to winning one of the nation’s oldest and most prestigious road races at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Newgarden, 32, used a thrilling finish to capture the 107th running of the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday, edging Sweden’s Marcus Ericsson on the final lap of the race.

It marked just the third time in the race’s history that a driver used a pass on the last lap to claim victory.

Newgarden’s margin of victory — just .0974 of a second ahead of Ericsson — was the fourth-closest finish in Indianapolis 500 history.

“I was just trying to stay locked in,” Newgarden told media afterward. “I was emotional the last 10 laps because I knew we were in a position to fight for this win at the end. I knew it wasn’t going to be easy. I knew it was going to come to some last-lap shootout like it always is these days, which is exciting but stressful for us.”

A winner of 26 previous IndyCar races and a two-time IndyCar Series champion, Newgarden had already put together quite a career.

But he acknowledged afterward that earning his first Indianapolis 500 victory was something special.

“Everyone just kept asking me why I haven’t won this race,” Newgarden said. “They looked at you like you’re a failure if you don’t win it. I wanted to win it so bad. I knew we could. I knew we were capable. It’s a huge team effort, as everybody knows. I’m so glad to be here.”

That joy was evident in Newgarden’s post-race celebration, as he exited his Roger Penske-owned Chevrolet, slipped through a hole in the fence around the track and climbed into the grandstand. Only moments later did he return to pour the customary gallon of milk over his head and kiss the bricks that mark the race’s start/finish line.

“I’m just so thankful to be here. I started out as a fan in the crowd, and this place is amazing, regardless of where you’re sitting,” Newgarden said. “Everyone kept asking why I hadn’t won this race, and they look at you like you’re a failure if you haven’t won it. I knew I was capable. I knew I could.”

Newgarden became the first American to win the Indianapolis 500 since Alex Rossi did so in 2016.

He did so despite leading the race for just five laps.

After the race’s third red flag, Newgarden was in second place at the restart, but passed Ericsson just before the third turn of the final lap and zig-zagged his way to the finish line — holding off Ericsson as he did so.

“We’ve had a tough go here the last three, four years, and we’ve had a lot of questions to answer every day, after every qualifying weekend,” Newgarden said. “We’ve had to come out and put on a brave face. It’s just not an easy place to succeed at. I don’t necessarily subscribe to the fact that if you don’t win the 500, your career is a failure.

“But I think a lot of people view this race and this championship with that lens. The 500 stands alone and if you are not able to capture one, the career really is a failure.”