Josef Newgarden Reacts To Disappointing End To His Pursuit Of History

One of the big stories going into the 109th Running of the Indianapolis 500 was Josef Newgarden's quest to become the first driver to ever win three-straight Indy 500s.

Newgarden faced a week's worth of noise after he and teammate Will Power had their cars disqualified from the Fast 12 and sent to the back row of the grid, while heads started rolling among senior management.

The scandal led to Newgarden getting boos when he was introduced to the crowd ahead of the race.

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However, once the race was underway, he seemed to tune it out and stormed through the field so quickly that by the halfway point of the race, it looked as though he was going to be in contention for that elusive third-straight win at the Brickyard.

Then — because this is how it sometimes works in the world of motorsports — his day came to an abrupt end thanks to a mechanical issue.

"It looks like some fuel pressure issues, so I'm not sure," Newgarden said, per Fox Sports. "It’s some kind of anomaly or something we've never seen before.

"It’s just unfortunate for the whole group. It's a team sport, which that very much shows it. You guys were definitely right on pace for what you had to do today to have a shot to make history."

Josef Newgarden came up short in his bid to win three-straight Indianapolis 500s thanks to a mechanical issue. (Grace Hollars/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)

Whether or not you wanted to see Newgarden win his third-straight Indy 500, you've got to admit it stinks to see him come up short because of a mechanical gremlin instead of racing for it.

I mean, think about him battling with that front-running group that included eventual winner Alex Palou, Marcus Ericsson, and David Malukas. It would've been something to see.

"It’s tough to not have a shot here at the end," Newgarden said. "It’s a team sport. It takes everything to win here.

"I’m still immensely grateful to run at Indianapolis. As tough as it is to take, I still feel grateful to be out here today. I just wish we had a chance to fight for it."