- Josef Newgarden becomes 111th face added to the iconic trophy
- First driver to win back-to-back Indy 500s since Helio Castroneves in 2002
- Marks Team Penske owner Roger Penske's 20th Indy 500 win
AUBURN HILLS, Mich., Dec. 5, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- To commemorate his victory at the 108th Indianapolis 500, Josef Newgarden's sterling silver image has been affixed onto the Borg-Warner Trophy®. Newgarden's likeness was unveiled yesterday at a celebration hosted by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway at CoHatch Polk Stables in downtown Indianapolis. This marks Newgarden's second appearance on the trophy, both times winning for Team Penske.
"The Borg-Warner Trophy symbolizes more than just excellence on the racetrack, it represents the time-honored traditions of the Indianapolis 500 and pays homage to the champions of the past, and I'm honored to continue the legacy of unveiling the trophy," said Michelle Collins, Global Director, Marketing and Public Relations, BorgWarner. "Josef's impressive back-to-back Indy 500 wins highlight his dedication and passion to his sport, and on behalf of all of BorgWarner, we extend our sincerest congratulations to Josef and Team Penske for their achievement."
William Behrends, the sculptor behind the faces of the Borg-Warner Trophy since 1990, begins creating a full-size recreation of the winning driver's likeness utilizing a set of 360-degree photos. Even though Behrends sculpted Newgarden's likeness just last year, he still began from scratch with just photographs as reference, ignoring the sculpture from the previous year. Behrends then uses the life-size sculpture to craft the small model, which is a mixture of oil-based clay. The small model is then turned into a mold and casted in red wax to be sent to a jeweler for the final transformation into sterling silver. Behrends completes his process by polishing and buffing the piece before attaching it to the trophy.
"The Borg Warner Trophy is as iconic as it gets in professional sports and seeing my likeness represented on it will never get old," said Newgarden. "When you win you are honored an entire year, which is amazing. Getting to work with Will is a treat because he is so meticulous. As a racecar driver I can definitely relate to his attention to detail. Hopefully we can do something historic next year and we can work with him again."
On May 26, 2024, nearly 240,000 fans waited out a four-hour rain delay to witness Newgarden win the Indy 500 for the second consecutive year. Newgarden and runner-up Pato O-Ward battled in the last eight laps, swapping the lead four times, with Newgarden taking the final lead during Turn 3 of the last lap. Newgarden also won with a last lap pass in last year's race, making him only one of three drivers to do so, including Sam Hornish Jr. in 2008 and Dan Wheldon in 2011.
Early next year, Newgarden will receive his second Championship Driver's Trophy™, affectionately known as a Baby Borg, featuring the same sterling silver image unveiled at the event. At the same time, team owner Roger Penske will commemorate his 20th Indy 500 win by receiving a Championship Team Owner's Trophy™.
About BorgWarner
For more than 130 years, BorgWarner has been a transformative global product leader bringing successful mobility innovation to market. With a focus on sustainability, we're helping to build a cleaner, healthier, safer future for all.
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You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this release. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict and generally beyond our control, that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed, projected or implied in or by the forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties, among others, include: supply disruptions impacting us or our customers, commodity availability and pricing, and an inability to achieve expected levels of recoverability in commercial negotiations with customers concerning these costs; competitive challenges from existing and new competitors, including original equipment manufacturer ("OEM") customers; the challenges associated with rapidly changing technologies, particularly as they relate to electric vehicles, and our ability to innovate in response; the difficulty in forecasting demand for electric vehicles and our electric vehicles revenue growth; potential disruptions in the global economy caused by wars or other geopolitical conflicts; the ability to identify targets and consummate acquisitions on acceptable terms; failure to realize the expected benefits of acquisitions on a timely basis; the possibility that our 2023 tax-free spin-off of our former Fuel Systems and Aftermarket segments into a separate publicly traded company will not achieve its intended benefits; the failure to promptly and effectively integrate acquired businesses; the potential for unknown or inestimable liabilities relating to the acquired businesses; our dependence on automotive and truck production, which is highly cyclical and subject to disruptions; our reliance on major OEM customers; impacts of any future strikes involving any of our OEM customers and any actions such OEM customers take in response; fluctuations in interest rates and foreign currency exchange rates; our dependence on information systems; the uncertainty of the global economic environment; the outcome of existing or any future legal proceedings, including litigation with respect to various claims, or governmental investigations, including related litigation; future changes in laws and regulations, including, by way of example, taxes and tariffs, in the countries in which we operate; impacts from any potential future acquisition or disposition transactions; and the other risks noted in reports that we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including Item 1A, "Risk Factors" in our most recently filed Form 10-K and/or Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q. We do not undertake any obligation to update or announce publicly any updates to or revisions to any of the forward-looking statements in this release to reflect any change in our expectations or any change in events, conditions, circumstances, or assumptions underlying the statements.
SOURCE BorgWarner
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