Those Magnificent Five back-to-back winners to precede Newgarden — Wilbur Shaw (1939-40), Mauri Rose (1947-48), Bill Vukovich (1953-54), Al Unser (1970-71) and Helio Castroneves (2001-02) — all had opportunities to add to their collection. None were able to capture that all-important gold for one reason or another.

Memorial Day Weekend brings us the 109th running of “the greatest spectacle in racing” — the Indianapolis 500. The Indy 500 sold out its grandstand of 350,000 for the first time since 2016, and the decades-old local TV blackout has been lifted so locals can watch the race live.

Josef Newgarden doesn’t shy away from the question of winning an unprecedented third consecutive Indianapolis 500. In the 108-race history of the event, no driver has gone back-to-back-to-back. Both of his wins have come in dramatic fashion,