Will Josef Newgarden Beat The Curse?
- May 1, 2025
- 4 min read
In the first 108 Indianapolis 500s, only five drivers found themselves in a position
to win three consecutive races. None succeeded. In their quest for the auto racing “hat
trick,” mechanical failures, near-tragedy and death stopped them.
Little wonder that the legend of a three-peat curse has sprung up.
The curse first reared its ugly head in 1941, after Wilbur Shaw became the first
driver to win consecutive 500s in 1939 and 1940. Driving the same Maserati that carried
him to victory the previous two years, he led 107 of the first 150 laps of the ’41 race,
before suddenly a wire wheel collapsed. His car pounded the turn-one concrete wall. The
impact was so massive that Shaw suffered a fractured vertebra that paralyzed him from
the waist down.
Unable to get out of the car, he sat helpless as 50 gallons of volatile methanol
from the ruptured fuel tank, drenched the area. He feared the car would burst into flame
at any moment. Help arrived in time, however, and not only did Shaw escape being
severely burned, but the paralysis eventually healed.
Only three 500s passed before another driver raced into a position to attempt what
Shaw hadn’t. Mauri Rose had won the 1947 and 1948 500s in one of Lou Moore’s sleek,
cigar-shaped Blue Crown Spark Plug Specials. Rose qualified 10 th in 1949, but a minor
mechanical failure forced him out with only eight laps remaining.
Moore’s race prep was impeccable. His cars had finished first and second the
previous two years. So it was unusual for one of his cars to be eliminated by a simple
broken magneto strap. Some believed it was fate’s payback for Rose snookering his
teammate, Bill Holland, out of the win in 1947.
Come 1955, the iconic, Bill Vukovich Sr was the next to step up to the three-peat
challenge. Vuky had dominated the previous three 500s, capturing hard-fought wins in
1953 and 1954. If anyone could pull off what had been unattainable, most agreed Vuky
was the one to do it.
From his middle of the second-row starting spot, he out-dueled Jack McGrath in
what is still considered one of the fiercest two-man battles for the lead in Speedway
history. Once he vanquished McGrath, he outpaced all other competitors.
By the 56 h circuit, he’d lapped the field up to seventh place. Roaring down the
backstretch on his 57 th lap a melee of spinning cars confronted him. While Shaw had
survived seeking three consecutive 500 wins, Vuky did not.
Following Vuky’s tragedy, fate seemed kinder to those seeking a historic three-
in-a-row victory. Al Unser won the 1970 and ’71 500s handily while driving his striking
Johnny Lightning cars for the Vels/Parnelli team. In 1970, he grabbed the Pole and led all
but 10 laps to take his first 500 win. In 1971, he took the checker after leading 103 of the
200 laps.
1972 began with high hopes, but a blown engine on what was the second day of
Pole qualifying left Unser back in the field on the inside of row seven. Unlike the
previous years, he never led a lap. In typical Al Unser fashion, however, he still managed
a second-place finish. Tantalizingly close, but not a win.
After Unser’s futile 1972 attempt, it was 31 years before another driver was ready
for the three-consecutive shot at 500 history.
The irrepressible Helio Castroneves won back-to-back 500s in 2001 and 2002,
and returned to Indianapolis in 2003 as his typical exuberant, confident self. For good
reason. He was one of the quickest all month in practice and seized the Pole in
convincing fashion. He had a strong race, leading 58 laps, but as did Al Unser, he only
managed a close second. His Penske teammate, Gil de Ferran took the win.
As we look forward to the 109 th running of the 500 in a few weeks, we’re poised
on the brink of yet another historic outcome to the 500. It took Josef Newgarden 12
Indianapolis 500s to win his first in 2023. But as you know, he won again last year after
an exciting late-race duel with Pato O’Ward.
Can Newgarden become the first driver to break through the so-called curse and
win three consecutive 500s?
While history might be against him, Newgarden is at the top of his game. He’s
determined and singularly focused. Ironically, he’s driving for the same team that gave
Castroneves a shot at attaining that unique accomplishment. Team Penske.
Beyond question, Team Penske is one of the best operations in IndyCar today.
They prepare hard, practice hard and race hard. They make few mistakes. Their pit stops
are things of efficient beauty.
The odds look good for Newgarden.
However, this is the Indianapolis 500, and it remains a grueling test for man and
machine. It’s embedded in Indianapolis lore, that the Speedway is a fickle lady. Nothing
is certain until that checkered flag waves on Race Day afternoon.
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