- Josef Newgarden's sculpted face was unveiled at a
ceremony on Friday
- Marks the 110th driver's face to be affixed onto the
trophy
- Newgarden is the first American Indy 500 winner to be
featured since 2016
AUBURN
HILLS, Mich., Dec. 18,
2023 /PRNewswire/ -- To commemorate his victory at
the 107th Indianapolis 500,
Josef Newgarden received the honor
of having his sterling silver image affixed onto the Borg-Warner
Trophy®. The trophy was unveiled Friday evening at The
Stutz Museum in Indianapolis as
part of a ceremony hosted by Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Newgarden, who races for Team Penske, is a Tennessee native and is the first American to
win the prestigious race since 2016.
"We are proud to add Josef Newgarden's image to the
Borg-Warner Trophy as he officially joins the ranks of all
Indianapolis 500 winners before
him," said Michelle Collins, Global
Director, Marketing and Public Relations BorgWarner. "In addition
to spotlighting Josef's exemplary victory on the track, this trophy
represents one of the greatest spectacles and traditions of the
motorsports' world. The BorgWarner team extends our warmest
congratulations to Josef and Team Penske."
William Behrends, the man behind many faces of the
Borg-Warner Trophy, once again tackled the feat of adding a new
face to the trophy. Behrends begins his process of sculpting by
examining a series of 360-degree photos of the winner's face before
inviting them to an in-person session where he creates a large,
clay model of the driver's face. The large model is then used as a
reference to sculpt a smaller, oil-based clay version of the
winner's likeness. Once complete, the small clay model is turned
into a mold and casted in wax before it's sent to a jeweler where
it is transformed into sterling silver. As the final step, the
sterling silver face is polished and buffed before it's attached to
the trophy. Behrends, who has sculpted every Indianapolis 500 winner's face on the trophy
since Arie Luyendyk in 1990,
performs his craft at his studio in Tryon, North Carolina.
"I was honored to sit down and work with the legendary
William Behrends and have my face sculpted onto the
Borg-Warner Trophy, representing Team Penske and the great state of
Tennessee," said Newgarden. "This
has been an unbelievable experience and I'm so grateful to forever
be a part of this renowned trophy. I'd like to extend my sincerest
thank you to BorgWarner and everyone at Indianapolis Motor Speedway
and Team Penske."
On May 28, 2023, over 230,000 fans
at IMS watched as 32-year-old Newgarden came from
17th starting position averaging 168.193 mph to win the
face, overtaking defending champion Marcus
Ericsson in the final lap of the race. Leading just five of
200 laps, Newgarden is one of only three drivers in the history of
the Indianapolis 500 to make a
last lap pass to win the race. In 2008, Sam
Hornish Jr. passed Marco
Andretti to win, and in 2011, Dan
Wheldon passed JR Hildebrand to score his second Indy 500
victory.
Early next year, Newgarden will receive his Baby Borg, officially named the BorgWarner
Championship Driver's Trophy™, which is a miniature replica of the
Borg-Warner Trophy.
About BorgWarner
For more than 130 years, BorgWarner has been a transformative
global product leader bringing successful mobility innovation to
market. Today, we're accelerating the world's transition to
eMobility – to help build a cleaner, healthier, safer future
for all.
The Borg-Warner Trophy, BorgWarner Championship Driver's
Trophy, and BorgWarner Championship Team Owner's Trophy are
trademarks of BorgWarner Inc.
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