Josef Newgarden's secret to winning the 2023 Indianapolis 500? Let the Nashville native explain

Pumping the brakes on his career near the end of the 2022 season may have played a role in Nashville IndyCar driver Josef Newgarden winning his first Indianapolis 500 on Sunday.

Newgarden, 32, stepped back from the hefty load he had carried in and off the track in the inaugural Big Machine Music City Grand Prix last August. He finished sixth in that race and came into the 2023 season recharged.

It showed up in the 107th running of the Indy 500 when the two-time IndyCar Series champion passed reigning Indy 500 winner Marcus Ericsson on the final lap for the win at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

"You can't overload yourself in this sport," Newgarden told The Tennessean on Monday. "If you get into a situation where you're overloaded it can have some negative consequences and for me I was probably a little too strung out on commitments."

The Penske driver, aware of his popularity in the sport, realized he couldn't completely back out of the Music City Grand Prix. He did, however, have to figure out a way to avoid complete burnout.

"You have to find a happy medium and I've definitely gotten to that place with that race, which was a different circumstance than any other place we've been," Newgarden said. "Nashville was unique in being a new event to our calendar and being hometown for me."

Adding to the need to slow his pace in 2022 was that Newgarden came into the Music City Grand Prix a couple of weeks after an incident at Iowa Speedway that left him hospitalized when he lost consciousness and fell in the Iowa Speedway bus lot.

Josef Newgarden's new role: Why Josef Newgarden's role has changed for IndyCar Music City Grand Prix in Nashville

What to know about Josef Newgarden: What to know about IndyCar star Josef Newgarden, a Nashville native

Finding the right balance after that for the Music City Grand Prix led to Newgarden canceling all of his off-the-track events in Nashville except for his annual charity ping-pong challenge.

He made himself available to the media before the ping-pong challenge but at no other time leading up to the race. In that interview, he admitted to being tired and needing to clear his mind.

"I just wasn't at 100% with my energy," Newgarden said.

Newgarden went on to finish four places ahead of his 2021 finish. He led for 11 laps.

The time off seemed to have a positive impact for the remainder of the 2022 season. Newgarden won the next race, finished fourth in the next and second in the last.

That carried over to the 2023 season and culminated with his first Indy 500 victory.

"When it comes to a single event this is by far the pinnacle," Newgarden said. "I don't know of any event that rivals the Indianapolis 500. I mean a half-million people are here filling this place up on race day. It is an energy that you can't describe. From that standpoint it was incredible to have been here for 12 years and to finally win the race."

After winning, Newgarden climbed the fence the same way Team Penske driver and four-time Indy 500 winner Helio Castroneves did.

"It was just gratifying because there's a lot that goes into it and a lot weight and pressure people put on that one particular day," Newgarden said.

Newgarden's best Indy 500 finish before Sunday was third in 2016. He became the first American to win the race since Alexander Rossie in 2016.

Along with the step back he took in 2022, Newgarden said he learned from his previous Indy 500 races what it took to break through.

"Circumstances aren't always going to work out for everybody and that's OK," Newgarden said. "I don't believe the Indy 500 makes or break anybody's career because you have to have a perfect day from everybody; the team has to be perfect to get in harmony and it's really difficult to do that on this stage in this moment. Just because you know what it takes to win this race doesn't mean you're going to win. You sort of have to relieve yourself of that pressure and just go do what's natural to you and if it's meant to be, it's meant to be."

Reach Mike Organ at 615-259-8021 or on Twitter @MikeOrganWriter.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Josef Newgarden's secret to winning 2023 Indianapolis 500? He explains