Josef Newgarden's history-making female IndyCar crew member reflects on special Indy 500 win

Team Penske star Josef Newgarden won his first Indy 500 in 2023 after waiting for the historic victory for over a decade. However, Newgarden wasn't the only one making history as his crew member, Caitlyn Brown, became the first female crew member to win the Indy 500. Brown recently came out and reflected on Team Penske's 2023 Indy 500 win

Caitlin Brown currently works as the front left tire changer for Josef Newgarden's #2 Team Penske Chevrolet. Brown began her motorsports journey in NASCAR with Team Penske in 2019. NASCAR had always been Caitlin’s goal, as she thought IndyCar wasn't an attainable goal.

However, she got her big IndyCar break in 2021 with Paretta Autosport (in technical alliance with Team Penske), a team founded by Beth Paretta with the idea of building a team with mostly women to compete in the Indy 500.

It was Caitlin Brown’s entry into IndyCar, and she went on to join Josef Newgarden's #2 Team Penske pit crew. As part of the #2 Chevrolet, Brown not only became the first full-time female crew member for Team Penske, but also became the first female crew member to win the Indy 500 with Newgarden.

The 107th Running of Indianapolis 500 - Winner's Portraits - Source: Getty

Josef Newgarden's pit crew member, Caitlin Brown, spoke with Pit Debrief and reflected on the experience of winning the Indy 500 with Team Penske while also becoming the first female crew member to do so. She said,

“Sometimes it’s still hard to believe that I was the first female over-the-wall for Team Penske in any of their series. And then to go and win the Indy 500 in 2023 with them and be the first over-the-wall female for not only Team Penske, but in the history of the Indy 500.”

“It’s crazy to think that in 108 years, to be able to make history at a place that’s so full of history — It’s really cool and humbling. It’s something that I don’t brag about it because I don’t like to. But it is something where I’m like, ‘that was actually really cool,'” she added

Josef Newgarden on the 2025 Indy 500 disappointment

Josef Newgarden came into the 2025 Indy 500 as the winner of the last two Indianapolis 500s and with the hopes of becoming the first driver to achieve the three-peat. However, the weekend was marred by troubles, including the attenuator scandal, which sent Team Penske to the back of the grid.

Regardless, Newgarden had a lot of pace in the car and marched towards the front of the race, running with the lead pack midway through. However, his race came to an early end after an issue with a fuel sensor.

Speaking about the end of the hopes of winning the three-peat, Josef Newgarden said,

“It looks like some fuel pressure issues, so I'm not sure. It’s some kind of anomaly or something we've never seen before. It’s just unfortunate for the whole group. It's a team sport, which that very much shows it. You guys were definitely right on pace for what you had to do today to have a shot to make history.” (via FOX)

Alex Palou won the 109th running of the Indy 500 and became the first Spaniard to win the historic race.