JOSEF NEWGARDEN GETS HIS SECOND IMAGE ON BORG-WARNER TROPHY

On Wednesday, Josef Newgarden was present at the unveiling of his likeness on Borg-Warner Trophy presented winners of the Indianapolis 500 since 1936. It is his second bas-relief sterling silver image on the iconic trophy, as he scored his second consecutive 500 victory in May, becoming the sixth member of an exclusive club of back-to-back winners – Helio Castroneves (2001-02); Al Unser, Sr. (1970-71); Bill Vukovich (1953-54); Mauri Rose (1947-48); and Wilbur Shaw (1939-40).

Renowned sculptor Will Behrends created Newgarden’s image, as he has for every winner since 1990.

Each face on the trophy is unique, even for a back-to-back winner like Newgarden. Behrends starts from scratch each year and begins his creative process by studying a series of 360-degree photos of the winner to get a baseline for sculpting before constructing a full-scale model of the driver’s face. Normally a driver would visit Behrends’ studio in Tryon, North Carolina, for an in-person session. This year’s visit was impacted by Hurricane Helene, so Newgarden and Behrends met virtually to make the final adjustments to the full-scale model.

This life-size clay version is used as reference for Behrends to construct the smaller model, a piece created out of a mixture of oil-based clay. The smaller clay model is turned into a mold and cast in wax before being sent to a jeweler to be transformed into sterling silver. Behrends completes his process by polishing and buffing the sculpture before attaching it to the trophy.