INDIANAPOLIS -- Josef Newgarden officially waved the white flag, but this time it was to signal surrender and not the final lap of a race.
The Team Penske driver conceded on Wednesday that teammate Simon Pagenaud pulled off what in the Frenchman’s language was the coup de grace of their months-long “autograph battle.” Newgarden declared Pagenaud the winner and claimed he won’t retaliate for the epic, decisive stunt involving the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department.
The battle began innocently enough when the drivers were at Indianapolis International Airport filming public service announcements for the Transportation Security Administration. As is his custom when passing through the Indy airport, Pagenaud signed all his memorabilia at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway gift shop, then challenged Newgarden to do the same on social media.
It spiraled from there, with the drivers trying to outdo each other in what they autographed and challenging the other to top it with the tag line: “Your move, bro.”
They signed each other’s houses in North Carolina. Pagenaud autographed Newgarden’s firesuits, racing shoes, helmet visor and even the arm of Newgarden’s mom. In response, Newgarden signed Pagenaud’s Indy car and the commemorative street sign bearing Pagenaud’s name in downtown Indianapolis.
After Pagenaud signed the large Newgarden banner hanging from the back of an Indianapolis Motor Speedway grandstand early this month, Newgarden’s answer was to sign the windows on Pagenaud’s motorcoach parked inside the track.
The game winner came in Pagenaud’s response. Going to great detail, he arranged for Indianapolis police officers to pull Newgarden over as he left the track. In the sneakiest of fashions, Pagenaud also arranged for GoPro cameras to be placed in Newgarden’s car under the guise of a video crew seeking to record the reigning Verizon IndyCar Series champion’s personal travels for a fictional project.
Pagenaud rode along with the police as they stopped Newgarden. In full stern officer mode, the IMPD officer handed Newgarden a bogus traffic citation, complete with Pagenaud’s autograph. Game over.
“Super proud of that one,” Pagenaud said with an ear-to-ear grin. “It took a lot of organization to get this done. I felt like a kid at Christmas, to be honest with you. It was the first time I rode in a cop car, luckily – in a good seat, too. Sirens were going off, the lights were up, there were two cars chasing Josef. He did not expect that at all, he had no idea.
“The toughest part was to get the GoPro in his car. He believed it was for something else, obviously. He thought it was for another event. A bit tricky on my part to do that, but that’s part of the game. He’s been a good sport, it’s been good fun. He just said he was giving up, so I guess I’m the winner. There can only be one winner, right?
“(Seeing) Josef’s face was the best part.”
Newgarden admitted defeat while in Charlotte on Tuesday for the Indy 500 national media tour, and confirmed his concession on Wednesday.
“Simon and I had a great back and forth for a month or two, but it’s got to come to an end at some point,” Newgarden said. “Someone’s got to win it, so I think Simon’s your winner. We had a ton of fun, we had a lot of laughs. But at the end of the day, someone’s got to win.”
Pagenaud said he believed this battle was over, but he’s game for more contests.
“Maybe we’ll have more in the future; I love to do that stuff,” Pagenaud said. “It’s fun and it shows our personality, the way we are outside the racetrack.”
Watch the climactic autograph battle stunt here: