INDIANAPOLIS – When Josef Newgarden won the 2023 Indianapolis 500, he looked to be on top of the world. He celebrated on top of his car, against the fencing separating the oval track from fans, with the winner’s milk in Victory Lane and finally knelt down to kiss the Yard of Bricks across the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

That’s when the smile that had been beaming across his face since the biggest race of the year ended momentarily subsided. Newgarden’s first-place ring fell apart.

He picked up the pieces with a confused look, but soon went back to celebrating. Newgarden wasn’t going to let this distract from what may have been the greatest day of his then-17-year racing career.

An IMS spokesperson later told the IndyStar that the face of the ring fell off when Newgarden was slamming his hands against the bricks in celebration. Shortly thereafter, Josten’s, the jewelry company responsible for the Indianapolis 500 rings, sent Newgarden a backup ring while they took the original for repairs.

Nearly a year later, on the first day of practice for the 108th annual Indianapolis 500, Newgarden said there are no issues with his now-fixed ring.

"They replaced that fast, so it's been good so far,” Newgarden said.

Contact Kyle Smedley with comments via email at kmsmedley213@gmail.com or on X @KyleSmedley_.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Josef Newgarden says no issues with repaired Indianapolis 500 ring