Climb the Fence.

This weekend, I had the opportunity to experience my first ever Indy 500 race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. I witnessed my fair share of incredible sights, including (but not limited to) an endless flow a drunken, sunburnt spectators, a man dressed as Ricky Bobby sleeping in the grass at a Gin Blossoms concert, and, of course, thirty-three rocket ships traveling around a 2.5 mile track in 38 seconds and over 220 miles per hour. Out of all of these things, though, the most incredible thing I saw over the weekend was a man climbing a fence.

Let me give you a little context. The last ~15 laps of the Indy 500 were the jump-out-of-your-seat-and-cheer kind of racing that you always hope for, but seldom experience. The top three battled and a new leader emerged after almost every lap. By the last 5 laps, it was clear that either O’Ward or Newgarden were going to take the victory, but they were on top of one another, battling until the end. O’Ward put a move on Newgarden, taking the lead with only a couple laps to go, but it was too soon. Newgarden regained the lead and took the checkers ahead of O’Ward. The race was one for the record books, ending with Josef Newgarden becoming the sixth racer to ever earn back-to-back wins at the Indy 500, but it was what happened after the race that gave me goosebumps.

Newgarden brought his car to a stop at the brick-paved finish line and jumped out with his arms up in a victory stance. As the media rushed in to capture his celebration, he did something I wasn’t expecting.

He ran.

Helmet on, HANS device in place, Newgarden ran. He found a small opening under the catch fence and climbed through it. He clambered down the stretch of grass between the catch fence and the chain link fence in front of the grandstands as the crowd erupted in applause and cheers. But that wasn’t enough – he climbed the chain link fence, and as fans spilled out of the grandstands to meet him there, he pushed through the crowd to climb the stairs of the grandstands until he was so engrossed by spectators, he couldn’t make it any further. The media folks, many of whom were stuck on the track side of the catch fence, pressed their camera lenses through the chain-link to try and capture the raw emotion of the scene. I’ve never heard a crowd so enthusiastically cheering for a driver. If you weren’t watching live, I encourage you to watch a video. It’ll give you chills.

In that moment, it didn’t matter who you wanted to win the race, Newgarden was YOUR driver. Even though I was rooting for Helio for most of the race, suddenly Newgarden was MY driver, too. He met me where I was and invited me to celebrate with him. How could I refuse? As I reflect on this moment, I think about the fences that stand between our fans and us, as racers. What are the things that keep you from really, truly making a connection with people who could be rooting for you? Where are they right now and how do you get to them? How do you meet your fans where they are and invite them to join you in your most raw, emotionally charged moments? How do you go from a driver to their driver?

You have to climb the fence.