Indy 500 winner Simon Pagenaud's dog was the real star in Victory Lane

Simon Pagenaud won the 2019 Indy 500, and his dog, Norman, was right there with him to celebrate.

For Simon Pagenaud’s 2016 IndyCar Series championship, Norman was there. When the Team Penske driver struggled during the 2018 season and didn’t win a race, Norman was there.

And when Pagenaud had the best month of May an IndyCar driver could have — winning the IndyCar Grand Prix, the Indianapolis 500 pole and then, of course, the Indy 500 on Sunday — Norman was there. Literally this time.

The Jack Russell Terrier has posed for photos with Pagenaud all over Indianapolis Motor Speedway throughout the last few weeks. So even though Norman isn’t always in the celebration photos, he wasn’t about to miss Victory Lane for Pagenaud’s first Indy 500 win.

And in every photo, Norman looked like a stud.

“He does a lot of interviews, and he’s being asked more and more,” Pagenaud jokingly told For The Win by phone Monday afternoon. “His Instagram account is growing, and I believe he’s going to have sponsors pretty soon.

“This one was very special, and we wanted to have memories for later. There’s a picture of him in Victory Lane with me where he has the exact same face, and he’s barking as I’m screaming.”

With his second win of the season and first in The Greatest Spectacle of Racing, Pagenaud is now at the top of the IndyCar Series standings. He’s also the first Frenchman to win the Indy 500 in a century and the first to do it from the pole since his teammate Hélio Castroneves’ win in 2009.

Norman goes everywhere with Pagenaud and fiancee Hailey McDermott.

The No. 22 Chevrolet driver calls him their son, and they take him to every track. He really lives the good life — which is often documented on Instagram — and, still laughing, Pagenaud said sometimes he wishes he had Norman’s life.

Norman is always supportive of his dad no matter what, from running his campaign for ESPY Awards votes to helping him strategize ahead of the Fast Nine Shootout two weekends ago, which determined the top Indy 500 starting places.

Whatever they talked about worked because Pagenaud won his first pole of the season — with the help of the more than 500 Team Penske employees and his crew too, of course.

“To us, he acts like a human being sometimes, so he’s very likable,” Pagenaud said. “Everybody loves him. He’s just such a great joy for us.

“When I come home, whether it’s a good or bad race, he’s always happy to see me. And actually, I nourish myself from that. There’s a lot to learn from dogs in that sense.”

And when Pagenaud told Norman he won one of the most coveted checkered flags in the world, he said his four-legged companion just barked a lot.

“Craziness” is the best way to describe the last 20-some hours since he crossed the finish line first, Pagenaud said. His schedule has been filled with hours of media appearances, a little partying Sunday night and then more photos early Monday morning – which Norman was present for.

After celebrating in Victory Lane with a bottle of whole milk, Pagenaud said he stayed in his milk-soaked fire suit for six hours. But he didn’t really want to take it off — he joked it doesn’t smell bad when you’re the winner — and he was sad when Sunday finally came to an end.

His two hours of sleep Sunday night capped off a spectacular month that, after a year of people questioning his abilities, shot him back to the top of IndyCar.

“I think it’s what every race car driver dreams of,” Pagenaud said.

“It’s when you hit your stride, it’s when you execute perfectly without mistakes, whether it’s you or your team. I take a lot of credit but maybe too much credit for all the good stuff that’s been happening because couldn’t have done it without my team, my crew behind me.”

Including Norman.