INDYCAR oval ace Newgarden returns to winning form at Phoenix Raceway
Josef Newgarden – Winner of the Good Ranchers 250 at Phoenix Raceway – Photo by Chris Owens
By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio
Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden reaffirmed his position as INDYCAR’s ovalmeister with a calculated victory in Saturday’s Good Ranchers 250 at Phoenix Raceway.
Josef Newgarden – Good Ranchers 250 – Photo by Joe Skibinski
A two-time NTT IndyCar Series champion, Newgarden earned his first victory of the 2026 season and 33rd of his career by reeling-in and passing leader Kyle Kirkwood of Andretti Global with seven laps remaining around the 1-mile oval in suburban Avondale, Ariz.
Newgarden, who started second to teammate David Malukas, drove to a 1.7937-second victory after leading only eight of 250 laps, including the final six. Nineteen of Newgarden’s career victories have been scored on ovals, including the last 10. Tenth on the series’ all-time wins list, Newgarden now has won a race in his 12th consecutive season.
“At the end of the day, I think the team just executed,” said Newgarden, 35, and driver of the No. 2 XPEL Team Penske Chevrolet. “They executed at a super-high level. That’s what it takes to win these races. I’m not going to sit here and say we were the best today. I don’t think we were. We have work to do leaving here. We’re never shy to admit that. I think we try and be realistic about where we’re at.
Josef Newgarden takes the checkered flag at the Good Ranchers 250 – Photo by James Black
“We executed at a super-high level. Everyone was on it. The timing stand did a great job, made the right calls, great pit stops. When we needed to be fast, we were fast. Really proud of the execution.
“Last thing I’ll say is it was a good race. I didn’t know what we were going to get. That second lane really started to open up. People were exploring. Guys were doing some amazing things in the middle of the race, even the beginning. It just turned it into certainly a show, something you could pick apart. You could choose your battle at the end, what you want to do. It was fun to be a part of that.”
Kyle Kirkwood, Josef Newgarden and David Malukas – Good Ranchers 250 – Photo by Joe Skibinski
Recall that Newgarden salvaged an otherwise miserable season by Team Penske standards by winning the 2025 season-ending oval event at Nashville Superspeedway in August. Saturday, Newgarden delivered Team Penske its 247th victory.
“Josef mentioned it, getting a win this early on in the season (Race No. 2) is fantastic,” Team Penske President Jonathan Diuguid said. “He mentioned (the season-opener at) St. Petersburg there. I would say we were conservative, kind of had a boring strategy. Today before the race started, we decided we were going to be aggressive.
“The opportunity came with 40 laps to go, that caution came out. Decided to give up the track position we had, take tires, put it in Josef’s hands. He did an amazing job. Ten laps from the end, I was like, ‘OK, I don’t know if we’re going to do this.’ Then we started moving forward pretty quickly. It was amazing to watch.”
SEE: Race Results
NTT P1 Award winner Malukas finished third in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet as 89-year-old Roger S. Penske and his legendary organization celebrated its 60th anniversary season with a pair of podium positions.
Pato O’Ward – Good Ranchers 250 – Photo by Chris Owens
Pato O’Ward finished fourth in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, with Marcus Armstrong completing the top five in the No. 66 ROOT Insurance Honda of Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb Agajanian.
“I think that was a great race for the fans,” said O’Ward, a 26-year-old native of Mexico with family ties to San Antonio, Texas. “It was busy in the cockpit. I’m proud of my pit stop crew and the guys and gals on the No. 5 stand.
“After the middle of the race, things just started changing a bit. I started to race very loose, and I just ran out of room to take the tools to the front. By then, it just started turning into a two-problem car. You just got to be more comfortable to start exploring because every time I went there in the corners, I felt like I needed a new pair of pants. I’m proud of the result.”
INDYCAR’s first race in Phoenix since 2018 _ Newgarden and Team Penske also won that event _ featured 565 on-track passes, an INDYCAR record at the desert oval. But a combination of tire strategy and deft maneuvering in traffic delivered victory to Newgarden.
Kyle Kirkwood – Good Ranchers 250 – Photo by Joe Skibinski
Kirkwood made his last stop on Lap 192 and was running fourth behind new teammate Will Power, Christian Rasmussen and O’Ward on Lap 207. Power and Rasmussen were engaged in a ferocious duel for the lead, with the left front wing end plate of Rasmussen’s No. 21 ECR Splenda Stevia Chevrolet making contact with the right rear tire of Power’s No. 26 TWG AI Honda exiting Turn 2.
That impact cut Power’s tire, triggering the final caution period of the race and ending the two-time series champion from Australia’s chances of an improbable victory after starting last in the 25-car field. Rasmussen’s car also was damaged.
During that final caution period, Newgarden and a handful of other drivers near the front entered pit lane for fresh Firestone Firehawk tires, as tire grip emerged as a far bigger strategic factor in this race than fuel management. Rasmussen, Kirkwood, Malukas and Armstrong were among the drivers who decided to stay on-track, opting for track position over traction.
Christian Rasmussen – Good Ranchers 250 – Photo by Chris Owens
Rasmussen led at the final restart on Lap 218, but his damaged car ended up being no match for Kirkwood, who drove past Rasmussen for the lead on Lap 242. Rasmussen faded in the last eight laps with car damage and worn tires, placing a bitterly disappointed 14th after thrilling the crowd with many daring passes to get to the front five times for 69 laps.
“We were the class of the field today _ best car out there,” said Rasmussen, a 25-year-old native of Denmark. “It’s so frustrating because we should have won the race today.”
Kirkwood, driver of the No. 27 JM Bullion/Gold.com Honda, led Newgarden by six-tenths of a second when he took the lead, but Newgarden’s tire advantage was obvious within less than a lap. Newgarden sliced into Kirkwood’s lead and drove under Kirkwood in Turn 4 for the lead for good just two laps later, on Lap 244.
“We thought about it, but we were talking about it, and the pits opened,” Kirkwood said about the possibility of pitting during the late caution. “(Staying out) was the right thing to do at the time.”
Alluding to the track-record passes, Kirkwood said, “I loved the race. I thought it was a lot of fun and our car was really good, which I guess there’s a common denominator there. When your cars are good at short ovals, it tends to be a lot of fun. So that was our day.
“We do a lot of research of this place, right? Coming back here after a handful of years, we watch all the races back. Quite honestly when we were here last in 2018, there wasn’t a whole lot of passing happening. That wasn’t the case here today. I think we did the right things with the car, downforce levels, power level to get into a place where it is very racy.”
David Malukas – Good Ranchers 250 – Photo by Chris Owens
Malukas, who scored his first career pole Friday in his second race with Team Penske, was more than pleased with the quality of racing. “That race, like Kyle said, it was awesome,” said Malukas, a 24-year-old native of Chicago. “There were so many different strategies, so much going on. In the middle of that race, I thought, ‘All right, here we go, hopefully we can stay in the top-10.’
“Things really played-out. Another yellow came out. We still had an opportunity at the end. Big congrats to Josef for getting the win there. New tires, hard work to get through everybody. Last stint, I don’t know what Kyle thought, but that’s the hardest I pushed a tire before. That was drifting. I never drifted in an INDYCAR that much before. Through (Turns) 1 and 2, the first turn is actually left, then when you’re in the corner, the rest of it you’re turning right. Some big moments.”
As a bonus, Newgarden became the first driver other than four-time/reigning series champion Alex Palou to lead the standings since June 2024. Newgarden, a two-time Indianapolis 500 champion, leads Kirkwood, 78-73, after two races in his bid to win the series crown for the first time since 2019.
“Do we really have the lead?” Newgarden said. “Two races in, so I wouldn’t read too much into it. But momentum is a big deal. It’s very difficult to understand how things work. Sometimes things go against us, sometimes they go for us. It was just great execution by the team.”
Santino Ferrucci – Good Ranchers 250 – Photo by Joe Skibinski
Santino Ferrucci finished 11th to pace the two-car entries from Waller, Texas-based A.J. Foyt Racing. The day not start out well for Ferrucci, driver of the No. 14 Homes For Our Troops Chevrolet, as he dropped from his 21st starting spot to the back of the field, complaining he could not turn the car.
By time of the day’s fourth and final caution for contact between Rasmussen and Power, Ferrucci was running ninth. Ferrucci did not pit for fresh tires, but a several drivers ahead and several behind did, moving Santino to sixth. Once racing resumed, the new rubber made a huge difference. Ferrucci slipped to 12th as the cars with fresh tires powered past. Ferrucci did gain one spot on the final lap when he passed Rasmussen, who brushed the wall a second time.
“Just honestly unbelievable how we overcame the car issues today,” said Ferrucci, a 27-year-old resident of Dallas. “We started not in a great spot. Just took multiple pit stops and we got it right, got into the top-10. The last-minute call not to pit was a collective group decision. You know, in our position it’s really hard to make that call. And, we wish we did, but that’s racing sometimes. So, we did the best we could with what we had. Took some points and it was a good finish for the Homes For Our Troops Chevy.”
Caio Collet – Good Ranchers 250 – Photo by Joe Skibinski
Rookie teammate Caio Collet finished 19th, two laps down, in the No. 4 Combitrans Amazonia Chevrolet. Collet’s goal for his first short oval INDYCAR race was to finish the race running and gain experience.
“I think the start and the first part was quite good,” said Collet, a 23-year-old native of Brazil. “We were able to be up there. After that, I just lost a bit of pace and was lacking a bit of confidence on the rear again. Think when the pace started to go quicker, I just was a little bit stuck but happy to finish the race. Obviously, there’s a lot of things to improve for myself and just trying to understand a little bit better what I need from the Combitrans car to be able to be quick.”
Series rookie Mick Schumacher finished 19th in his first oval race after qualifying fourth. Schumacher, the 26-year-old son of seven-time Formula One World Driving Champion Michael Schumacher of Germany, had been running in the top-11 through his first stint and cycled as high as sixth on Lap 70 before making his first stop on Lap 71. A suspected wheel gun failure on the right front tire led to a lengthy stop, dropping Schumacher to 22nd.
Mick Schumacher – Good Ranchers 250 – Photo by Joe Skibinski
“First oval race done,” said Schumacher, driver of the No. 47 ENVE Composites Honda fielded by Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. “Obviously, it was a tough race for us. Nonetheless there was a lot to learn, a lot to take away and understand still on our side. We had a couple of issues here and there on pit stops and the race itself on restarts. Overall, I think we can be happy with it. We had a good qualifying pace and now we have to figure out how we can make the race pace better.
“I think the race pace was overall OK. It was just maybe the aggressiveness at some points and being unlucky in other places like pitting under the green and then the caution coming out right after. Qualifying went well and so we will work to understand why maybe the race didn’t go quite our way and then hopefully be better for next time.”
Palou placed 24th, completing just 21 laps in No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, after side-by-side contact with the No. 76 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet of Rinus VeeKay of The Netherlands led to a trip into the SAFER Barrier. It was Palou’s worst finish since the 28-year-old Spaniard placed 25th last June in Detroit after contact eliminated him from that street race in Downtown Motown.
The feverish start to the 2026 NTT IndyCar Series season continues with a third race in three weekends, the highly anticipated debut of the Java House Grand Prix of Arlington on Sunday, March 15, in Arlington, Texas. The race will be contested on a 2.73-mile/14-turn temporary street circuit traveling around AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys, and Globe Life Field, the home of the Texas Rangers.
NTT IndyCar Series Point Standings _ 1, Josef Newgarden, Team Penske, 78; 2, Kyle Kirkwood, Andretti Global, 73; 3, Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske, 66; 4, Pato O’Ward, Arrow McLaren, 63; 5, Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing, 59; 6, David Malukas, Team Penske, 56; 7, Christian Lundgaard, Arrow McLaren, 54; 8, Marcus Armstrong, Meyer Shank Racing, 50; 9, Marcus Ericsson, Andretti Global, 43; 10, Alexander Rossi, Ed Carpenter Racing, 42;
11, Dennis Hauger, Dale Coyne Racing, 36; 12, Felix Rosenqvist, Meyer Shank Racing, 36; 13, Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing, 35; 14, Kyffin Simpson, Chip Ganassi Racing, 35; 15, Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, 34; 16, Rinus VeeKay, Juncos Hollinger Racing, 30; 17, Romain Grosjean, Dale Coyne Racing, 29; 18, Christian Rasmussen, Ed Carpenter Racing, 28; 19, Santino Ferrucci, A.J. Foyt Racing, 25; 20, Louis Foster, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, 20;
21, Caio Collet, A.J. Foyt Racing, 24; 22, Will Power, Andretti Global, 23; 23, Nolan Siegel, Arrow McLaren, 20; 24, Sting Ray Robb, Juncos Hollinger Racing, 18; 25, Mick Schumacher, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, 17.
FOX SPORTS’ 2026 NTT INDYCAR SERIES BROADCAST SCHEDULE/(RACE WINNER)
Note _ All times Eastern
Sunday, March 1 _ Streets of St. Petersburg, Fla., (Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing)
Saturday, March 7 _ Phoenix Raceway, Avondale, Ariz., (Josef Newgarden, Team Penske)
Sunday, March 15 _ Streets of Arlington, Texas, 12:30 p.m.
Sunday, March 29 _ Barber Motorsports Park, Birmingham, Ala., 1 p.m.
Sunday, April 19 _ Streets of Long Beach, Calif., 5:30 p.m.
Saturday, May 9 _ Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road-Course, 4:30 p.m.
Sunday, May 24 _ 110th Indianapolis 500, Indianapolis Motor Speedway Oval, 10 a.m.
Sunday, May 31 _ Streets of Detroit, 12:30 p.m.
Sunday, June 7 _ World Wide Technology Raceway, Madison, Ill., 9 p.m.
Sunday, June 21 _ Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wis., 2 p.m.
Sunday, July 5 _ Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington, Ohio, 12:30 p.m.
Sunday, July 19 _ Nashville Superspeedway, Lebanon, Tenn., TBA
Sunday, Aug. 9 _ Portland (Ore.) International Raceway, 4 p.m.
Sunday, Aug. 16 _ Streets of Markham, Canada, Noon
Sunday, Aug. 23 _ Freedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington, D.C., TBA
Saturday, Aug. 29 _ The Milwaukee Mile Race 1, West Allis, Wis., 2:30 p.m.
Sunday, Aug. 30 _ The Milwaukee Mile Race 2, West Allis, Wis., 1 p.m.
Sunday, Sept. 6 _ WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, Monterey, Calif., 2:30 p.m.
Note _ Dates and times subject to change.
2026 INDYCAR NXT BY FIRESTONE SCHEDULE/(RACE-WINNER)
Sunday, March 1 _ Streets of St. Petersburg, Fla., (Nikita Johnson, Cape Motorsports Powered by ECR)
Sunday, March 15 _ Streets of Arlington, Texas
Saturday, March 28 _ Barber Motorsports Park, Birmingham, Ala., Race 1
Sunday, March 29 _ Barber Motorsports Park, Birmingham, Ala., Race 2
Friday, May 8 _ Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road-Course Race 1
Saturday, May 9 _ Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road-Course Race 2
Sunday, May 31 _ Streets of Detroit
Sunday, June 7 _ World Wide Technology Raceway, Madison, Ill.
Saturday, June 20 _ Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wis., Race 1
Sunday, June 21 _ Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wis., Race 2
Saturday, July 4 _ Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington, Ohio, Race 1
Sunday, July 5 _ Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington, Ohio, Race 2
Sunday, July 19 _ Nashville Superspeedway, Lebanon, Tenn.
Sunday, Aug. 9 _ Portland (Ore.) International Raceway
Sunday, Aug. 30 _ The Milwaukee Mile, West Allis, Wis.
Saturday, Sept. 5 _ Weather Tech Raceway Laguna Seca, Monterey, Calif., Race 1
Sunday, Sept. 6 _ Weather Tech Raceway Laguna Seca, Monterey, Calif., Race 2
