Newgarden surges late to claim Phoenix win
AVONDALE, Ariz. — Josef Newgarden takes advantage of his fresh tires late to surge to the Good Ranchers 250 victory at Phoenix Raceway.
Newgarden captured his 33rd career NTT INDYCAR Series win, earning a remarkable twelfth oval win from the previous 25 series events.
Midway through the race, the win did not look likely.
“In the middle of the race I didn’t think we had the capability to win but We kept working through it and I’m like, look if we have another opportunity we’re going to be on the aggressive.” Newgarden said.
That chance arrived when Christian Rasmussen and Will Power collided while battling for the lead exiting Turn 2, bringing out a late caution.
Power would cut a tire and finish a lap down in 16th while Rasmussen continued and restarted in the lead.
During the caution, Newgarden, Pato O’Ward, and others took the gamble on fresh tires which paid off.
“We took tires and the thing was like a rocket ship when it needed to be right at the end of the race so hats off to the whole crew.” the winner remarked.
Newgarden restarted around 10th and carved through the field, reaching third in the closing laps behind Kyle Kirkwood and Rasmussen, whose tires had begun to grain badly.
Rasmussen, already nursing damage from the earlier clash with Power, hit the outside wall again while defending from Kirkwood. The final contact proved costly as the fastest car of the race limped home 14th.
Kirkwood briefly inherited the lead, but a newly second Newgarden wasted little time disposing him.
He powered past to seal the victory, completing the race winning defense to claim back-to-back Phoenix races eight years apart as INDYCAR returned to the desert.
An energized Josef Newgarden showed his admiration to the event afterwards.
“I love to be here in Phoenix, I’m so happy we are here. This is an INDYCAR track I think people that know the history of the sport know that it is an INDYCAR track.”
Team Penske teammate David Malukas led a race-high 73 laps but a string of slow pits stops left him in the mid-pack late in the race. He utilized the final caution and rebounded to finish 3rd.
The first race of the desert double delivered drama and a new championship leader.
With Alex Palou retiring early, Newgarden will leave Arizona atop the standings while Palou tumbles to fifth after the DNF.
Early Race Issues
Before any laps were taken, Romain Grosjean’s engine failed to fire and the team took his car behind the wall.
With Grosjean out of the way, David Malukas led the field to green and created a sizeable gap to second-place early.
The early trouble continued for Dale Coyne Racing on Lap 12. The first caution of the event involved their rookie Dennis Hauger. He spun off the nose of Christian Rasmussen exiting turn two and saved the car from hitting the wall on the backstretch.
The heavy oval favorites drove through the field early in those twelve laps.
Will Power gained ten positions from 24th to 14th while Alex Palou gained seven from 10th to third.
But for Palou, his march to the front and the race would end there.
On the subsequent restart, Graham Rahal made a brilliant move down the inside into turn three which stalled Palou’s momentum.
A faster Rinus VeeKay spotted his chance for fourth around Palou on the outside exiting turn four where the two ran would run out of room.
“I didn’t think there was anybody there… I need to see if there was any space or not later” said a disgruntled Palou after his 24th-placed DNF.
“He drove up on me man! Up in the front-left I think I’ve got suspension damage now” VeeKay radioed in.
He was able to continue racing but four laps down after repairs and finished 22nd on the day.
Regardless of fault, Alex Palou crashed out of the race and the championship lead for the first time since June of 2024.
Getting Down to Business
David Malukas jetted off on the restart and held pace up front. Seven drivers took new Firestone rubber during the second caution period and used the tire differential to their advantage.
Christian Rasmussen, an oval winner from last season, drove up to fourth before the first true pit cycle started on lap 70.
He took the lead of the race for the next ten laps before taking his stop as well.
The undercut seemed to be the dominant strategy of the event. Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward jumped all three Team Penske cars for the net race lead on the primary strategy while they fought each other in traffic.
O’Ward took the lead after Scott Dixon’s pitstop. He remained in the lead for only ten laps before Christian Rasmussen took the lead with a sketchy pass on the outside.
The second pit cycle of the day commenced with O’Ward utilizing the undercut once again but this time teams were aware and made quick action to limit its potential.
During the stops, David Malukas had a slow pit exit which took him out of the lead fight.
This allowed Rasmussen the prime opportunity to retake the race lead. He did so, passing O’ward once more, but not for too long.
Louis Foster brought out the caution in the middle of the cycle on lap 144. He trapped himself in the marbles entering turn three and brushed the wall with his left-rear tire.
Three cars stayed out with Kyle Kirkwood attaining the lead after Rasmussen and the rest of the field opted for new tires.
The front two stayed out for another 25 laps to make their final stops of the day but critically they had to go longer on their final stint than everyone else.
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Ryan Kemna View All
Ryan Kemna is a photojournalist for The Racing Experts, LLC. He has been with TRE since 2025.
Currently residing in the Minneapolis, MN, area, Kemna brings his passion for motorsports, photography, and a good story to readers.