Josef Newgarden Chases Down Phoenix Win, Leads IndyCar

• Josef Newgarden ran down Kyle Kirkwood late to win the Good Ranchers 250 at Phoenix Raceway for his first victory of the 2026 NTT IndyCar Series season
• A late caution, tire choice, and traffic decided the finish, with Team Penske placing two cars on the podium in its 60th anniversary season
• Newgarden left Phoenix leading the standings 78 to 73 over Kirkwood after two races, ending Alex Palou’s long run at the top of the points table

Josef Newgarden needed 17 races to win last season. Two rounds into 2026, he already has one in the bank, and it came the hard way, by hunting down the leader and taking control at the end.

Newgarden closed and passed Kyle Kirkwood with seven laps remaining to win Saturday’s Good Ranchers 250 at Phoenix Raceway. Starting second, Newgarden pulled clear to win by 1.7937 seconds in the No. 2 XPEL Team Penske Chevrolet, with Kirkwood second in the No. 27 JM Bullion and Gold.com Andretti Global entry.

“I’m very surprised,” Newgarden said. “In the middle of the race, I don’t know that I was fully believing that we had the capability to win. We just kept working through it, and I’m like, ‘Look, if we get another opportunity, we’re going to be aggressive, we’re going to be on the offense.’

“We took tires, and the thing was like a rocket ship when it needed to be, right at the end of the race. Hats off to the whole crew. I’m pumped.”

David Malukas finished third after taking the NTT P1 Award, giving Team Penske two podium finishes as the organisation continues its 60th anniversary season. Pato O’Ward was fourth for Arrow McLaren, and Marcus Armstrong completed the top five for Meyer Shank Racing with Curb Agajanian.

Phoenix returned to the IndyCar calendar for the first time since 2018, a race also won by Newgarden and Team Penske. The 1 mile oval produced constant movement through the field, with 565 on track passes setting an IndyCar record at the venue.

The late shape of the race turned on tire strategy more than fuel, and on a final caution that reset the front.

Kirkwood made his last stop on Lap 192 and was running fourth behind Will Power, Christian Rasmussen and O’Ward on Lap 207, when Power and Rasmussen fought fiercely at the front. Contact between Rasmussen’s left front wing end plate and Power’s right rear tire exiting Turn 2 cut Power’s tire, triggered the final caution, and ended Power’s charge after he started last in the 25 car field. Rasmussen’s car was also damaged.

During that caution, Newgarden and others near the front pitted for fresh Firestone Firehawk tires. Rasmussen, Kirkwood, Malukas and Armstrong stayed out, choosing track position over grip.

Rasmussen led at the restart on Lap 218, but Kirkwood’s pace carried him past for the lead on Lap 242. Rasmussen then faded with damage and older tires, finishing 14th after leading five times for 69 laps.

“We were the class of the field today – best car out there,” Rasmussen said. “It’s so frustrating because we should have won the race today.”

Kirkwood’s lead over Newgarden was six tenths when he took over, but Newgarden’s tire advantage showed almost immediately. Newgarden reeled him in and drove under Kirkwood in Turn 4 to take the lead for good 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.”

The win also moved Newgarden to the top of the standings, 78 to 73 over Kirkwood after two races. It made him the first driver other than four time series champion Alex Palou to lead the points since June 2024.

“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.”

Palou’s day ended early. He finished 24th after completing 21 laps in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, after side by side contact with Rinus VeeKay sent him into the SAFER Barrier. It was Palou’s worst finish since he placed 25th in Detroit last June.

The 2026 NTT IndyCar Series continues with a third race in three weekends, the first running of the Java House Grand Prix of Arlington on Sunday, March 15. The temporary street circuit runs around AT and T Stadium and Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.