Mar 08, 2026
3 min read
Josef Newgarden won at Phoenix Raceway on Saturday, replacing Alex Palu at the top of the IndyCar standings for the first time since June 2024.
AVONDALE, AZ.– Back on a familiar oval, Josef Newgarden is back in victory lane and leading the IndyCar standings.
Newgarden won Saturday at Phoenix Raceway, where IndyCar battled NASCAR's desert doubleheader.The last time IndyCar raced on the 1-mile oval was in 2018, and Newgarden won that race as well.
His victory continued what could be a sweep by Team Penske in Phoenix: David Malukas won the pole for the IndyCar race, Joey Logano won the pole for the NASCAR race, Newgarden won the IndyCar race and Ryan Blaney was the favorite to win Sunday.
Team Penske is celebrating its 60th season in racing this year, and this double weekend allowed Roger Penske to bring his six drivers from both series together to mark the anniversary.
Newgarden, a two-time Indianapolis 500 winner and two-time IndyCar champion, avoided a winless 2025 season by winning the season finale at his hometown track, Nashville Superspeedway.
Newgarden has won 12 of the last 25 races on ovals and has a stranglehold on Alex Palou in the IndyCar standings.
Palou made contact with Rinus Wieke very early in the race and recorded his 10th DNF in 100 career IndyCar starts.Three of the DNFs came in his rookie year, when Palou had yet to move to Chip Ganassi Racing.
Since joining Ganassi, the Spaniard has won four of the last five championships and is the IndyCar points leader as of June 2024.
Now Newgarden takes the lead as IndyCar heads into the inaugural event on the streets of Arlington, Texas next weekend.
"Do we really have a lead? I mean, two races in, it's still early," Newgarden said.
Palau, who won the season opener last week, dropped to fifth after finishing 21st.
Kyle Kirkwood finished second for Andretti Global and Malukas was third while Penske was first and third.Scott McLaughlin was eighth in Penske's third inning.
"Definitely really pleased," said Maliuk.
Christian Rasmussen looked to be the most dominant driver in the race, but he crashed into the wall while trying to pass Will Power on the outside.Power, who was leading at the time, cut a tire on contact and Rasmussen's car was so damaged that Newgarden spun him down.
Rasmussen finished a disappointing 14th and said the power drove him into the wall.
“We were the class of the field, I had the best car in the world,” Rasmussen said.
Power, who crashed in qualifying, rallied from the back of the field to lead the race until an incident with Rasmussen.Power finished 16th.
Mick Schumacher started fourth on his oval debut, but the son of seven-time Formula One champion Michael Schumacher quickly retired to finish 18th.
Romain Grosjean did not start the race at Dale Coyne Racing due to registration issues.It didn't even turn around.
