AVONDALE, AZ – It wasn’t spectacular, but the “Oval King” has done it again. In IndyCar’s first race at Phoenix Raceway since 2018, Josef Newgarden was victorious, just as he was eight years ago.
Despite leading only eight of the 250 laps in the Good Ranchers 250, Newgarden earned his first win of the IndyCar season. Six different drivers led more laps than Newgarden on Saturday, but it was his No. 2 Team Penske Chevrolet that finished first.
“At the end of the day, I think the team just executed,” Newgarden said. “They executed at a super high level. That is what it takes to win these races. I am 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 when we’re somewhere. I think we try and be realistic about where we’re at. We executed at a super high level. Everyone was on it.”
Newgarden led just one of the first 243 laps, but he lingered around the front of the pack after beginning the race in second. When Christian Rasmussen, who led the race in laps led (69), lost steam in the last 10 laps after contact with Will Power, Newgarden took the lead from Rasmussen and Kyle Kirkwood, who led two laps after Rasmussen tailed off.
Once Newgarden passed Kirkwood, he held him off for seven laps to reach victory lane. Newgarden’s win even surprised him.
“I was not a believer midway through the race,” Newgarden said. “But when I needed that car to be good, it was really good. I mean, it’s not like I was doing something magical. It was right where I needed it to be.”
Newgarden is looking to rebound from 2025, which was his worst season since 2014. Newgarden finished 12th in the series last year, as he did not finish five races. His struggles were part of larger Team Penske issues throughout the year.
When the season began last week, it looked like there’d be more of the same struggles for the 35-year-old Newgarden. He qualified for the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg in 23rd, which is on the second-to-last row of the starting grid. But Newgarden managed to work his way up to seventh in that race, showing that he and his car are in a good spot.
Newgarden excelled in both qualifying and the race this weekend, which got him the win. The two-time IndyCar champion now leads the series standings after Alex Palou did not finish Saturday’s race.
“It’s an everyday process,” Newgarden said of competing for another championship. “We’re going to take it one step at a time. Doesn’t mean there’s not going to be some turbulence. I think if we do our jobs and control what’s in our control, I don’t see why we can’t be in the fight.”
Team Penske’s start to 2026 has looked more like what this team is used to. Its three drivers are in the top six of the standings, as Scott McLaughlin is in third and David Malukas sixth. McLaughlin won the pole and finished second in St. Petersburg last week, while Malukas won the pole and finished third this week.
There are still 16 races to go, but it feels like Team Penske will have at least one driver in the top five this year, which didn’t happen last year.
“I think it goes to show the resilience of Team Penske, right?” said Malukas, who joined the team this year. “They had some mad moments last year, now they come back. We’re hitting it off on a very high note.”
Newgarden is known for making spectacular passes and being aggressive, especially on ovals. But to win the Good Ranchers 250, Newgarden strategically waited until the time was right to make a push, and it led to his 33rd career win.
“I would say we were conservative, kind of had a boring strategy today,” Team Penske president Jonathan Diuguid said. “… Ten laps from the end, I was like, ‘Okay, I don’t know if we’re going to do this.’ Then we started moving forward pretty quickly.”
“If you want to excel in this type of race, you’ve got to be excellent in traffic,” Newgarden said. “I mean, there’s just no getting around it. That’s what happens on a short oval situation, is the circulation is so high that you can’t just kind of sit there and control the lead. You’ve got to be able to go.”
It’s now up to Newgarden to keep this momentum going throughout the season. But it appears that he and the No. 2 car have returned to form, which could be scary for the rest of the grid.
Zion Brown is IndyStar’s motorsports reporter. Follow him at @z10nbr0wn. Get IndyStar’s motor sports coverage sent directly to your inbox with our Motor Sports newsletter. Subscribe to theYouTube channel IndyStar TV: IndyCar for a behind-the-scenes look at IndyCar and expert analysis.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Josef Newgarden wasn’t ‘a believer midway through the race.’ How he won at Phoenix
Reporting by Zion Brown, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
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