Starting from 2nd Place Car 2 Josef Newgarden won the 2026 Good Ranchers 250 at Phoenix Raceway for NTT INDYCAR Series his 33rd win. This is his 1st win & 1st Top 5 of 2026. 2nd Place Car 27 Kyle Kirkwood, started from 11th place posted his 2nd Top 5 of 2026. 3rd Place Car 12 David Malukas, started from pole posted his 1st Top 5 of 2026.
4th Place Car 5 Pato O’Ward, Pato, started from 7th place followed by 5th place Car 66 Marcus Armstrong, started from 13th place. 6th Place Car 20 Alexander Rossi, started from 6th place followed by 7th place Car 9 Scott Dixon, started from 15th place. 8th Place Car 3 Scott McLaughlin, started from 5th place followed by 9th place Car 15 Graham Rahal, started from 3rd place. Lastly in the Top 10 was Car 8 Kyffin Simpson, in 10th place, started from 19th place.
The race had 4 Cautions for 41 Laps: 1st Caution on lap 11 for Spin: Car 19 on Backstretch. 2nd Caution on lap 22 for Contact; Cars 10 and 76 in Turn 4. 3rd Caution on lap 142 for Contact: Car 45 in Turn 4. 4th Caution on lap 207 for Contact: Cars 21 and 26 in Turn 2.
The race had 18 Lead Changes Among 11 Drivers: Lead Change Summary On Lap Car Leader: 1 12 Malukas, David. 73 21 Rasmussen, Christian. 77 66 Armstrong, Marcus. 85 9 Dixon, Scott. 97 19 Hauger, Dennis. 98 5 O’Ward, Pato. 108 21 Rasmussen, Christian. 126 2 Newgarden, Josef. 127 12 Malukas, David. 128 7 Lundgaard, Christian. 136 21 Rasmussen, Christian. 146 27 Kirkwood, Kyle. 191 21 Rasmussen, Christian. 193 19 Hauger, Dennis. 195 28 Ericsson, Marcus. 197 26 Power, Will. 207 21 Rasmussen, Christian. 242 27 Kirkwood, Kyle. 244 2 Newgarden, Josef. Leader Summary: Car Driver Laps Led: 12 Malukas, David 73. 21 Rasmussen, Christian 69. 27 Kirkwood, Kyle 47. 9 Dixon, Scott 12. 5 O’Ward, Pato 10. 26 Power, Will 10. 2 Newgarden, Josef 8. 66 Armstrong, Marcus 8. 7 Lundgaard, Christian 8. 19 Hauger, Dennis 3. 28 Ericsson, Marcus 2.
Photo Courtesy of INDYCAR
INDYCAR Statement:
Newgarden Hunts Down Victory, Takes Series Lead at Phoenix
AVONDALE, Ariz. (Saturday, March 7, 2026) – It took Josef Newgarden 17 races last year to earn his only victory of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES season.
That winning box already is checked this year, two races in.
Two-time series champion Newgarden earned his first victory of the season and 33rd of his illustrious career by closing down and passing leader Kyle Kirkwood with seven laps remaining to win the Good Ranchers 250 on Saturday at Phoenix Raceway. Newgarden, who started second, drove away to a 1.7937-second victory in the No. 2 XPEL Team Penske Chevrolet over the No. 27 JM Bullion/Gold.com of Andretti Global driver Kirkwood.
“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.”
NTT P1 Award winner David Malukas finished third in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet as Roger Penske’s legendary team celebrated its 60th anniversary season with two podium positions.
Pato O’Ward finished fourth in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, with Marcus Armstrong rounding out the top five in the No. 66 ROOT Insurance Honda of Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb Agajanian.
INDYCAR’s first race in Phoenix since 2018 – Newgarden and Team Penske also won that event – featured plenty of action throughout the field, as there were 565 on-track passes, an INDYCAR record at the 1-mile desert oval. But a combination of tire strategy and deft maneuvering in traffic delivered the victory to Newgarden, who also won the season-ending race last August at Nashville Superspeedway to avoid a winless 2025.
Kirkwood made his last stop on Lap 192 and was running fourth behind 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 his 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 was 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.
Rasmussen led at the final restart of the 250-lap race 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 large 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,” Rasmussen said. “It’s so frustrating because we should have won the race today.”
Kirkwood 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 gnawed 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.”
As a bonus in this young season, Newgarden became the first driver other than four-time series champion Alex Palou to lead the standings since June 2024. Two-time Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge winner Newgarden leads Kirkwood, 78-73, after two races as he tries 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.”
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 led to a trip into the SAFER Barrier.
It was Palou’s worst finish since he placed 25th last June in Detroit after contact eliminated him from that street race.
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 temporary street circuit travels around AT&T Stadium, the home of the Dallas Cowboys, and Globe Life Field, the home of the Texas Rangers.
2026 Good Ranchers 250 Race Results
Phoenix Raceway March 7, 2026 Round 2
Position Starting Position Car Driver Lap Status
1. 2. Car 2 Newgarden, Josef D/C/F 250 01:51:14.4657 Running
2. 11. Car 27 Kirkwood, Kyle D/H/F 250 Running
3. 1. Car 12 Malukas, David D/C/F 250 Running
4. 7. Car 5 O’Ward, Pato D/C/F 250 Running
5. 13. Car 66 Armstrong, Marcus D/H/F 250 Running
6. 6. Car 20 Rossi, Alexander D/C/F 250 Running
7. 15. Car 9 Dixon, Scott D/H/F 250 Running
8. 5. Car 3 McLaughlin, Scott D/C/F 250 Running
9. 3. Car 15 Rahal, Graham D/H/F 250 Running
10. 19. Car 8 Simpson, Kyffin D/H/F 250 Running
11. 21. Car 14 Ferrucci, Santino D/C/F 250 Running
12. 24. Car 60 Rosenqvist, Felix D/H/F 250 Running
13. 17. Car 7 Lundgaard, Christian D/C/F 250 Running
14. 18. Car 21 Rasmussen, Christian D/C/F 250 Running
15. 22. Car 19 Hauger, Dennis (R) D/H/F 250 Running
16. 25. Car 26 Power, Will D/H/F 249 Running
17. 14. Car 28 Ericsson, Marcus D/H/F 249 Running
18. 4. Car 47 Schumacher, Mick (R) D/H/F 248 Running
19. 23. Car 4 Collet, Caio (R) D/C/F 248 Running
20. 9. Car 6 Siegel, Nolan D/C/F 247 Running
21. 12. Car 77 Robb, Sting Ray D/C/F Running
22. 8. Car 76 VeeKay, Rinus D/C/F 245 Running
23. 16. Car 45 Foster, Louis D/H/F 140 Contact
24. 10. Car 10 Palou, Alex D/H/F 21 Contact
25. 20. Car 18 Grosjean, Romain D/H/F 0 Mechanical
Stats:
Time of Race: 01:51:14.4657.
Avg Speed: 134.842.
Lead Changes: 18.
Caution Laps: 41.
Next Event: Sunday, March 15 Streets of Arlington FOX 12:30 p.m.
INDYCAR
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