Josef Newgarden returned to familiar territory at Phoenix Raceway, capturing his first victory of the season and reclaiming the IndyCar points lead in dramatic fashion Saturday.
The Tennessee native's triumph at the desert oval marked his second Phoenix victory, having also won the last IndyCar race held there in 2018. The 35-year-old driver's 33rd career win came after championship leader Alex Palou suffered an early exit that ended his months-long stranglehold on the standings.
"Do we really have the lead?" Newgarden asked rhetorically Saturday evening. "I mean, it's two races in, so it's early."
Palou's race ended abruptly when his No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing entry made contact with Rinus Veekay's car and hit the wall very early in the Good Ranchers 250. The defending champion, who had led the points since June 2024 and won the season opener in St. Petersburg, dropped to fifth in the standings after recording just his 10th DNF in 100 career starts.
Kyle Kirkwood finished second for Andretti Global and acknowledged the rarity of seeing Palou fail to finish a race. "Yeah, I don't even really know what the standings are," Kirkwood said. "I know I'm second now."
"But that is a very rare thing. We haven't seen that out of the 10 car in a long time. I don't know what happened. It looked like he got taken out. I'm not sure."
Team Penske celebrated a strong showing in its 60th anniversary season, with David Malukas claiming the pole position and finishing third in his new role with the team. The former Haas F1 reserve driver reflected on the challenging conditions during the race's final stages.
"Definitely really satisfied," Malukas said. "Big congrats to Josef for getting the win there. New tires, hard work to get through everybody. Last stint, I don't know what Kyle thought, but that's the hardest I pushed a tire before. That was drifting. I never drifted in an IndyCar that much before."
Malukas described the unique challenges of Phoenix's flat oval layout: "Through one and two, the first turn is actually left, then when you're in the corner, the rest of it you're turning right. Some big moments. I'm very excited to go back and clip all the videos of almost spinning out in one and two."
Christian Rasmussen of Ed Carpenter Racing appeared to have the dominant car but saw his victory hopes dashed in a late incident with Will Power. Rasmussen accused Power of running him into the wall during a passing attempt, ending what looked like a breakthrough performance.
"We were the class of the field," Rasmussen said. "I had the best car out there."
Power, the former Penske driver who Malukas replaced this season, had rallied from starting at the back after a qualifying crash to lead the race before the contact with Rasmussen damaged both cars. Power finished 16th while Rasmussen dropped to 14th.
Mick Schumacher, making his oval debut after a crash-shortened IndyCar debut the previous week, started fourth but faded to 18th in his Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing entry. The son of seven-time Formula 1 champion Michael Schumacher struggled to adapt to the unique demands of oval racing.
Newgarden's victory comes as IndyCar enters an unusually busy stretch with three races over four consecutive weekends. The series next heads to a new venue on the calendar – a temporary street circuit in Arlington, Texas – as teams navigate the early championship battle.
With 16 races remaining in the season, Newgarden has positioned himself as the early challenger to Palou's championship defense, marking a significant shift in the points standings after the Spaniard's extended dominance.