NEWGARDEN BACK TO PHOENIX VICTORY LANE AS DRIVERS PRAISE PHOENIX PRODUCT

AVONDALE, Ariz. – Josef Newgarden defended his 2018 Phoenix Raceway victory in a special season for owner Roger Penske on Saturday by virtue of a pass for the lead in the final 10 laps.

A caution for Will Power and Christian Rasmussen set up a restart with 32 laps to go, and the No. 2 team took fresh Firestones. Newgarden moved from 10th to first and captured the first IndyCar win in the team's 60th anniversary, and he did so in the NASCAR doubleheader weekend.

“It will be so disappointing if the Cup guys do not deliver,” Newgarden said jokingly. “We got to go first. It worked out. Now you got to put the pressure on them.”

Penske earned the IndyCar pole with David Malukas, and Joey Logano starts first for the Captain for Sunday’s NASCAR race. Newgarden expressed interest in having more combination events.

“It's fun,” Newgarden said. “I wish we had more weekends like this, to be honest with you.”

Newgarden led the final eight laps, claiming his 33rd-career trophy and advancing into 10th on the all-time list. Newgarden’s last 10 wins have come on ovals. This victory was hard fought.

“I got to say I was not a believer midway through,” 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.”

Malukas led the opening 73 laps, suffered a slow pit stop on lap 127, dropping him mid-pack. The final caution provided an opportunity to make up ground, and Malukas was laser-focused.

“For my brain-rotted TikTok brain, I was so focused,” Malukas said. “I didn't have a second to think about anything else. We were full drift the whole time. It was an awesome race.”

Second-place finisher Kyle Kirkwood notched his second top-five of the season. It was his best result since a win at World Wide Technology Raceway in 2025. Kirkwood enjoyed his afternoon. 

“I loved the race,” Kirkwood said. “At least from our point of view in the car, there was a lot of passing happening, a lot of different strategies, a lot to talk about.

“I imagine the FOX guys' mouths were full while they were trying to talk about everything.”

One driver who left Phoenix disappointed was St. Petersburg winner Alex Palou. The four-time series champion collided with Rinus VeeKay on the front stretch, destroying his DHl Honda.

“I obviously got contact with VeeKay, didn't know that there was a car there,” Palou said. “Don't feel like there was much space there on the outside, but I don’t know.”

“We ended up in the wall, that's what hurts,” Palau said. “Losing the points lead on the second race. It's fine. At least we started the season good.”

The NTT IndyCar Series travels to Texas next for the Java House Grand Prix of Arlington. The new 2.73-mile route around the Dallas Cowboys stadium debuts Sunday, Mar. 15 at 12:30 p.m. ET.