By Austin Lawton, Staff Writer

Despite racing with an injured left foot, Josef Newgarden was in prime form Sunday night, claiming his sixth win at World Wide Technology Raceway (WWT) and second win on the 2026 IndyCar season. 

Newgarden pulled off the winning move of the race with 40 laps to go, passing Christian Rasmussen on the inside entering Turn 3. It would be an easy drive to the checkered for Newgarden, who faced very little challenge in the last leg of the race. 

The two-time IndyCar champion gave immense credit to the crew of the No.2 Team Penske Chevrolet post-race for building another fast race car. 

“I think the team executed a really great race, which is ultimately what delivered the result at the end of the day,” Newgarden said. “They just did a great job. Everyone stayed composed. It was a methodical win. ‘m just glad we went the distance honestly. That was the big thing. With the rain, it almost turns it into a casino in some regards. I think the fast cars finished up front going the distance. Marcus [Ericsson] was super good. I don’t know that we were much better than him. I think we were very equal. It turned into a track position game at the end because we were so comparable.”

Despite leading the most laps in the race at 114, Marcus Ericsson could not catch Newgarden in the end, finishing just six-tenths of a second behind the No.2. Ericsson’s last win came at St. Petersburg in 2023, but despite the shortcoming on Sunday evening, the Swede was still proud of the No.28 Honda for Andretti Global and the renewed performance on a short oval. 

“It’s definitely bittersweet after leading that many laps, having a great car underneath me,” Ericsson said. “We drove all the way to the front, was feeling really good up front. Josef is good around these tracks. He got track position on us at one of the stops. Yeah, it’s just hard to get around him. Bittersweet, but the Honda was great all night. Thought I drove really well. A good result for us. But yeah, of course you want that win when you’re that close to it.”

Closing out the podium was Christian Rasmussen, who clinches his best result in the 2026 season. The Ed Carpenter Racing driver started 19th and charged through the field throughout the evening, earning the Jostens Biggest Mover award. With his No.21 ECR Chevy set up for the long run, Rasmussen could contend, but lack of overall pace was the key factor in the closing stages of the race. 

“I think we had a third-place car today,” Rasmussen said. “I couldn’t hang with those guys there at the end. I was super strong I would say later in the stints, and we didn’t really have a lot of deg, but I just didn’t have that ultimate pace. Whenever we were all on kind of newer-ish tires, I couldn’t hang. But again, very happy with a third-place finish here today. I think it’s a good way to start building some momentum for the rest of the year.” 

Newgarden would express his thoughts about the battle with Rasmussen that would ultimately give the Team Penske driver the win, leading to Newgarden being confused about Rasmussen’s running position. 

“So I got a little confused. I thought Christian [Rasmussen] was a lap car,” Newgarden said. “I didn’t realize that was [Alexander] Rossi that was a lap car. It’s my fault. I was going to let him go. He doesn’t matter, I’ll just follow on him. I don’t really want to be behind him. I still didn’t know he was on the lead lap. That is why when he came up to the podium, I am like, ‘What are you doing here? How did you get here? You were a lap down.’ I think he got a little offended by that. I’m so glad that I repassed him. He’s kind of in the way.

“That’s really the truth. I thought he was the lap car and Rossi was the one that I was going to fight if he was in the mix with Marcus [Ericsson]. Ultimately I think we were able to get back by him because we had a great car. I think Marcus equally had a super good car. I think because we went the distance, you saw the quick cars finish up front tonight. If you’re being truthful about it, I think me and Marcus were pretty close on performance. It was just going to come down to execution. The team executed when we needed to. That’s what ultimately pulled off the victory.”

Rinus Veekay would pilot his No.76 Juncos Hollinger Chevrolet to fourth on Sunday night, with the car showing strong pace like it did in 2025 with Conor Daly behind the wheel. Veekay’s car would come alive within the last 50 laps of the race and would use lapped cars to aid his efforts in moving forward.

The Dutchman was very proud of what the team was able to show at WWT Raceway, after wrecking in the first short oval race at Phoenix in March. 

“I’m pissed with fourth place, of course,” Veekay said. “Your the first proper loser going home empty handed, but not empty handed with points. This is how we should have raced in Phoenix, so really proud of the guys behind me for everything they’ve done and giving me such a good car to race with. With this package we have right now, we have too little downforce, too little power to really get a big move going, unless there’s lapped cars around.” 

Scott McLaughlin would conclude a solid day for Team Penske, guiding his No.3 Chevrolet to a fifth place finish. 

Despite a chaotic finish, only four cautions flew during the 260-lap contest. Rain would play a factor for two cautions. Light sprinkles would cause the field to be brought to pit road on Lap 142 and Lap 197. The field would run 28 laps under yellow from Laps 114-142, followed by a brief red flag with the cars being brought to pit road. On Lap 197, a very 

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With the introduction of a new aerodynamic package and a new right front tire for Sunday night’s race, one could assume the teams would face challenges, but for Team Penske and the No.2 crew, it was an easy transition from 2025 to 2026 at WWT Raceway. 

“I thought we had pretty good transfer from last year to this year. It was actually trickier,” Newgarden said. “Our car last year was maybe a little bit better right off the jump, whereas this weekend we had to work on it. You could see some other people elevated with that. When you change the package, it sometimes just migrates to a different group that was maybe closer to where you needed to be. We had to find it. I still felt like we got pretty much where we needed to be in the end, which is what your goal is. I think coming back we can make it even better. Like J.D said, we’ll talk about it and continue to try to improve.”

“I think the biggest thing is there’s a new tire here this weekend on the right front which was in response to some of the things that occurred last year,” Team Penske Team President Jonathan Diuguid said. “A few other teams tested here more than we did. Those teams were strong during the race. It’s really about leaning on the notes we have from previous years and the experience we have in the truck. I know Luke, Josef’s race engineer, worked very hard from when we showed up here and did the first practice session until the race. It’s not like we didn’t make any changes. There were large changes on the car, large setup adjustments. We have to come prepared and come with confidence and the tools. Like Josef said, the people that are in the truck and engineering office are the people who put the car where it was today, and Josef executed for us and finished in front.”