Motorsport TechnologyJosef Newgarden won a dramatic Phoenix Grand Prix as pre-season favourite, defending champion and St. Petersburg winner Alex Palou crashed out of contention.
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In the second race of the season, the first on oval circuits, twice champion Newgarden claimed his 32nd IndyCar win, holding off Kyle Kirkwood, David Malukas and Pato O’Ward.
It’s never an easy affair on the ovals. And it was a far from straightforward victory.
For Palou, it was a rude awakening, the Spaniard smashing into the barriers following contact with Rinus VeeKay’s Chevrolet only 21 laps in.
“I’m very surprised,” Newgarden is quoted via Paul Kelly of the official IndyCar website. “In the middle of the race, I don’t know that I was fully believing that we had the capability to win.
New tires made all the difference for @josefnewgarden 😤 pic.twitter.com/fUrysrnqiW
— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) March 8, 2026
“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.”
For Kirkwood, a second placed finish marked a recent return to the podium, his last victory coming at the 2025 Bommarito Automotive Group 500.
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The result means that Newgarden takes the lead of the NTT IndyCar Series going into Race 3 at Arlington Raceway on March 15.
“Do we really have the lead?” added Newgarden via IndyCar official. “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.”
Meanwhile … a record-setting day at Phoenix 👀 pic.twitter.com/k7dWtr2wFO
— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) March 10, 2026
The race results means that with just two races gone, Newgarden leads from Kirkwood, Scott McLaughlin, O’Ward and Palou.
There’s barely time to take breath before racing resumes in Arlington, Texas on March 15.
