Josef Newgarden may not have had the best car all day but he had the best car when it mattered. The driver of the No. 2 Team Penske Chevrolet scored his first win of 2026 after passing Kyle Kirkwood late to take the lead.
Newgarden’s drive was made possible due to new tires which were a result of contact between Christian Rasmussen and Will Power. Rasmussen had a dominant day leading 69 laps but contact with the wall and the right rear of Power’s car as he was trying to regain the lead would result in the final caution of the race. While Power dealt with a flat tire losing the lead, Rasmussen managed to stay on track but another wall slap would see him fall to 14th.
Alex Palou began the race 10th and would move up to third early on but he would take himself out of the race early after making contact with Rinus VeeKay.
With the win and Palou’s 24th place finish, Newgarden is now the IndyCar Series points leader.
Phoenix Raceway IndyCar Series Results
March 7, 2026
|
POSITION
|
START
|
LED
|
BEHIND
|
PTS
|
||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
J. Newgarden #2
|
2
|
8
|
Winner
|
–
|
|
|
2 |
K. Kirkwood #27
|
11
|
47
|
1.794
|
–
|
|
|
3 |
D. Malukas #12
|
1
|
73
|
2.841
|
–
|
|
|
4 |
P. O’Ward #5
|
7
|
10
|
3.932
|
–
|
|
|
5 |
M. Armstrong #66
|
13
|
8
|
6.482
|
–
|
|
|
6 |
A. Rossi #20
|
6
|
0
|
7.291
|
–
|
|
|
7 |
S. Dixon #9
|
15
|
12
|
8.165
|
–
|
|
|
8 |
S. McLaughlin #3
|
5
|
0
|
9.879
|
–
|
|
|
9 |
G. Rahal #15
|
3
|
0
|
10.469
|
–
|
|
|
10 |
K. Simpson #8
|
19
|
0
|
12.131
|
–
|
|
|
11 |
S. Ferrucci #14
|
21
|
0
|
16.836
|
–
|
|
|
12 |
F. Rosenqvist #60
|
24
|
0
|
17.214
|
–
|
|
|
13 |
C. Lundgaard #7
|
17
|
8
|
17.658
|
–
|
|
|
14 |
C. Rasmussen #21
|
18
|
69
|
18.286
|
–
|
|
|
15 |
D. Hauger #19
|
22
|
3
|
18.974
|
–
|
|
|
16 |
W. Power #26
|
25
|
10
|
1 Lap
|
–
|
|
|
17 |
M. Ericsson #28
|
14
|
2
|
1 Lap
|
–
|
|
|
18 |
M. Schumacher #47
|
4
|
0
|
2 Laps
|
–
|
|
|
19 |
C. Collet #4
|
23
|
0
|
2 Laps
|
–
|
|
|
20 |
N. Siegel #6
|
9
|
0
|
3 Laps
|
–
|
|
|
21 |
S. Robb #77
|
12
|
0
|
4 Laps
|
–
|
|
|
22 |
R. Veekay #76
|
8
|
0
|
5 Laps
|
–
|
|
|
23 |
L. Foster #45
|
16
|
0
|
110 Laps
|
–
|
|
|
24 |
A. Palou #10
|
10
|
0
|
229 Laps
|
–
|
|
|
25 |
R. Grosjean #18
|
20
|
0
|
250 Laps
|
–
|
|
