Avondale, AZ – The NTT INDYCAR series returned to Phoenix Raceway after an eight-year absence for its second event of the season. Josef Newgarden started alongside his pole-winning Team Penske teammate David Malukas, led the final seven laps and finished with a margin of victory of 1.8 seconds over Andretti Global driver Kyle Kirkwood. Malukas crossed the line in third, followed by Pato O’Ward and Marcus Armstrong.
“I was very surprised to win,” explained Newgarden, who earned his 33rd career victory, ranking 10th on the INDYCAR all-time win list. “We took some missteps in the middle of the race and I didn’t believe we had the car to win. We just kept working through it. We took new tires so I could drive aggressively. Then the car was a rocket ship when we needed it to be. Phoenix is an Indy car track. We are leading the points after two races but you can’t read too much into it. It’s hard to understand how things work as sometimes it works for us and sometimes goes against us.”
Newgarden’s win gave Team Penske their 247th INDYCAR victory as they start their 60th anniversary racing season.
The Good Ranchers 250 was the 65th Phoenix one-mile oval race at a track built for open-wheel cars. Most years there were two Indy car races, a spring and fall event. This year the track was shared with NASCAR as a doubleheader. Newgarden’s win on Saturday was followed by Team Penske driver Ryan Blaney taking the NASCAR Cup Series victory on Sunday.
In 2018, when Newgarden won the last INDYCAR race at Phoenix, he chose to make a pit stop for fresh tires while leading under caution, falling to fourth. Fresh tires gave him the advantage over leader Robert Wickens with four laps to go. This time, Newgarden gave up fourth, opting for fresh tires while under caution on Lap 212, and fell to 10th. Newgarden passed Kirkwood for the lead with seven laps to go.
“No one knew how today would go,” continued Newgarden, who pitted five times (twice under caution) compared to Kirkwood’s three stops (final stop on Lap 192), having fresh tires with 38 laps to go. “We tried to guess on how to make the best car. We were not the best car today and still have work to do. We went the wrong way midrace and worked our way back. We executed well. It was a good race because the second lane opened up and it got better, especially by the end of the race, because more drivers were using it. I could find grip and that allowed me to choose my battle at the end. When I needed that car to be good it was really good.”
There were 565 on-track passes, a new record for Phoenix. The new, wider Firestone right-front tire held up with less degradation, allowing drivers to run 70 or more laps, limited primarily by fuel.
“The wider tire definitely increased the front grip,” revealed Kirkwood, who led 47 laps. “We were running within a very healthy temperature range. It seems there’s minimal deg at the right-front, which is something we have struggled with at short ovals. That might have something to do with how good the racing was, at the end of stints, not just in the beginning.
“The race evolved a lot,” added Kirkwood. “The first stint was not that racy. As we continued to run and the track was cleaned, people got more comfortable to produce a real exciting race. Lots of passing happening. We had a really good shot to win there up until the final handful of laps. That’s just what 20-lap fresher tires can do. My car was really good and a lot of fun.
“We did the right thing with downforce and power levels to make the car racy,” continued Kirkwood. “Every time we do a test at a new oval it seems not to race that well. But then when we race, it turns out to be a great race. This was the first time NASCAR and INDYCAR raced together. All those other cars were putting rubber on the track and giving us confidence.”
David Malukas, who led the most laps with 73, was no match for the aggressive Christian Rasmussen, who led different portions of the race for a total of 69 laps.
“I was really happy,” revealed Malukas. “There were so many different strategies that I was hoping for a top-10. That last yellow came out (Lap 207) and we went for new tires. I pushed really hard. I was drifting and never drifted so much in an Indy car. The first turn, you turn left, and then you are turning right the rest of the way, almost spinning out in Turns One and Two. With Rasmussen, it is all or nothing. I decided if I kept defending against him, I would crash. He kept attacking in spite of tire deg. He even hit the wall multiple times.”
That was the view following Rasmussen, who is quite exciting to watch on ovals as he seems to have no fear and on the verge of crashing every lap. The final caution was due to wall contact when Rasmussen tried to force an outside pass around then-leader Will Power (who started last due to a crash in qualifying and moved into the lead on Lap 197). Exiting Turn Two, the Dane’s left-front wing cut down Power’s right-rear tire.
“I’m very clear what happened,” said a very disappointed Rasmussen, who finished 14th for Ed Carpenter Racing, falling from second place on Lap 207 after the heated battle with Power. “We were the class of the field today. We were the best car out there. You can’t run people into the wall, which is what happened today. He (Power) ran me straight into the wall and damaged my upper and lower wishbone and the toe link. The car was just impossible to drive after that. I did what I could to salvage the day and not crash the car. It’s so frustrating. We should have won the race today.”
Power slowed on track, bringing out the fourth and final caution, pitting for his cut tire to finish 16th. There were 41 total laps of caution, giving drivers a chance to breathe, literally, as they are under high G forces while turning more than 2/3 of every lap, completing laps in under 21 seconds.
“A positive from today is that we had one of the best cars out there and were fighting for the win,” described Power, in his second race for Andretti Global. “It’s obviously disappointing with how it finished, but it’s a huge step and a big improvement for us on short ovals. The strategy and pit stops were great. There were a lot of good things today, even if the result wasn’t what we wanted. I believe we’ll definitely be contending in a lot of races this year.”
When drivers were asked before the season started who they were most concerned about racing against, Rasmussen had 13 more votes than Romain Grosjean.
One of the most exciting moments happened on Lap 11, when rookie Dennis Hauger, driving for Dale Coyne Racing and fighting for 17th with Rasmussen, spun backwards exiting Turn Two – without contact. The “Norwegian Nightmare” put his car in reverse and backed up all the way down the backstretch into Turn 3, where he got pointed in the right direction to resume in 24th place.
In over 30 years of covering open-wheel racing, the only time I’ve ever seen a driver run backwards was the amazing feat of the late Greg Moore, who spun exiting Turn 4 at the race start of the Twin Ring Motegi oval in Japan (during the ’90s), with the field heading straight for him in two-by-two formation. He threw his car in reverse, smoking his tires all the way down the front straightaway and up into the first turn … backwards. Drivers negotiated the first turn down low to avoid the Canadian and many may have had what Helio Castroneves referred to as a “Code Brown” moment (needing a change of underwear).
The next incident of Sunday’s race took place on Lap 22 when Alex Palou, who started 10th and worked his way up to fourth, had contact with Rinus VeeKay, who tried to squeeze by up high along the wall. Spotters are required on ovals but the Spaniard likely didn’t have any warning that VeeKay was there as the contact happened in an instant.
“I haven’t been able to see the incident,” stated Palou, the four-time INDYCAR champion who made his 100th start at Phoenix (his 20% win rate is the most of any active driver). “I didn’t think anyone was there. I need to hear if someone was trying to get there and see if there was really that space or not. Unfortunately, I ended up in the wall and it ended our race early. That’s racing.”
Drivers had the chance to earn valuable points contending for the championship after Palou’s contact caused him to finish 24th, following a win at St. Petersburg. Leaving Phoenix, Newgarden has 78 points, followed by Kirkwood with 73, Scott McLaughlin 66, Pato O’Ward 63, and Palou in fifth, with 59 points. Racing continues next Sunday, March 15 at the new street course circuit between the Dallas Cowboys’ and Texas Rangers’ stadiums in Arlington, TX.