Devon HenryINDYCAR returned to its roots in the west with a thriller in front of a nearly sold out crowd at Phoenix Raceway. For team Penske and Josef Newgarden, it felt like a familiar ending.
In the series’ first race at Phoenix Raceway since 2018, Newgarden stormed past Kyle Kirkwood with seven laps remaining to win the Good Ranchers 250, capturing his first victory of the 2026 season and the 33rd of his career. The two-time champion launched through the field, jumping from fifth to first in just a handful of laps to a 1.79-second win over Kirkwood’s No. 27 Andretti Global entry after a late-race charge.
“I’m very surprised,” Newgarden said. “In the middle of the race, I don’t know that I was fully believing that we had the capability to win. 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.”
The crown stays with him 👑 pic.twitter.com/TojFGCpskq
— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) March 7, 2026
The victory marks back-to-back wins for Newgarden at Phoenix Raceway. Eight years ago, Newgarden celebrated in a much different looking victory lane in INDYCAR’s most recent visit to Arizona. That 2018 victory marked just the eighth career victory for Newgarden.
David Malukas, who earned the NTT P1 Award in qualifying, completed a strong day for Team Penske by finishing third in the No. 12 Verizon Chevrolet. Pato O’Ward came home fourth for Arrow McLaren, while Marcus Armstrong rounded out the top five for Meyer Shank Racing.
Phoenix’s long-awaited return to the INDYCAR calendar delivered plenty of action. Orginally built for INDYCAR in 1964, Phoenix Raceway’s one-mile oval was dubbed ‘The Indianapolis of the West,’ a proving ground and test session for drivers to prepare for the legendary Indianapolis 500. The 2026 return of INDYCAR marked the series’ 65th visit to Avondale and whitnessed a 250-lap race that produced a staggering 565 on-track passes, the most ever recorded in an INDYCAR race at the historic desert oval.
If you know anyhting about the DNA of Phoenix Raceway, it is very much an INDYCAR track, so it feels fitting to be here,” Newgarden told Sports360AZ in victory lane. “I mean, it’s our history, this is what this place was really built for. It’s great to have a race on an oval before the Indiapolis 500, I think that helps a lot, so I would love to keep it going.”
After an eight-year hiatus the @IndyCar came ROARING back to the valley of the sun at @phoenixraceway and put on a show!
📸: Chase & Devon Henry pic.twitter.com/rq1FdH2Txx
— Devon Henry (@devonhenry77) March 8, 2026
The win also reshaped the early championship fight. Newgarden now leads Kirkwood by five points in the season standings after two races, becoming the first driver other than four-time champion Álex Palou to lead the standings since June 2024. Palou’s day ended early after contact with Rinus VeeKay sent the No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing machine into the front straightaway wall.
Not only does this weekend represent INDYCAR’s return to a legendendary track in its history, but also the first time in motorsports history that NASCAR and INDYCAR will race on the same oval during the same weekend. The NASCAR Cup Series hits the track Sunday at 12:30 pm. Tickets are still available at phoenixraceway.com.
Team Penske looks to sweep this historic weekend tomorrow with three-time Cup Series Champion, Joey Logano, sitting on pole, donning a throwback Penske livery to Scott McLaughlin’s 2019 Bathurst 1000 Supercars victory.
INDYCAR returns to action this weekend on the streets of Arlington, racing around the homes of the Dallas Cowboys and Texas Rangers. While there is no offical announcement of INDYCAR’s return to Phoenix Raceway in 2027, reports state that conversations between INDYCAR and NASCAR leadership have already begun to potentially bring the doubleheader weekend back to Phoenix next March.
