Josef Newgarden came into World Wide Technology Raceway with a slight limp and a walking boot on his left foot, but walked out with hardware after winning the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 on Sunday night.
The Tennessee native continued to show signs of the battle scars suffered from his crash at the Indianapolis 500 just two weeks prior. A week ago, he leaned on a single crutch moving from the paddock to pit lane. On Sunday night, he simply sat on the top of his #2 Team Penske Chevrolet as a deluge of confetti and champagne replaced the rain that threatened an hour before.
Newgarden started eighth and led 53 of the 260 laps, including the last 35 when he needed to fend off the night’s dominant driver in Marcus Ericsson, who led a race-high 114 laps.
A year ago, Newgarden flipped on the frontstretch while leading, which merely delayed the inevitable record-extending sixth triumph at the 1.25-mile short oval. It also became the 34th victory of his career, drawing him level with Al Unser Jr. for ninth on the all-time wins list.
Although Newgarden took home the silverware in a race that ended after midnight ET, a different cast of characters made up this week’s group of winners and losers.
WINNER: Marcus Ericsson
Photo by: Penske Entertainment
There is probably no one that hurts more than Ericsson after Sunday night, which saw him charge up from 12th to lead the most laps before finishing second. Still, it was a reminder to the rest of the paddock that the Swede hasn’t lost his speed and remains exceptionally quick – important factors as he’s in the midst of a contract year. Not only was the runner-up his best result since 2023 (Detroit), his first year with Andretti Global, but he’s also already collected more top fives through nine rounds this year than all of last season. He currently sits ninth in the championship standings, which would likely be a few notches higher if not for mechanical issues plaguing at Long Beach and the Indianapolis Grand Prix.
It was a very messy night for Chip Ganassi Racing’s Alex Palou, who started on pole. First, there was the early race contact with the lapped driver of Nolan Siegel, which broke the left-front suspension of the #6 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. Despite Siegel leaving more than a full lane for Palou to the inside of Turn 1, the latter drifted up before turning in, which led to the contact. Upon reviewing, though, Race Control took no action on the situation. Then the gamble to play the rain strategy happened as the Spaniard was among those to pit on Lap 140 in an effort to make it on one more stop. He ended up with the lead when the second red flag was lifted and teammate Scott Dixon, also on the same strategy, relinquished the top spot due to needing emergency service. While Palou looked to be in prime position, it evaporated, literally, as he ran out of fuel on pit lane and was left coasting to his stall, losing several valuable positions along the way. He stayed in the right lane (fast lane) as he slowed out of fuel, which drew the ire of Newgarden’s strategist, Jonathan Diuguid. In the end, Palou finished 17th, which, combined with the 24th-place result at Phoenix, already ties the number of finishes outside the top 10 with last season.
Christian Rasmussen, Ed Carpenter Racing, Josef Newgarden, Team Penske
Photo by: Penske Entertainment
Christian Rasmussen needed a boost to jumpstart his season, and he got one with a third-place finish. He led five laps and briefly looked poised to pull the upset over Newgarden and Ericsson in the closing stage of the race, but simply couldn’t match the pace over a longer run. In the end, the result was positive validation for ECR, who gave him a contract extension just a few days prior despite a disastrous run of finishes, including his crash with Andretti Global’s Will Power at Phoenix Raceway while battling for the lead near the end. The finish at WWTR helped boost Rasmussen up from 24th to 22nd in the championship standings, the valuable final spot of the Leaders Circle.
LOSER: Pato O’Ward
Pato O’Ward, Arrow McLaren
Photo by: Penske Entertainment
Pato O’Ward has notoriously been a force at the short oval just outside of St. Louis, Missouri, with five podiums, including five runner-up results. However, he was nowhere close to the front this past weekend, qualifying ninth and finishing 11th – one position behind Arrow McLaren teammate Christian Lundgaard.
During a media call last week, the Mexican said, “We need to raise our game, we need to stay focused, and we need to make sure that we not only are maximizing weekends, but when those are maximized weekends, they’ve got to be wins and podiums, because otherwise, I really do think we have no shot.” He also noted this being a “transformation” year for Arrow McLaren, with the program moving into a new shop over the offseason and finally being able to build important parts in-house.
If anything, the result at WWTR is a stark reminder of how far the team is right now with O’Ward being a non-factor at one of his best tracks on the circuit.
Marcus Armstrong, Meyer Shank w/ Curb-Agajanian
Photo by: Michael L. Levitt / Lumen via Getty Images
Normally a ninth-place finish would be overlooked and the driver wouldn’t make this list, but there’s some significance with Marcus Armstrong breaking into it after another top 10 performance.
The New Zealander is on an exclusive list of three drivers to finish in the top 10 on all three ovals run so far this season, joining Team Penske’s duo of David Malukas and Scott McLaughlin. In fact, Armstrong’s finishes of fifth (Phoenix), fifth (Indianapolis 500), and ninth (WWTR) also mean he’s scored more top fives and top 10s on ovals than road and street courses, a unique statistic considering he only started competing on the left-turn only tracks in 2024.
Perhaps the most important element about the latest result, though, is it demonstrates Armstrong’s mental toughness by not allowing the last-lap loss in the Indy 500 to have a hangover effect. He’s 10th in the championship standings, just 43 points behind O’Ward in fifth (239-196).
LOSER: Anyone that left or turned the TV off during the two red flags
Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing
Photo by: Penske Entertainment
A 9pm ET start on a Sunday night leaves little wiggle room for issues if you’re a casual fan needing to go to work the next day, and unfortunately this race was hit with multiple red flags due to conditions (rain) that impacted roughly 50 minutes of the event. The frontstretch grandstands that were packed with people thinned out more and more with each stoppage, with clear views of the aluminum grandstands becoming more prominent.
And all of that is unfortunate as the race went the full distance, ending just after midnight on the East Coast. For those that remained glued to their seats and televisions, they witnessed a thriller of a race, with 17 lead changes among six leaders. Additionally, though, there was action all about with 475 total on-track passes, including an event-record 268 of those being for position.
Honorable Mention: Caio Collet
Caio Collet, AJ Foyt Enterprises Chevrolet
Photo by: Geoff Miller / Lumen via Getty Images
For the first time ever, we’re doing an ‘honorable mention’ on this list, highlighting Caio Collet.
The Brazilian was extremely impressive, battling through a rib injury sustained from his crash at the Indy 500 he qualified 20th at WWTR but charged through the field towards the front. He managed to lead seven laps and appeared to be a threat for, at minimum, a podium before smoke began bellowing from the back of his #4 AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet 34 laps from the end.
Collet was credited with finishing 22nd, and struggled to contain his emotions after such an inspiring performance.
“It’s hard,” he told FOX Sports. “I think we did everything right today, from the strategy to the driving, to everything. It’s racing.”
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