If Josef Newgarden had a weakness, it didn’t show up as he stormed to victory on Sunday night at World Wide Technology Raceway.
The Tennessee native, who has been wearing a walking boot on his left foot since his crash in the Indianapolis 500 two weeks ago, was forced to fend off a dominant and quick Marcus Ericsson, who led a race-high 114 of 260 laps. The decisive moment came during their respective pit stops on Lap 177-178, with Newgarden going for a successful overcut that put him ahead of Ericsson’s #28 Andretti Global Honda. Although a restart happened with 35 laps to go, Ericsson was unable to even attempt on a move on the #2 Team Penske Chevrolet, with Newgarden going on to win by 0.6613s.
It marks the 34th victory of Newgarden’s IndyCar career, drawing him level with Al Unser Jr. for ninth on the all-time wins list. He also extended his own record with six wins at the 1.25-mile egg-shaped oval. Additionally, his tally of 53 laps led brought his total to 4,580 laps led, passing Dario Franchitti for ninth all-time.
“It was crazy,” said Newgarden, 35. “I'm just glad we went the distance honestly. That was the big thing. With the rain, it almost turns it into a casino in some regards.”
The race underwent two red flags due to rain, which carried the race past midnight ET.
“I think the fast cars finished up front going the distance,” he said. “Marcus was super good. I don't know that we were much better than him. I think we were very equal. It turned into a track position game at the end because we were so comparable.
“I think we had some strengths on him. I think the team executed a really great race, which is ultimately what delivered the result at the end of the day. They just did a great job. Everyone stayed composed. It was a methodical win.”
While continuing to express praise for Ericsson’s oval racecraft, Newgarden also shared thoughts on a close moment when they touched early on.
“You got to give a lot of respect to Marcus,” said Newgarden, a two-time Indy 500 winner, including his first one over Ericsson in 2023. “He did a tremendous job tonight. He was super fast. I think he's become a great oval driver in this series.
“If anything, I should have left him a little bit more room I think. I think I got a little bit high. Thankfully these cars, we've seen they're very robust. Even a light touch doesn't normally result in much. That's why you also see such close, hard racing. It's just the nature of IndyCar these days. “It was a good fight. He drove a great race. It was fun to battle with him tonight.”
Josef Newgarden's 34th career INDYCAR win ties him with Al Unser Jr. for 9th on the all-time list. pic.twitter.com/cSQz6zuLUI
— INDYCAR on FOX (@IndyCarOnFOX) June 8, 2026
There was one significantly close call on Lap 203, however, when the second red flag was withdrawn and the field came down pit lane for service and saw Alex Palou, the race leader through an alternate strategy, run out of fuel right in front of Newgarden on pit lane. Scott Dixon, Palou’s teammate, was the race leader during the red flag, but was forced to abandon the position for emergency service the lap prior.
Jonathan Diuguid, Team Penske’s President and Newgarden’s strategist, wasn’t pleased Palou staying in the right lane and obstructing traffic.
“The timing stand did a good job,” Diuguid said. “We knew the #9 (Dixon) and #10 (Palou) were very short on fuel. Scott came in and took emergency service. We were scanning his radios. Said you're probably not going to make it to the pit box. Josef did his job.
“Alex was supposed to pull over to the left, which he didn't. I think that is something we need to talk about. It caused some more problems for other people. Luckily we were right behind him so it didn't cost us any time on pit road because we got to be able to get to the pit box and go forward.
“In general, having people run out of fuel in pit lane in the fast lane is not something we need to have going forward. We did a good job there and went to the front.”
Alex Palou runs out of gas on pit road and Josef Newgarden goes to P1! pic.twitter.com/WyJ1MSHaee
— INDYCAR on FOX (@IndyCarOnFOX) June 8, 2026
Newgarden now has two wins on the season and has firmly established himself back in the championship conversation, sitting sixth overall and one point behind fifth-place Pato O’Ward (239-238). And the win comes at an opportune time, with a much-needed bye week for the paddock after six consecutive race weekends that included two straight weeks of preparation for the Indy 500.
“Everything felt pretty good tonight,” Newgarden said. “The car was fast, felt normal. It was great. I'm just happy for the team. They deserve it. It's been a hard stretch I think for everybody in the paddock. All of us are working incredibly hard to get to this point.
“A win at any point, especially after this stretch, is super rewarding. That's what I'm most happy about.”
