Josef Newgarden reminded IndyCar why World Wide Technology Raceway still feels like his personal territory, surviving rain delays, red flags and a fierce late fight to win the Bommarito 500.
The Team Penske driver claimed his sixth victory in 11 starts at the 1.25 mile oval near St. Louis, extending his record at a circuit where he has repeatedly found another level. It was also his second win of the 2026 NTT IndyCar Series season after his March victory at Phoenix Raceway, and the 34th of his career.
Newgarden had to work for it. He started eighth in the No. 2 Astemo Team Penske Chevrolet, was still recovering from a lower leg injury suffered at the Indianapolis 500, and had to endure a race shaped by changing weather, strategy calls and a frantic final run.
But once the decisive phase arrived, Newgarden did what he has so often done on short ovals. He put himself in the right place, won the crucial restart battle and held off Marcus Ericsson by 0.6613 seconds.
“Great job to the group,” Newgarden said. “Just a methodical night. We had a good car to start. It wasn’t perfect, but it really came to us just when we needed it. It was a track position day.”
Josef Newgarden wins latest WWTR duel
Newgarden’s winning move came after a gripping late battle with Christian Rasmussen, who briefly looked capable of turning a breakthrough night into a shock victory.
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After the race restarted on Lap 212, Rasmussen attacked Newgarden into Turn 1 on Lap 215 and took the lead. Newgarden responded four laps later with a move into Turn 3, only for Rasmussen to come back again into Turn 1 on the following lap.
The final answer came from Newgarden one lap later. He reclaimed the lead into Turn 3 and never gave it back.
That exchange proved decisive in a race that featured an event record 268 passes for position. Rasmussen, who made a race high 38 on track passes, still came away with a season best third place for ECR, but Newgarden’s experience and timing won out when the pressure peaked.
Ericsson then moved past Rasmussen for second at Turn 3 on Lap 225 and set off after Newgarden, but a caution for Caio Collet’s smoking No. 4 A.J. Foyt Racing Chevrolet gave the leaders one final strategic question.
Several cars behind pitted for fresh Firestone tyres, while the top eight stayed out. Scott McLaughlin made the biggest charge on the restart, climbing from ninth to fifth in four laps, but nobody had enough to challenge the top two.
“You’ve got to give a lot of credit to Marcus,” Newgarden said. “I thought he was incredibly strong. I don’t really think there was much between us, so it was a matter of who was going to get position on each other, and that was going to seal the deal. He drove a great race.”
Marcus Ericsson falls short after leading 114 laps
For Ericsson, second place was both a season best and a painful near miss. The Andretti Global driver led 114 of 260 laps and appeared to have the strongest car for long stretches, particularly through the middle phase of the race.
He first took control after Alex Palou was delayed by traffic and then built a rhythm out front, repeatedly managing restarts and traffic. But the race kept shifting under him, especially once weather and fuel strategy entered the picture.
“I’m very proud of our performance, but at the same time it’s tough to lead that many laps,” Ericsson said. “I thought we had it at some points, but Josef is the best in the business on these short ovals.”
The result was still his best finish since joining the front of the 2026 conversation, and it showed the No. 28 Andretti Global Honda had genuine race winning speed. But at WWTR, beating Newgarden requires more than pace.
Rasmussen finished third after gaining 16 positions, while Rinus VeeKay took fourth for Juncos Hollinger Racing. McLaughlin completed the top five in his No. 3 Team Penske Chevrolet, which carried a throwback livery honouring Helio Castroneves’ 2009 Indianapolis 500 winning car.
Alex Palou strategy gamble goes wrong
The biggest loser of the night was Palou, whose championship lead took a hit after a bold Chip Ganassi Racing fuel strategy unravelled.
The pole sitter controlled the opening stages and looked comfortable early, but the first red flag for rain changed the race. Ganassi chose to pit Palou and Scott Dixon shortly after the field returned to action, hoping the caution pattern or another weather interruption would allow them to complete the race with one fewer stop. The gamble did not pay off.
Dixon had to pit from the lead for emergency service when his No. 9 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda ran low on fuel. Palou then inherited the lead but ran out of fuel entering pit lane on Lap 203, coasting towards his box before a slow restart dropped him down the order.
The reigning champion eventually finished 17th, only his second result outside the top seven all season. His points lead over Kyle Kirkwood, who finished sixth for Andretti Global, was cut to 49 points.
It continued a strange short oval weakness for Palou, who finished 24th at Phoenix after contact. For a driver so relentless everywhere else, the two short oval races have become his only real damage points of 2026.
Rain delays turn Bommarito 500 into strategy puzzle
Two red flag periods, totalling around 50 minutes, made the Bommarito 500 a race of constant recalculation.
The first stoppage came on Lap 137 after rain arrived under caution following Graham Rahal’s heavy crash at Turn 4. After a 38 minute delay, the field returned under yellow, with several teams immediately thinking about fuel windows and the possibility of making the finish with one fewer stop.
A second weather related caution arrived on Lap 197, followed by another red flag on Lap 200. That sequence created the decisive pit cycle, eventually placing Newgarden, Rasmussen, Ericsson, VeeKay and Collet near the front for the closing sprint.
Collet had been enjoying his strongest race as an IndyCar rookie, leading seven laps and running inside the top five in the second half, before smoke from his car triggered the final caution.
Once the last restart came, Newgarden controlled the race. Ericsson stayed within range, but the gap never closed enough to launch a serious attack over the final laps.
The result reinforced Newgarden’s reputation as one of IndyCar’s great short oval drivers. Of his 34 career victories, 15 have now come on ovals shorter than 1.5 miles.
The next NTT IndyCar Series race is the XPEL Grand Prix at Road America on Sunday, June 21, at Elkhart Lake in Wisconsin. Palou will still arrive with the championship lead, but Newgarden has made it clear that on short ovals, the throne still belongs to him.
