Josef Newgarden survived two red flags and held off Marcus Ericsson’s late assault to claim record-breaking sixth IndyCar victory at World Wide Technology Raceway.
Newgarden, driving the No. 2 Team Penske Chevrolet, started eighth on the grid but carved his way through the field, ultimately overtaking Christian Rasmussen for the lead with 40 laps remaining and held off a dominant Ericsson to win by 0.6613 seconds.
This marked Newgarden’s second win of the 2026 season, following his March victory at Phoenix Raceway, and solidified his reputation as the premier short-oval racer in the series with 15 of his 34 career wins coming on ovals shorter than 1.5 miles.
The Bommarito 500, held under the floodlights on Sunday night, featured a track-record 268 passes, multiple weather delays that brought cars back to pit lane, and a late red flag due to rain.
Pole sitter and championship leader Alex Palou led David Malukas and Kyle Kirkwood for the opening laps, but Dennis Hauger retired before the green flag due to a fluid leak.
Josef Newgarden, who started eighth on the grid, began a methodical charge toward the front, taking P3 from Kirkwood on Lap 28, while Marcus Ericsson made a similar jump from 12th to fifth by Lap 20 before taking P4 from Kirkwood on Lap 29.
Newgarden and Ericsson passed Malukas on Lap 42, before Ericsson made his move past Newgarden into Turn 3 on Lap 45 for second.
Ericsson ultimately cycled into the top spot on Lap 47 after Palou got held up by backmarker Sting Ray Robb, and the No. 28 Andretti Global went on to lead a race high 114 laps, creating a narrative of inevitability around his potential win.
The first caution came moments later on Lap 55 when Palou attempted to pass Nolan Siegel into Turn 1 but made contact with his left-front wheel which sent the No. 6 Arrow McLaren Chevy crashing into the wall. Siegel retired with a damaged steering arm, while Palou’s car remained intact.
Full IndyCar 2026 Bommarito 500 Gateway Race Results
New 2026 IndyCar Championship Standings after Gateway
Graham Rahal triggered the second caution on Lap 114 when he suffered a hard crash at turn 4. The race proceeded under extended caution until Race Officials brought out a red flag on Lap 137 due to rain.
The stoppage lasted for 38 minutes before going green on Lap 144, with Marcus Ericsson leading Caio Collet and Josef Newgarden to the restart. Three laps later, Newgarden passed Collet to take second behind Ericsson who led by 0.7s.
Ericsson pitted on Lap 178, handing over the lead to Scott Dixon, while Newgarden followed suit on the next lap and rejoined in P7 just ahead of Ericsson.
However, the worsening conditions triggered a second red flag on Lap 200, with Dixon and Palou running low on fuel as they led Newgarden, Ericsson and Rasmussen.
Chip Ganassi Racing made a bold and ultimately disastrous gamble against topping off fuel hoping that the caution would allow them to need one fewer fuel stop than their rivals or to be out front when rain arrived to end the race prematurely, but neither scenario materialized.
Dixon had to enter a closed pit lane for emergency service as his No. 9 Honda ran out of fuel on Lap 201, just two laps before Palou’s car sputtered upon entering pit lane and ran out of fuel entirely.
Palou was forced to coast to his pit box, and the stop was made even longer when his engine would not refire, dropping all the way to finish 17th, two laps down.
Newgarden led the field to the restart on Lap 216, before Rasmussen made his move for the lead two laps later at Turn 1.
However, Newgarden reclaimed the top spot with 42 laps to go and held on all the way to take IndyCar victory at WWTR ahead of Ericsson and Rasmussen.
