Josef Newgarden bounced back from a rough stretch in 2026 to win the Indycar Bommarito Automotive Group 500 at Gateway. The Team Penske driver led 51 laps, including the final 39, to take his second win of the season and sixth at the 1.25-mile oval. It was a race that had to be stopped twice for rain, however, and seemed destined to finish short of the prescribed 260 lap distance.
“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. I think the fast cars finished up front going the distance. 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.“
Another Indycar win for Team Penske at Gateway
The win continues a string of historically strong performances at Gateway for Team Penske, who have won 10 of 17 races at the track.
“I think when we’re good here, our cars are good. You look at the history of Team Penske, they’ve always had strong race cars here. When you have the fastest car in the field, it’s easier to win the race. That’s more times than not what I’ve got. I think that was the case today, too.“
Newgarden had to use all of that strength this race, and dueled with second-placed Marcus Ericsson and third-placed Christian Rasmussen at different points of the race. Ericsson’s battle involved some light contact, but not enough to ruin anyone’s race.
“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.“
Team orders call crosses Newgarden’s wires
In the case of Ed Carpenter Racing’s Rasmussen, matters were complicated by the presence of his teammate, Alexander Rossi, who was effectively a lap down on an alternate strategy. With Rasmussen getting a tow from Rossi, the nearly identical cars admittedly confused Newgarden all the way to victory lane.
“I thought Christian was a lapped car. I didn’t realize that was Rossi that was a lapped car. It’s my fault. I was going to let him go. He doesn’t matter, I’ll just follow on him. I don’t really want to be behind him. I still didn’t know he was on the lead lap. That is why when he came up to the podium, I am like, What are you doing here? How did you get here? You were a lap down. I think he got a little offended by that. I’m so glad that I repassed him.“
Another Gateway win sends Newgarden up the IndyCar record book
His 34th career win ties Newgarden with another, former, Penske driver and two-time Indy 500 and Indycar champion, Al Unser, Jr. for 8th all time in Indycar wins. It also places him one win behind another former Penske Indycar and Indy 500 champion, Bobby Unser. Newgarden emphasized the team as the foundation of his success, however, having won 31 of those 34 races with Team Penske.
“I got to be honest. My reaction is more, I enjoy working with the individuals around me, I really do. That’s no disrespect to the win list. You’re not going to find someone that is more competitive than me. I very much know the stats anything you want to look at in INDYCAR. I enjoy my time with my team. I really do. I like working with the team. So when I think about victories or I think about the amount of time I’ve been in the sport, that’s what I really lean on now. I like showing up to the track and try to do a great job. We did that tonight.“
