AVONDALE, Ariz. – In a special season for owner Roger Penske already, Team Penske driver Josef Newgarden defended his 2018 Phoenix Raceway victory at the Good Ranchers 250 at Phoenix Raceway on Saturday, March 7, by virtue of a pass for the lead in the final 10 laps.

A caution for Will Power and Christian Rasmussen set up a restart with 32 laps to go. After the No. 2 Team Penske took fresh Firestones, Newgarden moved from 10th to first and captured the first IndyCar win in the team's 60th anniversary season, doing so on the NASCAR doubleheader weekend in Phoenix.

“It will be so disappointing if the Cup guys do not deliver,” Newgarden said jokingly. “We got to go first. It worked out. Now you got to put the pressure on them.”

Penske earned the IndyCar pole with David Malukas, while Joey Logano starts first for the Captain for Sunday’s NASCAR race. Newgarden expressed interest in having more combination events.

“It's fun,” Newgarden said. “I wish we had more weekends like this, to be honest with you.”

Newgarden led the final eight laps, claiming the 33rd trophy of his career and advancing into 10th on the all-time list. Newgarden’s last 10 wins all came on ovals. 

Even with all those accolades, Newgarden knew this victory was hard-fought.

“I got to say I was not a believer midway through,” Newgarden said. “But when I needed that car to be good, it was really good. I mean, it's not like I was doing something magical.”

“It was right where I needed it to be.”

Malukas led the opening 73 laps but suffered a slow pit stop on lap 127 and dropped to the middle of the pack. The final caution provided an opportunity to make up ground, though, and Malukas was laser-focused.

“For my brain-rotted TikTok brain, I was so focused,” Malukas said. “I didn't have a second to think about anything else. We were full drift the whole time. It was an awesome race.”

Second-place finisher Kyle Kirkwood notched his second top-five finish of the season. On an afternoon where he locked up his best result since a win at World Wide Technology Raceway in 2025, Kirkwood enjoyed his time in Phoenix. 

“I loved the race,” Kirkwood said. “At least from our point of view in the car, there was a lot of passing happening, a lot of different strategies, a lot to talk about.

“I imagine the FOX guys' mouths were full while they were trying to talk about everything.”

One driver who left Phoenix disappointed was St. Petersburg winner Alex Palou. The four-time series champion collided with Rinus VeeKay on the front stretch, destroying his DHl Honda.

“I obviously got contact with VeeKay, didn't know that there was a car there,” Palou said. “Don't feel like there was much space there on the outside, but I don’t know.”

“We ended up in the wall, that's what hurts,” Palau said. “Losing the points lead on the second race. It's fine. At least we started the season good.”

The NTT IndyCar Series travels to Texas next for the Java House Grand Prix of Arlington. The new 2.73-mile route around the Dallas Cowboys stadium debuts Sunday, Mar. 15 at 12:30 p.m. EDT.