Bommarito Automotive Group 500: Newgarden takes sixth Gateway win

MADISON, Ill. — Team Penske driver Josef Newgarden won at World Wide Technology Raceway for the sixth time in his NTT IndyCar Series career after starting in eighth in the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 under the lights on Sunday night.

The driver of the No. 2 Chevrolet led 53 of 260 laps. After two red flags threatened to call the race early due to weather in the area, Newgarden showed his force on short ovals while nursing the lower-leg injury suffered during last month’s 110th Indianapolis 500.

Newgarden claimed a 0.661-second margin of victory over Andretti Global’s Marcus Ericsson, who led the most laps (114) at the 1.25-mile short oval in the St. Louis area.

In the post-race press conference, Newgarden said that he was happy to go the full 260-lap distance. He also complimented Ericsson on his drive and his own No. 2 team for their great execution all night long.

“It was crazy,” Newgarden said. “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.”

Eyes on Gateway

The race start was moved up due to rain in the forecast. Dennis Hauger did not start the race because of an oil leak with his No. 19 Dale Coyne Racing Honda. Once the green flag flew, Alex Palou maintained his lead from pole as Kyle Kirkwood defended against Felix Rosenqvist for third place. Will Power successfully made a move on Romain Grosjean as Kyffin Simspon was hit with a drive-through penalty for getting out of line at the race start.

Marcus Ericsson climbed up the grid as he made up five places to slot into sixth place at the start of Lap 10. Will Power also made moves up five spots to 16th place after the start.

Newgarden moved up to fourth place over Rosenqvist. Ericsson caught up to the 2026 Indianapolis 500 champion as he made a move from the inside to take fifth place. Newgarden got up to third as he made a move to the inside of Kirkwood. Soon afterward, Ericsson kept up his climb as he passed Kirkwood to take fourth place.

Rinus VeeKay overtook Christian Ramussen around the outside. Newgarden and Ericsson passed David Malukas to take second and third places, respectively.

Ericsson climbed 10 spots to take second from Newgarden. Malukas overtook his Team Penske teammate Newgarden for third place. Ericsson took the lead from Palou as the Andretti Global driver tried to navigate lapped traffic.

Drivers headed in for their first pit stops as Ericsson maintained his net lead. Then, Palou’s No. 10 pit crew had an issue with getting his right-front tire on.

Palou and Siegel make contact

On Lap 55, Alex Palou made contact with Nolan Siegel as the Arrow McLaren driver veered into the wall, causing a caution. The four-time IndyCar champion continued his race and received no penalty from race control, as the AMR Safety Team recovered the damaged No. 6 Chevrolet. Marcus Ericsson led the pack during the caution, with Josef Newgarden in second and Palou in third.

Ericsson led the field to green on Lap 64 as he took the high line, with Newgarden trying to take the lead. Both drivers made minor contact as Newgarden tried to get ahead in Turn 2. Kyle Kirkwood landed a move on the inside of Scott Dixon to claim fifth place.

Rookies Caio Collet and Mick Schumacher battled it out as the Brazilian driver tried to lap the German driver. Later on, Collet put pressure on Dixon as the rookie took sixth place from the Chip Ganassi Racing driver. Then, Rinus VeeKay passed Dixon for seventh, leaving the six-time IndyCar champion in eighth.

As the race entered Lap 100, Ericsson kept his lead with Newgarden in second and Palou in third. As the track marbled up, drivers headed in during the second pit window around Lap 109. VeeKay had a great pit stop from his No. 76 Juncos Hollinger Racing crew as he made it back to the track before David Malukas. VeeKay maintained his lead against Malukas on track as Ericsson made it out of the pits, just ahead of Alexander Rossi.

With rain on the radar, Collet led the race as he ran in clean air before he pitted, as Christian Rasmussen held the net lead. After the pit window, Graham Rahal caused another caution as he overcorrected in Turn 4 and made contact with the outside wall.

Red flag called

Kyffin Simpson ran out of fuel due to not being able to refuel under caution. Caio Collet pitted as the yellow flag came out, causing the AJ Foyt Racing driver to head back to the track in second. The red flag came out as the rain started to fall.

After a long red flag, drivers headed back to the track before heavier rain came. Once the pit opened up before the restart on Lap 137, Scott Dixon, Alex Palou, David Malukas, Scott McLaughlin, Pato O’Ward and Felix Rosenqvist pitted and headed back in that order. Simpson’s car was rolled back to the pits to refuel under yellow to get back to the track.

Marcus Ericsson maintained his lead on the Lap 142 restart as Collet stayed in second. Collet defended against Josef Newgarden as the Team Penske driver eyed second place. Then, Newgarden made a move on the inside of Collet to take second place from the rookie.

Malukas took 13th place from Santino Ferrucci. Later, Christian Rasmussen got fifth place by going around the outside of Kyle Kirkwood. After that move, Rasmussen caught up to Will Power and passed him for fourth.

Rinus VeeKay avoided the wall as the Dutch driver overtook Kirkwood for sixth place. Soon afterward, the driver of the No. 76 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet caught up to Power to take fifth place. Newgarden went high to take the lead from Ericsson around the outside on Lap 177.

Rain came down again

The yellow flag came out as the rain came back on Lap 198. The red flag was brought out again on Lap 200. The drivers headed back to the track to complete the full 260 laps. During the closed pit, Scott Dixon came in for emergency service to prevent him from running out under caution.

As the pit opened up, Marcus Ericsson, Christian Rasmussen, Alex Palou, Dixon, Josef Newgarden, Rinus VeeKay, Caio Collet and Kyle Kirkwood headed into the pits. Palou ran out of fuel as others came in and coasted to his pit box.

Newgarden was the first driver out, followed by Rasmussen, Ericsson, VeeKay, Dixon, Collet and Kirkwood. The No. 10 team was able to restart the car and refuel, letting Palou continue his race.

Newgarden took the field to green on Lap 211 as Christian Rasmussen got a tow from his Ed Carpenter Racing teammate Alexander Rossi to extend his lead from second over Ericsson. Kirkwood overtook Collet for fifth place as Rasmussen tried to take the lead from Newgarden.

Battle for the lead

Christian Rasmussen was able to make a move on Josef Newgarden by going around the inside of the Team Penske driver. Soon afterward, Will Power passed Pato O’Ward for ninth. Newgarden continued the battle for the lead by moving around the inside of Rasmussen.

Then, Rasmussen took the lead back as Newgarden won the battle, securing the top spot on the inside.

On Lap 225, Marcus Ericsson secured second place from Rasmussen just before the yellow flag came out as Caio Collet’s engine expired. Newgarden led the cars back to green with 26 laps to go as Ericsson defended second place from Rasmussen.

Scott McLaughlin made a move on his teammate, David Malukas, for sixth place. Power took 11th from Christian Lundgaard as he hunted down Pato O’Ward. McLaughlin went side-by-side with Kyle Kirkwood, taking the Andretti Global driver’s spot in fifth.

With 21 laps to go, Power continued to move up, taking eighth place from Marcus Armstrong. Then, Ericsson caught up to Newgarden as Rinus VeeKay attempted to take third from Rasmussen.

Newgarden kept his lead to the end as Ericsson came home in second and Rasmussen took the final spot on the podium in third.

The NTT IndyCar Series returns after a one-week break for the XPEL Grand Prix at Road America. Coverage begins on Sunday, June 21, at 2 p.m. ET on FOX.

Results: 2026 Bommarito Automotive Group 500 at World Wide Technology Raceway

GRID Ranking

The 2026 GRID Ranking is the 10th year of the world’s premier motorsports ranking system, which was initially released on Sunday, April 5.

The official ranking includes drivers participating in seven racing series (NASCAR, IndyCar, Formula 1, Formula E, WRC, Supercars, MotoGP). Each driver earns GRID Ratings, which help determine their seeding in the GRID Ranking.

GRID Ranking Week 10 IndyCar drivers:

DRIVER	OLD RATING	PREVIOUS RANKING	MOST RECENT FINISH	NEW RATING	NEW RANKING
Alex Palou	18.13	4th	17th	16.11	4th
Kyle Kirkwood	14.00	7th	6th	13.33	9th
Christian Lundgaard	11.38	17th	10th	10.67	17th
Josef Newgarden	N/A	N/A	1st	9.78	21st
David Malukas	9.88	23rd	7th	9.44	26th