Newgarden Wins IndyCar Phoenix

This victory marks Josef Newgarden's 33rd career IndyCar win and his second consecutive victory at Phoenix Raceway, with the last series race held there in 2018, which he also won. The win vaults the Team Penske driver into the championship points lead for the first time since the 2022 season. The successful weekend was part of Team Penske's 60th-anniversary celebration, which also saw the team capture pole positions in both the IndyCar and NASCAR races at the track. The race was a record-breaking event for on-track action at the 1-mile oval, with 565 total passes recorded. Newgarden's strategic late-race pit stop for fresh tires with 38 laps to go proved decisive, allowing him to charge through the field from the 10th position on the restart. He took the lead from Kyle Kirkwood with just seven laps remaining. Alex Palou's race ended early on lap 22 of what was his 100th career IndyCar start. The crash, which occurred after contact with Rinus VeeKay, marked Palou's first DNF since June 2025 and ended his impressive streak of leading the championship standings, a position he had held since June 2024. In the Formula 1 season opener in Australia, Mercedes secured a dominant 1-2 finish. George Russell took the victory, leading his teammate Kimi Antonelli across the line. The victory for Mercedes came after a strategic battle with Ferrari, who finished third and fourth. Justin Allgaier's NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series victory at Phoenix was the 29th of his career in the second-tier division and his third win at the track. Allgaier, driving for JR Motorsports, took the lead from Jesse Love with just 11 laps remaining. In a wild dirt late model race at Golden Isles Speedway, it was Devin Moran, not Logan, who charged from the 22nd starting position to win the Wieland Winter Nationals finale. The chaotic 50-lap Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series feature saw five different leaders before Moran took the lead for good on lap 47.