Josef Newgarden wins again at Gateway, while series leader Alex Palou suffers a rare strategy blunder. Updated power rankings with insights on each driver's performance.
The 1.25-mile oval at Gateway , known as World Wide Technology Raceway, has become Josef Newgarden 's personal playground. On Sunday, he secured his sixth career victory at the track, leading 53 laps and holding off a hard-charging Marcus Ericsson.
Newgarden's mastery on short ovals is undeniable; he also won the most recent short oval race at Phoenix. This performance reinforces his status as a favorite on such tracks. Despite a slow start to the season, Newgarden now sits sixth in the championship standings, with momentum firmly on his side. Rinus VeeKay continued his recent resurgence with a season-best fourth-place finish at Gateway.
The Dutch driver has logged a sixth and a fourth in his last three outings, climbing to 13th in the standings. His consistency is promising, though he still seeks his first win of 2026. Graham Rahal, meanwhile, had a frustrating day. He appeared to run over marbles and the car snapped, ending his race prematurely.
Still, Rahal has three podium finishes in the last six races, showing he can bounce back. Felix Rosenqvist started fourth but faded to 14th, likely just a hiccup given his recent form of second, first, and sixth in the previous five races. Christian Lundgaard, not known for oval prowess, managed a respectable 10th-place finish after starting 16th, solidifying his fourth place in the standings. Pato O'Ward was 11th at Gateway and is fifth in the series standings.
He was unhappy with his speed all weekend, a rare off day for the driver who has six top-five finishes this year. Scott McLaughlin, on fresh tires in the final 25 laps, charged to fifth place, his second top-five in three races. He sits seventh in the standings. David Malukas placed seventh, a decent rebound after a frustrating Detroit, but not what he hoped for given a front-row start.
He is third in the standings. Kyle Kirkwood, who won at Gateway last year, finished sixth after starting third. It was only the third race this year where he finished outside the top five, and he remains second in the championship. Alex Palou had a disaster: he ran out of fuel entering pit road after the final rain delay, ending up 17th.
This was a rare strategic mistake for the dominant series leader, who has four wins in nine races but now sees his lead shrink as the season heads into an off weekend before Road America on June 21
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