JOSEF NEWGARDEN CLINCHES FIRST WIN OF THE SEASON
Josef Newgarden wins a chaotic race at his home state, Tennessee, starting from 6th, ahead of Alex Palou and Kyffin Simpsons.
With second place already secured in the 2025 NTT INDYCAR SERIES standings, Pato O’Ward entered the season finale with a new objective.
“I’ve never won a race starting from pole,” O’Ward admitted. “That’s something I want to check off this weekend.”
The Mexican driver began that pursuit in style, capturing the NTT P1 Award on Saturday with a two-lap average speed of 202.621 mph in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. It marked his second pole position of the season, adding to his achievement at The Thermal Club in March. While this was the seventh pole of his career, it was also his first on an oval track.
Despite nine career wins, including two in 2025, none have come from pole. His most recent victories – at Barber Motorsports Park in 2022 and Mid-Ohio in 2024 both came from second on the grid.
“The car felt fantastic,” O’Ward said. “Practice was smooth, no surprises, nothing unsettling. I was very pleased with it. Really solid.”
David Malukas came close to earning his first career pole once again, qualifying second at 201.922 mph in the No. 4 Clarience Technologies Chevrolet for A.J. Foyt Enterprises. He held the provisional top spot until O’Ward, the second-to-last qualifier, edged him out. Just a week earlier at Milwaukee, Malukas had also been denied late in the session when Alex Palou snatched pole with the final attempt.
O’Ward’s teammate Christian Lundgaard secured third at 201.713 mph in the No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet his best oval qualifying result, surpassing his eighth-place effort at this year’s Indianapolis 500. Palou, the reigning series champion, wound up fourth at 201.603 mph in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, the last driver to take a run and the only one who could have dethroned O’Ward.
Six-time champion Scott Dixon qualified fifth at 201.437 mph in the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. Dixon previously won three straight races at Nashville Superspeedway from 2006 through 2008. Hometown favorite Josef Newgarden, a two-time champion, slotted into sixth at 201.390 mph in the No. 2 Astemo Team Penske Chevrolet, sharing the third row with Dixon.
Relief finally came for Josef Newgarden at home after one of the most grueling campaigns of his career.
The Nashville-area native snapped a 20-race winless streak, his longest since joining INDYCAR, by claiming his first victory of 2025 and the 32nd of his career at Nashville Superspeedway in Sunday’s Grand Prix.
“Glad we finally got one without any setbacks,” Newgarden said. “This team has fought so hard all year. They earned this. It feels great to close on a high note.”
Driving the No. 2 Penske Chevrolet, Newgarden held off Alex Palou by just .5021 of a second. Palou, piloting the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, celebrated his third consecutive championship afterward, hoisting the Astor Challenge Cup.
“It’s been an incredible year for us,” Palou said. “I’ve just been fortunate to be in such a strong car and to collect so many wins and podiums along the way.”
Scott McLaughlin completed the podium in third with the No. 3 DEX Imaging Team Penske Chevrolet after an intense late-race duel with Kyffin Simpson in the No. 8 Journie Rewards Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. The result gave Team Penske just its second double-podium finish of the season. Simpson claimed fourth, his best career oval result, while Conor Daly surged from 24th to finish fifth in the No. 76 Juncos Hollinger Chevrolet – the biggest gain of the day.
Louis Foster of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing secured Rookie of the Year honors by a slim two-point margin over Robert Shwartzman of PREMA Racing. Foster finished 20th in the No. 45 Desnuda Tequila Honda, while Shwartzman placed 14th in the No. 83 Chevrolet.
The decisive moment came on Lap 205, when Newgarden passed McLaughlin for the lead just before McLaughlin brushed the Turn 2 SAFER Barrier, bringing out the final caution. On the restart at Lap 214, Newgarden pulled away as Palou slipped past McLaughlin into second. Despite closing in, Palou admitted he lacked the confidence to run the higher racing groove where Newgarden and others were making bold overtakes.
Overcome with joy, Newgarden stopped on the front straight and climbed into the grandstands to celebrate with his hometown fans, echoing his iconic Indianapolis 500 celebrations of 2023 and 2024.
“I think this place should always host the finale,” Newgarden declared. “There’s no better way to end the season. Being home, winning here – I’m just thrilled.”
The race itself was a whirlwind: 284 passes for position, including 130 within the top 10 and 74 inside the top five all new records for Nashville Superspeedway.
Pole sitter O’Ward looked poised to end his “winless from pole” drought, leading a race-high 116 laps. But his charge ended heartbreakingly on Lap 127 when a right-front tire failure sent him into the Turn 2 wall.
Malukas also saw his strong run undone, crashing from second on Lap 83 after contact with Foster, who was penalized for blocking. Malukas was later released from a local hospital following precautionary checks.
Meanwhile, Christian Rasmussen fresh off his first career win at Milwaukee exited on Lap 1 after contact with the Turn 2 barrier, the first of many incidents that kept pit strategies in flux and helped produce 20 lead changes among 12 drivers both records at the track.
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