INDYCAR - Bommarito Automotive Group 500
Bommarito Automotive Group 500
Madison, IL - June 7, 2026
JOSEF NEWGARDEN No. 2 ASTEMO CHEVROLET
Start: 8th, Finish: 1st, Points: 6th (-104)
RACE RUNDOWN: Neither an injured left foot nor the threat of inclement weather could keep Josef Newgarden and the No. 2 Astemo Chevrolet team from scoring their second victory of the 2026 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season in the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 on Sunday evening at World Wide Technology Raceway (WWTR). The win runs Newgarden's WWTR-record to six victories at the 1.25-mile oval as he continues to cement his legacy as one of the series' greatest oval racers. The Nashville native began the race from the eighth position but quickly raced his way into the top five on the first lap of action, and Newgarden would cycle to the second position following the team's first pit stop of the day on Lap 51. He would keep his Astemo Chevy at the front of the field through the first half of the 160-lap event before two red-flag periods for rain began to shake up the strategies up and down pit lane. Newgarden assumed the lead for the first time on Lap 178, and great pit work resulted in him keeping the lead after pitting just one lap later. As the race entered the final 50 laps, Newgarden and Christian Rassmussen swapped the lead on several occasions before Newgarden took control of the race and cruised to his 34th career victory. He is now tied for ninth on the all-time series wins list with Al Unser, Jr., just one victory away from the eighth position held by Bobby Unser.
NEWGARDEN'S THOUGHTS: “This team right here. This Astemo crew. Team Chevy, we had everything we needed tonight with Team Penske. Great job to the group. It was a methodical night. We had a good car at the start. It wasn’t perfect and it came to us just as we needed, as we tweaked on it. They called the race (the timing stand). It was a track position race. You have to give a lot of credit to Marcus. He was incredibly strong. I don’t think there was much between us. It was a matter of who was going to get positioning on each other and that’s what is going to seal the deal. He drove a great race and certainly could have won this as well. This team did the job tonight and that’s why we are here.”
