INDYCAR - XPEL Grand Prix at Road America
XPEL Grand Prix at Road America
Plymouth, WI - June 21, 2026
JOSEF NEWGARDEN No. 2 ASTEMO CHEVROLET
Start: 15th, Finish: 22nd, Points: 8th (-127)
RACE RUNDOWN: Josef Newgarden and the No. 2 PPG Chevrolet team were in position to come away with a solid finish late in Sunday's XPEL Grand Prix at Road America before a costly penalty for avoidable contact dropped them to 22nd in the finishing order. Displaying immense grit while still recovering from a left foot injury, Newgarden qualified a respectable 15th on Saturday afternoon. When the green flag fell, however, he was caught out in the wrong lane as the two-by-two field barreled toward turn one, dropping to the 23rd position in the process. Race strategist Jonathan Diuguid kept to his fuel-saving strategy early on, allowing Newgarden to take advantage of several caution periods that happened during pit cycles to pick up several positions. The final caution flag of the day flew on the 55-lap race's penultimate lap, setting up a one-lap shootout in which Newgarden started from the 12th position. Unfortunately, before reaching the checkered flag Newgarden made contact with the No. 6 of Nolan Siegel. After review by the INDYCAR officiating crew it was determined to be unavoidable contact, which usually means a pass through of pit lane while the race is under the green flag. With the race over, Newgarden was penalized 30 seconds of race time, dropping him to the 22nd position.
NEWGARDEN'S THOUGHTS: “I’m very proud of the way the PPG Chevy team executed today. We didn’t get off to the best start. Just got caught in a bad situation at the green flag and could not find a way to stop the bleeding. But we kept to our strategy and were in position for a really nice finish until that late race contact.”
