Josef Newgarden wins IndyCar Series PPG375 at Texas Motor Speedway

Josef Newgarden enjoys racing at Texas Motor Speedway.

Racing his Team Peske Chevrolet, Newgarden won for the second straight year at TMS, capturing the NTT IndyCar Series PPG 375 on Sunday. It’s also his third career win at the speedway.

He held off Pato O’Ward to claim the victory that came under a yellow caution flag as Romain Grosjean crashed while running in fifth in the final laps.

Newgarden dominated much of the race, leading 123 of the 250 laps. O’Ward led 91 laps. O’Ward takes over the season points lead after his second consecutive second-place finish.

“Pato gave me all the respect in the world when he was racing next to me,” Newgarden said. “It was really hard to fight those guys. I think (Alex) Palou was super strong, too. There are just no gimmes. It was packed up today, very difficult to get away.

“There were parts when we were good, parts when we were weaker. But when we needed to be good, the car was there at the end.”

Newgarden, from Nashville, Tennessee, also extended his streak to nine consecutive seasons with at least one victory.

Alex Palou finished third, followed by David Malukas and Scott Dixon.

Newgarden grabbed the front on Lap 242, with O’Ward reclaiming the top spot one lap later. Then it was Newgarden’s turn to take the point one trip later on Lap 244, with O’Ward nosing ahead on Lap 247.

Then Newgarden finally got in front just in time on Lap 249, just a few exhilarating breaths before the yellow flag flew for the last time. In total, the race featured 26 lead changes among eight drivers.

Information from Texas Motor Speedway public relations was used in this story.

This story was originally published April 2, 2023 at 2:06 PM.