Josef Newgarden stole a race that Kyle Kirkwood had in his hands. Fresh rubber on the final caution — 20 laps newer than what Kirkwood was running — was all it took. Eight laps from the checkered flag, the win was gone.
That’s the cruel arithmetic of oval racing, and it played out in vivid detail Saturday night at Phoenix Raceway as IndyCar returned to the one-mile desert bullring for the Good Ranchers 250. Kirkwood, who started 11th in his Andretti Global Honda, clawed through the field on a contrarian pit strategy and led 47 laps. He did everything right except control the timing of the last yellow.
Newgarden pitted. Kirkwood didn’t. The rest was physics.
“That’s just what 20-lap fresher tires can do,” Kirkwood said afterward, managing a smile that probably hurt. “We had a really good shot to win there up until the final handful of laps.”
The podium still moved Kirkwood to second in the championship, five points behind the leader — though the identity of that leader shifted in dramatic fashion during the race itself. Alex Palou, who had topped the standings since July 2024, saw his streak end violently on lap 22 when contact with Rinus VeeKay put the Chip Ganassi Racing driver into the wall and out of the race. Palou had already charged from 10th into the top five. His day ended in the catch fence.
The Andretti Global operation had reason for both optimism and frustration. Will Power, making just his second start since joining the team, started dead last after a qualifying crash and proceeded to carve through the entire field. He led 10 laps, posted the fastest lap of the race on lap 191, and was fighting for the win when contact with Christian Rasmussen’s No. 21 cut a tire and sent him pitward.
A penalty for servicing under a closed pit sealed his fate at 16th. Ron Ruzewski, Andretti’s IndyCar team principal, saw the glass as more than half full. “It showed that the No. 26 and Andretti as a whole are a force to be reckoned with,” he said.
Two cars capable of winning. Zero wins to show for it. That’s a thin line between momentum and heartbreak.
Honda had a solid day across its entire stable. Four of five Honda-powered teams landed in the top 10: Kirkwood second, Meyer Shank Racing’s Marcus Armstrong fifth after starting 13th, Scott Dixon seventh, and Graham Rahal ninth. Armstrong, the New Zealander, savored the experience of racing wheel-to-wheel with fellow Kiwi Dixon.
“He’s someone that I grew up watching on TV,” Armstrong said. “To be racing right next to him was something really fun and special.”
Kelvin Fu, Honda Racing Corporation’s vice president, acknowledged the progress while keeping expectations measured. “We’ve made a step, but it’s clear that we have more work to do before our next short oval at WWTR in June.”
The race featured four caution periods covering 41 laps — enough disruption to scramble strategies but not so much that it became a lottery. Phoenix delivered a legitimate show in its IndyCar return, the kind of event that justifies a spot on the calendar.
Marcus Ericsson, Andretti’s third entry, faded to 17th after running as high as eighth, battling car balance all afternoon. Mick Schumacher finished 18th for Rahal Letterman Lanigan. Romain Grosjean retired from Dale Coyne Racing’s entry with a mechanical failure.
The series now heads to Arlington, Texas for the inaugural Java House Grand Prix next Sunday, the third consecutive race weekend to open the 2026 season. It’s a street course, a completely different challenge. But the early championship picture is taking shape, and Kirkwood — the guy who did everything right and still finished second — is very much in it.
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