Newgarden labored his well beyond fellow Penske drivers Scott McLaughlin and poleman Will Power to seize the lead simply earlier than half distance of the 250-lap race.
That proved to be the important thing transfer, with Newgarden staying out entrance for his first win for the reason that Indianapolis 500 in Could – and to maintain up his 100% document on ovals this yr.
Energy led the sector to inexperienced, main team-mates McLaughlin and Newgarden. Scott Dixon (Chip Ganassi Racing) held fourth, with Colton Herta (Andretti Autosport) and Pato O’Ward (Arrow McLaren) duelling immediately for fifth, with the latter grabbing the spot by lap three.
Dixon attacked Newgarden for third on lap 5, however the six-time champion quickly had the charging O’Ward throughout him, the Mexican getting forward after a dozen laps. Behind O’Ward, Alex Palou (Ganassi) acquired the hammer down and rose to fifth by lap 30, bringing the battling David Malukas (Dale Coyne Racing) and Marcus Ericsson (Ganassi) forwards too.
Dixon and Herta fell again, clearly battling their tyres, and it was so unhealthy for Herta that he made his first cease on lap 41. To make issues worse, his right-front wheelnut acquired crossthreaded and he misplaced 4 laps.
By the one-fifth distance mark, Energy led McLaughlin by half a second, with Newgarden 2s additional again. O’Ward was better of the remaining, forward of Palou, Malukas, Ericsson and Dixon.
O’Ward was the primary of the leaders to pit on lap 58, with Energy, McLaughlin and Newgarden stopping three laps later, permitting Palou to steer for a lap earlier than he pitted too.
Energy cycled again to the entrance, nonetheless away from McLaughlin, with Newgarden slipping again by 5s in third however pleased with the modifications they made within the pitstop.
O’Ward held a distant fourth, with Ericsson and Ganassi team-mate Takuma Sato transferring as much as fifth and sixth, as Palou dropped again to ninth after the primary spherical of stops. Dixon was one other tumbler, now a lap down in fifteenth.
Josef Newgarden, Group Penske Chevrolet
Picture by: Josh Tons / Motorsport Images
McLaughlin attacked Energy for the lead on lap 83, as they got here as much as lap Romain Grosjean’s Twelfth-placed Andretti automotive. Newgarden then joined within the lead battle, grabbing second from McLaughlin on lap 95 because the Penskes lapped the vehicles on the backside finish of the highest 10.
Newgarden started to assault Energy on lap 101, however he needed to be cautious of the lurking McLaughlin because the Penske trio continued to dominate by nearly 10s.
Newgarden acquired one other run as Energy toiled to lap seventh-placed Alexander Rossi (McLaren), who had surged up from 20th on the grid.
Newgarden grabbed the lead from Energy on lap 121, after the Aussie slipped up the observe in Flip 2.
The second spherical of pitstops unfolded proper on the stroke of half distance, with Newgarden rejoining forward of Energy.
Ericsson briefly jumped as much as third, having pitted early, however McLaughlin quickly handled him on more energizing rubber, and O’Ward additionally handed the Swede by lap 131.
Early chief Energy started to battle on this stint, dropping to fourth on lap 145 after glancing the wall exiting Flip 4.
That gave Newgarden – who had now lapped everybody as much as sixth place – a 6.5s lead over McLaughlin, with O’Ward a second additional again however nearer to the leaders than he’d been for some time.
That grew to become irrelevant when the primary warning of the race flew, for Graham Rahal hitting the Flip 4 wall far tougher than Energy and breaking the right-front nook of his Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing automotive.
“Legitimately the worst automotive I’ve ever pushed on an oval,” he reported. “A significant rethink is required in a single day.”
Earlier technique gamblers Ericsson and Kyle Kirkwood (Andretti) had their prayers answered, and had been now ensconced in fifth and sixth respectively, and the yellow additionally meant that the 5 vehicles behind them (Palou, Rossi, Dixon, Sato and Grosjean) acquired their lap again.
The race restarted on lap 167, with Ericsson leaping forward of Energy instantly. O’Ward attacked McLaughlin, however couldn’t make it by, whereas Energy re-passed Ericsson.
The race shortly settled down, nonetheless, with some gas saving decreasing the tempo to maintain technique choices open with the end in sight.
Newgarden prolonged a 7s lead over McLaughlin, who in flip was effectively away from O’Ward, who had Energy, Ericsson, Kirkwood, Palou and Dixon on his tail.
The leaders made their closing pitstops from lap 208, rejoining in the identical order up entrance, however Ericsson muscled previous Energy to take fourth with 39 laps to go. Meantime, Dixon acquired forward of Kirkwood for sixth, as Palou slipped again to eighth.
McLaughlin acquired the hole to Newgarden all the way down to lower than 2s on the ultimate stint, however the chief was managing his hole and minding the visitors (he lapped everybody as much as fifth) – regardless of a couple of nervous moments within the closing laps.
O’Ward completed a distant third, forward of Ericsson, Energy and Dixon and Kirkwood. Factors chief Palou completed a lap down however will view eighth as a good outcome for harm limitation.