By David Morgan, Associate Editor
LEBANON, Tenn. – There’s no place like home.
In what has been a miserable season for Josef Newgarden and Team Penske as a whole, the driver of the No. 2 Chevrolet finally got it done in front of a hometown crowd to scored the victory in Sunday’s Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix at Nashville Superspeedway.
After starting the day in sixth place, the Hendersonville, Tenn. native hung around the leaders, keeping himself in position to strike and did just that on Lap 147, taking over the lead from Alexander Rossi after the latter stayed out on older tires on a strategy play.
Newgarden would give up the lead to teammate Scott McLaughlin after making his final pit stop on Lap 186, cycling in behind him and 2025 champion Alex Palou for the final push to the finish.
McLaughlin surpassed Palou for the lead with 25 laps to go, with Newgarden following him through into second shortly afterward, setting up a battle amongst the teammates for what would be the first win of the season for both.
Holding a steady lead over Newgarden as the laps wound down, fortunes would shift Newgarden’s way with 20 laps to go as McLaughlin got up high and sideswiped the wall in Turn 2, bringing out the caution and setting up a final restart with 12 to go to settle it.
Newgarden would get the jump on the restart over McLaughlin, who escaped his brush with the wall with no damage, along with Palou, Conor Daly, and Kyffin Simpson.
Once things settled out following the restart, it was Newgarden’s race to lose with Palou in his rear-view and McLaughin and Simpson dueling it out for the final podium spot.
Driving like a man on a mission, Newgarden led every lap of that final sprint to the finish, crossing the line 0.502 seconds ahead of Palou, while McLaughlin nipped Simpson at the end to round out the podium finishers.
As has become his tradition after winning a race, Newgarden stopped his car on the frontstretch, thrust his arms into the air victoriously as cheers rained down from his fans in attendance and then he climbed up in the grandstands to celebrate with them – a huge weight lifted off his shoulders.
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“This was a hard race to win today. There was no gimmes,” said Newgarden. “Got such depth across the board, everybody is so close as far as the competitive landscape, it’s just hard to find an advantage on anyone nowadays. This was a hard race to win.
“It’s satisfying when you win a race in this environment. Then to win it at my hometown was really gratifying.
“I mean, I used to come here when was 12, 13 years old and I would watch stockcar races, INDYCAR races. I’d watch anything that came here. I sat in those stands, wherever I was able to go at the end of the race. Had no idea that I would have a racing career at that point in my life.
“It’s cool to come full circle and to be so close to home. I love being here in Nashville, too, for the season finale. I like it for INDYCAR. It’s a great destination for us. Good for Nashville and certainly good for the series. I think we should continue that tradition.
“I love this track. Whether it’s here, somewhere else in the future, as long as we’re in the Nashville vicinity, I’m going to be a happy guy.”
To say that Newgarden and his team have struggled through the first 16 races of the season would be an understatement, only finishing inside the top-five twice and being handed four DNFs on the year, putting him in his worst points position since 2014.
Not to mention the off-track drama within Team Penske with the firing of a number of high-ranking officials within the organization in the wake of penalties handed down during the lead up to the Indianapolis 500.
But a win can heal all and give Newgarden and the team some reprieve heading into the offseason and on to 2026.
“Never a bad time to show up and have a good day,” said Newgarden. “I think the team really performed like you expect from Team Penske. I think we’ve had the same core that Team Penske’s always had throughout this whole year in a lot of ways. You saw it again today, just the men and women across the board.
“Really didn’t matter which car. There was a point midway through the race, I came on the radio, Look at Will, looked amazing, incredible. He could have won the race today. I think Scott could have won the race.
“That’s the cool thing about Team Penske. You walk into that building, it really doesn’t matter which car you’re looking at, I would be privileged to step in any one of them. I think they give you a shot to win the race.
“It’s cool to be part of this team. We’ve got great leadership and depth across the board. I think that’s what carried us through this weekend to bring in this result.”
Though McLaughlin would have loved to win the race himself, calling the finish “bittersweet,” he noted that he was glad that his teammate could bring it home, especially to give team owner Roger Penske a reason to smile in what has been a tumultuous season.
“I’m glad Josef won because I would have got a kick up the ass,” McLaughlin joked. “Fantastic. I’m very happy for Roger. He’s been through a lot obviously. But he’s a great leader, someone that I respect immensely. Yeah, very happy for him to just get some results.
“As we know, we are strong on ovals. We needed to be better at other places. Important we had a win here. Important that we won on an oval. Yeah, it’s just nice to give him some results and give him something to be happy with.”
Conor Daly would round out the top-five finishers, followed by Kyle Kirkwood, Felix Rosenqvist, Santino Ferrucci, Callum Ilott, and Rossi.
Will Power, in the third Penske entry, was in position to snag the victory himself in the later stages of the race, leading five laps on the day in what could be his final start in the No. 12 Chevrolet, but on a pit stop on Lap 142 was handed a penalty for hitting equipment, dropping him out of the running.
He would eventually finish the day in 21st place, three laps down.
As for what his future holds with Team Penske, that will seemingly be decided in the days ahead as he meets with team leadership to determine whether he will get another season at the team he has called home since 2009.
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