Under the floodlights at World Wide Technology Raceway in St. Louis, it was Josef Newgarden who shone on track, taking the win over Marcus Ericsson, who led 114 of 260 laps. The final spot on the podium belonged to Christian Rasmussen, who jumped 16 positions from 19th.
This win for Newgarden marks his sixth around this track. It wasn’t the easiest win, as rain and red flags made their appearances.
Making Moves
Just before polesitter Álex Palou led the field to green, the iconic pre-race pyro blasted around the track. Drivers filed into two groups for the start of the race. Newgarden wasted no time moving up into the Top 3, running behind David Malukas and Palou.
Further down, there were a few big movers, the biggest being Ericsson. The Swede started 12th and jumped to 5th in 22 laps and didn’t seem like he was going to stop. On lap 29, Ericsson continued his move up by passing teammate Kyle Kirkwood for 4th.
As the top cars started to run into traffic, the top three started to change. Ericsson managed to pass Palou for the lead as the first round of pit stops started. The first caution came on lap 55, when Nolan Siegel hit the wall following contact with Palou.
The other big mover was rookie Caio Collet. He managed to move up from 20th to 6th in 80 laps. Along the way, he met 6-time INDYCAR champion Scott Dixon and made a quick move on the outside. Unfortunately, his race came to a premature end due to smoke coming from his A.J. Foyt Racing Car.
Chip Ganassi Racing Strategy Woes
The second caution came on lap 115 when Graham Rahal found the wall just as the second round of pit stops was finishing up. The caution then turned into a red flag as light rain began to fall in St. Louis.
After 38 minutes, the cars were back on track, and the pits were open, which Palou and Dixon took advantage of. Newgarden moved into second ahead of Collet. Rasmussen continued his own run through the field. Rinus Veekay also looked speedy after the red flag, going from eighth to fifth, and sat less than one second behind Rasmussen for fourth.
While under green, the rest of the field made their pit stops, while the Ganassi drivers didn’t. On lap 200, while the two were leading but were struggling for fuel, the race was red-flagged again due to the weather. The rain came and went, and the gamble they took blew up in their face. Dixon was forced to dive into the pit lane for emergency service. Palou, on the other hand, led the field to pit lane, but ran out of fuel on pit lane.
Battle for Win
As the green flag waved again, there were 50 laps to go, and Rasmussen wasted no time in taking the lead from Newgarden. The two would trade places a few times, and it would settle in the veteran’s favor for a few laps until another caution. Moments before the caution, Ericsson managed to pass Rasmussen.
At the restart with 26 laps to go, Newgarden led Ericsson, Rasmussen, VeeKay, and Kirkwood. Scott McLaughlin, pitted for a fresh set of tires, went from ninth to sixth a lap later, ultimately finishing in fifth. Veekay took a shot at Rasmussen for the final podium spot, but didn’t stick. Newgarden crossed the line 0.6613s ahead of Ericsson to secure the win.