The Gateway Motorsports Park in Illinois delivered one of the most unpredictable IndyCar races of the season, with chaos, strategy, and fuel gambles rewriting the script lap by lap.
In the end, it was Andretti’s Kyle Kirkwood who celebrated his first career oval victory, while New Zealand veteran Scott Dixon once again proved his racing IQ with a remarkable late-race surge to fourth.
Fellow Kiwis Marcus Armstrong and Scott McLaughlin were both contenders through the day, Armstrong battling inside the top ten for much of the race and McLaughlin leading early before misfortune and strategy twists changed their trajectories.
From the moment the green flag waved on the 260-lap contest, it was clear this wouldn’t be a straightforward oval run. Team Penske locked out the front row with Will Power on pole and McLaughlin alongside, while Armstrong slotted into sixth and Dixon just outside the top ten in 11th.
But it wasn’t long before the script flipped. David Malukas launched aggressively at the start, snatching the lead away from both Penske drivers, while Conor Daly immediately began his charge from 15th, gaining seven spots in two laps.
Meanwhile, Dixon dropped to 15th early, slipping back behind Alex Palou and Marcus Ericsson as the field settled in.
The first caution flew just four laps in when Devlin DeFrancesco spun solo and backed into the Turn 2 wall. At the restart on Lap 11, Daly picked up where he left off, overtaking Armstrong and continuing his remarkable run through the pack.
Dixon, meanwhile, lost another place to Callum Ilott, falling to 16th.
Newgarden began making progress as well, climbing to seventh after a tidy move on Armstrong by Lap 17, though he reported some understeer.
At the front, Malukas maintained the lead, but McLaughlin kept him in sight, sitting third and staying within striking distance while saving his Firestones.
By Lap 39, Newgarden flexed his racecraft with a double overtake on Daly and Pato O’Ward, moving into fourth and forming a Penske train behind Malukas. Moments later, calamity struck for Power, who suffered a right-front tyre failure while running second.
The hit sent him into the wall and out of the race, triggering the second caution of the day and sending most of the field diving into pit lane.
In the chaos, McLaughlin beat Malukas out of pit road and took control of the race. Christian Rasmussen’s car briefly caught fire exiting pit lane, and further back, Christian Lundgaard’s slow stop blocked Palou in, costing the Spaniard track position.
McLaughlin led the restart on Lap 58 with Malukas and Newgarden behind. Armstrong restarted ninth, while Dixon sat 13th. McLaughlin began to stretch a gap, building a 1.2-second margin by Lap 70.
Newgarden soon took second after Malukas drifted high, and the Penske teammates began to tussle for control of the race.
But backmarkers played a part, too; McLaughlin found himself compromised by Rasmussen, who made life easier for Newgarden in their battle for the lead.
When Newgarden pitted early on Lap 101, McLaughlin covered it off two laps later, but the undercut proved decisive. McLaughlin rejoined in third, 6.9 seconds adrift of the lead.
Just as the race was cycling through pit strategies, disaster struck in dramatic fashion. Louis Foster tagged the wall and slid back across the track right into the path of Newgarden.
The Penske driver had nowhere to go and slammed into the spinning car, flipping and skidding down the track before coming to rest upside down. A fire briefly ignited at the rear of his car as the safety crew righted it, but both drivers escaped injury.
Newgarden’s car was destroyed, and with Power already out, McLaughlin was now the lone Penske car left standing.
Unfortunately, that wouldn’t last. McLaughlin pitted under the caution but was handed a three-place penalty for improper pit lane usage, dropping him to fifth for the restart on Lap 149 behind race leader O’Ward, Daly, Kirkwood, and Malukas. Armstrong held eighth, while Dixon sat 12th.
The restart brought tight battles throughout the field. Daly and O’Ward went wheel-to-wheel for the lead, swapping lines through Turns 1 and 2, while behind them, Santino Ferrucci and Colton Herta rubbed wheels in their scrap for sixth.
By Lap 190, Rasmussen had climbed into fifth after passing McLaughlin, marking an astonishing 19-place gain from his starting position.
A new round of green flag pit stops cycled through, and suddenly, Dixon found himself in the race lead, opting to stay out as others dove in. It proved a masterstroke.
When Malukas brushed the wall and brought out another caution, Dixon ran into some extremely good luck.
Due to everyone else pitting under green prior to the caution and Dixon staying out, he was a lap up from the rest of the field and was able to pit under yellow, keep his track position, and return to the lead of the race on Lap 208. Armstrong’s earlier stop before the caution dropped him to 15th and a lap down.
Back to green and Dixon led the pack, shadowed by O’Ward, Kirkwood, and Daly. But heartbreak struck McLaughlin soon after the restart; an issue with his right-rear tyre forced him to retire on Lap 200.
After leading the race and running with the frontrunners all day, the Kiwi was left with a DNF in 23rd place.
Dixon kept control for several laps, fending off pressure and staying clean through traffic. Armstrong made a late push to re-enter the top 10, reaching seventh before needing to pit again on Lap 227.
As final pit stops shook out, Dixon pitted with 24 laps to go, handing the lead briefly to O’Ward, who then pitted the next lap. That left Ferrucci at the front, but it was short-lived.
The final laps turned into a dramatic fuel-saving thriller. Leaders began peeling off one by one. Rosenqvist, who inherited the lead, had to pit due to low fuel with eight laps to go. Ilott briefly took over before he, too, had to pit.
Kirkwood, who had quietly run near the front all day, took advantage, cycling through to the lead with five laps remaining.
He never looked back. Kirkwood crossed the line to take his first career oval win in commanding style. O’Ward followed in second, and Rasmussen completed the podium with a stunning charge from the back of the grid.
Dixon, having led and pitted at the perfect moment earlier, crossed the line in fourth, another feather in the cap for the ever-consistent Kiwi master. Armstrong brought his car home in tenth, a deserved reward after a gritty and strategic race.
Final Classification – Top 10
- Kyle Kirkwood – Andretti Global
- Pato O’Ward – Arrow McLaren
- Christian Rasmussen – Ed Carpenter Racing
- Scott Dixon (NZL) – Chip Ganassi Racing
- Santino Ferrucci – AJ Foyt Racing
- Conor Daly – Juncos Hollinger Racing
- Rinus VeeKay – Dale Coyne Racing
- Alex Palou – Chip Ganassi Racing
- Robert Shwartzman – Prema Racing
- Marcus Armstrong (NZL) – Meyer Shank Racing
DNF: Scott McLaughlin (NZL) – 23rd
On a day of daring calls, shocking crashes, and evolving track conditions, it was Kiwi strategy king Scott Dixon who once again rose above the chaos.
Marcus Armstrong proved he’s not far off becoming a consistent frontrunner. And while Scott McLaughlin’s result won’t reflect the performance he delivered, his early race pace left no doubt that he’ll be back in the hunt next time out.
Indycar returns this weekend for the Xpel Grand Prix at Road America, with the race scheduled to go green at 5.30 am Monday 23rd June NZT.
Header Image: Penske Entertainment – James Black
