Yee-hah! Josef Newgarden celebrates after winning the PPG 375 IndyCar event at Texas Motor Speedway for the second consecutive year. IndyCar photo by Joe Skibinski.

IndyCar drivers sing all about R-E-S-P-E-C-T in Texas event

Race winner Josef Newgarden, runner-up Pato O'Ward and third-place finisher Alex Palou all made it sound like a lovefest of emotions in Sunday's race

Author:
Michael Eubanks
Publish date:
Apr 2, 2023 7:54 PM EDT

Pato O’Ward wasn’t granted the chance to steal a win from Josef Newgarden Sunday, but he still had a great afternoon deep in the heart of Texas.

O’Ward and Newgarden swapped multiple times as the laps wound down in the PPG 375 at Texas Motor Speedway. However, O’Ward was not able to make one last pass for the lead. Romain Grosjean crashed while both leaders were taking the white flag, forcing the race to end under caution and gifting the lead to Newgarden.

But while he didn’t win, O’Ward leaves Texas with two consecutive second-place finishes (the season opener at St. Petersburg last month and Sunday's showing), as well as the overall NTT IndyCar points lead.

O’Ward nearly won IndyCar’s season opener in St. Pete. However, a brief loss of engine power saw his car lose the lead to Marcus Ericsson in the closing laps.

“It’s been a hell of a start to the year,” O’Ward told NBC Sports following the race. “The guys gave me an absolute rocket ship. Everybody that was watching the race midway through I’m pretty sure saw that.

“It’s been an absolute joy to drive this Arrow McLaren No. 5 Chevy. I guess we’ve had two second-place finishes so we’re still waiting on that win this year. But that’s a great start to the championship.”

Despite going wheel-to-wheel with Newgarden in the closing laps, O’Ward said he has the utmost respect for his fellow competitor.

“He’s one of the guys that I can trust,” O’Ward said to IndyCar Radio about Newgarden. “I’m pretty sure he thinks the same of me. We’re just giving everyone the show they deserve. Off to Long Beach.”

O’Ward’s best finish at Long Beach is fifth in last year’s edition of the race.

In Victory Lane, Newgarden also complimented O’Ward.

“Pato gave me all the respect in the world when he was racing next to me,” Newgarden said. “It was really hard to fight those guys. I think [Alex] Palou was super strong, too. There are just no gimmes. It was packed up today, very difficult to get away."

Palau brought the No. 10 American Legion Honda home to a third-place finish for Chip Ganassi Racing. The 2021 series champ scored his 35th podium of his still relatively young career.

"We finished P3 and it feels like a win today,” Palou said. “The No. 10, The American Legion car, was really fast and I felt very comfortable all weekend, but especially today. It was allowing me to overtake when I wanted and be super racey.

"It was a shame at the end because we were super close to the win. I can't wait for the next one and we'll be ready trying to get our first win of the season in Long Beach."

David Malukas finished a strong fourth for Dale Coyne Racing, followed by Scott Dixon in fifth.

Scott McLaughlin and Colton Herta were the last two drivers on the lead lap, finishing sixth and seventh. Marcus Ericcson, Callum Illott and Helio Castroneves rounded out the top 10.

The Grand Prix of Long Beach takes place on Sunday, April 16.