Nashville native Josef Newgarden snapped a 20-race winless streak to claim a triumphant victory at his home track, winning the season-ending Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix at Nashville Superspeedway. The win marked his first of the 2025 season and the 32nd of his NTT INDYCAR SERIES career.
Driving the No. 2 Team Penske Chevrolet, Newgarden finished just 0.5021 seconds ahead of Alex Palou. While Palou narrowly missed the race win, he celebrated a historic achievement, securing his third consecutive series championship for Chip Ganassi Racing with the Astor Challenge Cup.
Scott McLaughlin secured third place in the No. 3 Team Penske Chevrolet after a late-race duel with Kyffin Simpson, giving the team two drivers on the podium for only the second time this season. Simpson held on for a career-best fourth-place oval result, while Conor Daly charged from 24th on the grid to complete the top five for Juncos Hollinger Racing.
Newgarden claimed the decisive lead on lap 205 after McLaughlin’s car drifted high and brushed the SAFER Barrier in Turn 2, bringing out the race’s final caution. On the restart with 11 laps remaining, Newgarden pulled away as Palou, who had recovered from an early flat tire, passed McLaughlin for second but could not close the gap to the leader.
The emotional victory was a rewarding end to a difficult year for Newgarden. “Glad we got one without anything going wrong,” he said. “Tough, tough year, but good to get a win at the end.” His relief was evident as he celebrated by climbing into the grandstands to join the fans, a scene reminiscent of his Indianapolis 500 victories.
The race itself was a chaotic and action-packed affair, setting new track records with 12 different leaders, 20 lead changes, and 284 on-track passes for position. The relentless action contributed to heartbreak for several front-runners. Pole-sitter Pato O’Ward led a race-high 116 laps before a flat right-front tire sent his No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet into the wall on lap 127.
Other major incidents included David Malukas, who crashed from second place on lap 83 after contact with Louis Foster. Malukas was awake and alert and later released from a local hospital following precautionary evaluation. Christian Rasmussen’s day ended on the opening lap when his car made contact with the barrier in Turn 2.
In the Rookie of the Year battle, Louis Foster of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing clinched the title by a slim two-point margin over PREMA Racing’s Robert Shwartzman.
Source link
