News

Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix
Detroit, MI - May 31, 2026

JOSEF NEWGARDEN No. 2 ASTEMO CHEVROLET

START: 24TH 
FINISH: 10TH 
POINTS: 8TH (-140)
 

RACE RUNDOWN: Josef Newgarden turned in a gutsy performance in Sunday's Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix, guiding the No. 2 Astemo Chevrolet to a 10th-place finish while still hobbled from a left foot injury suffered in last weekend's Indianapolis 500. Newgarden began the race from the 21st position following qualifying on Saturday afternoon, a product of having to get comfortable in the No. 2 Chevy while dealing with his injury. He dropped four positions when the race began, but an early caution flag on Lap 10 allowed the Astemo team to work on an alternate fuel strategy to gain track position. Newgarden drove up to the third position after running long in the first pit cycle of the day and settled into the 13th position after a Lap 40 caution allowed the strategies to even out. As the race moved into the second half, Newgarden radioed to strategist Jonathan Diuguid that he needed help with turn. Yet, despite the handling issues he was able to maintain his position in the top half of the field. It was on restarts where he was most compromised, but he continued to battle for every position to come home in the 10th position, winning the Hard Charger of the Race Award in the process.

NEWGARDEN'S THOUGHTS: "They just used me up is what it kind of felt like whenever they could, so I felt like I was in defense mode most of the race, and certainly there at the end I was in defense mode. I was just trying to protect the Astemo Chevy more than anything.  The team did an amazing job, just an amazing job to get the car where I could get in it and drive. They did a great race.  The only reason we finished where we did is because of what the team did.  Great strategy.  We were in the race and now we can go on to the next one."

SCOTT MCLAUGHLIN No. 3 CLARIENCE TECHNOLOGIES CHEVROLET

START: 3RD 
FINISH: 19TH  
POINTS: 7TH (-135)
 

RACE RUNDOWN: Scott McLaughlin and the No. 3 Clarience Technologies Chevrolet team were in contention for a podium finish in Sunday's Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix, but a clash with former teammate Will Power left them with a 19th-place finish. The New Zealand-born driver led Team Penske with a third-place qualifying effort on Saturday afternoon that also made him the top Chevrolet qualifier in the manufacturer's hometown event. From the drop of the green flag on Sunday, the racing at the front of the field was fierce and aggressive. McLaughlin more than held his own, and eventually passed for the lead on Lap 36 before making his way to pit lane. He would settle into the third position after the pit stops cycled, and McLaughlin would remain inside the top five until a Lap 79 caution period that brought him down pit lane following heavy contact with Power while racing for position. The contact resulted in a broken toe link on the right rear of the Chevy and the unscheduled trip to pit lane dropped McLaughlin from a push for the podium to 19th when the race was complete.

MCLAUGHLIN'S THOUGHTS: "I had a broken toe-link after the contact. The Clarience Technologies Chevy was super-fast. I don't know if we had the pace to win with Alex, but we were right there. Probably good enough for third or fourth. We were side-by-side out of Turn 3 and I got a little sideways which made me press him to the wall a lot more aggressively than I wanted which closed the hole. I don't know whether he's pissed off because of that. He got me and I was pretty happy with that. It still would have been a good result right now. He's faster than me on restarts, I'll let him have it. Going into Turn 3, he locked the right front. I got up the inside of him. Honestly, I was going to go to the outside and he kept turning in and basically gave me no option. The whole way, no option. I went beside him, no option. Turned into the side of me and drove me into the right-side fence and another fence. I didn't want to do that to him. I didn't want to do that to my day. We'll talk about it. I have so much respect for Will Power."

DAVID MALUKAS No. 12 VERIZON CHEVROLET

START: 25TH  
FINISH: 18TH  
POINTS: 3RD (-79)
 

RACE RUNDOWN: David Malukas and the No. 12 Verizon Chevrolet team entered Sunday's Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix looking to continue the momentum from their near win in the 110th running of the Indianapolis 500 before fighting issues that led to an 18th place finish in the Motor City. Malukas displayed plenty of speed during the Friday afternoon practice session and nearly qualified for the Firestone Fast Six on Saturday. Unfortunately, on his hot lap that could have propelled him to the final round, the 24-year-old made heavy contact in Turn 6 to not only end his qualifying session, but it also placed him 25th in the starting lineup for Sunday. Early in the 100-lap event, Malukas was unable to move through the field so he elected to save fuel until the traffic in front of him cleared. The persistence would pay off later in the race as Malukas began to climb through the field to eventually be scored in the fourth position following a Lap 65 caution. He and the No. 47 of Mick Shumacher battled intensely once the race resumed with contact between the two coming on Lap 74, dropping Malukas to 22nd in the running order and effectively ending his day. 
 

MALUKAS' THOUGHTS: "I'm not going to lie from start to finish that was one of my worst performances. Mentally, I need to go back and reset and really deep dive on everything. I feel so bad for the team, Verizon, Chevy, everybody involved and all of the sponsors. That was not a good performance for me. I need this week to reset. Take a deep breath and come back for Gateway."

The NTT INDYCAR SERIES will continue its action-packed stretch of racing with next weekend's Bommarito Automotive Group 500 on Sunday, June 7 at World Wide Technology Raceway. The St. Louis area event will begin at 9:00 pm ET on FOX.