Kyle Kirkwood claimed victory in the Bommarito Automotive Group 500. Starting from tenth on the grid, the Andretti Global driver managed to narrowly hold off Pato O’Ward after a thrilling sprint to the finish. O’Ward finished second, just half a second behind, followed by a very surprising Christian Rasmussen in third. Rinus VeeKay drove a solid race and finished in seventh place.

After the green flag waved, the entire field made it cleanly through the opening corners. Pole-sitter Will Power didn’t get to enjoy the lead for long, as David Malukas — who started third — quickly passed him in Turn 4 to take over the top spot.

Although the field completed the first lap without incident, the first caution came quickly. Just four laps in, Devlin DeFrancesco spun in Turn 1 and backed into the wall. After repairs in the pits, the Canadian was able to continue the race.

Following the restart, Malukas maintained the lead, with Power in second. Malukas appeared significantly faster and built a lead of more than five seconds. Power clearly struggled with his Team Penske machine, which ultimately led to an early end to his race. On Lap 48, he ran too high in Turn 3 and slid into the wall in Turn 4. The impact damaged his right front suspension, making him the first official retiree of the race.

During the ensuing caution, the entire field headed to the pits, with notable consequences: Scott McLaughlin exited the pits ahead of Malukas and took over the lead. Trouble struck Christian Rasmussen, whose car briefly caught fire while exiting his pit box, while fellow Dane Christian Lundgaard came to a stop just before reaching his pit crew.

Twenty laps after the restart, Josef Newgarden passed Malukas for second, putting Team Penske in first and second. A slow second pit stop for McLaughlin handed the lead to Newgarden, while McLaughlin fell back to third behind Malukas.

However, Newgarden’s race ended in dramatic fashion after 130 laps. Backmarker Louis Foster, who was running three seconds ahead, made a mistake similar to Power’s earlier in the race—running too high in Turn 3 and hitting the wall in Turn 4. As he exited the corner, Foster lost control of his damaged car and spun across the track—right into Newgarden’s path. Newgarden’s car flipped upon impact, but both drivers were able to exit their vehicles unharmed. Remarkably, the caution was only thrown after Foster had already started spinning.



During this caution, the entire field pitted again. Both McLaughlin and Malukas immediately entered the fast lane while exiting the pits, which is not allowed. As a result, both drivers were penalized three positions. This handed the lead to Pato O’Ward, followed by Conor Daly and Kyle Kirkwood. Shortly after the restart, Daly even passed O’Ward to take the lead.

Daly held the lead until the final round of pit stops. A slightly early stop cost him several positions. Kirkwood stayed out a bit longer than Malukas and rejoined the track just ahead of him. Malukas launched an immediate attack but brushed the wall in the process. Although the contact was minimal, race control didn't wait and immediately called for a caution. Scott Dixon was the only driver who hadn’t yet stopped and, as a result, held a one-lap advantage over the rest of the field. He was able to make his pit stop under yellow and retained the lead.

On the restart, Dixon held onto the lead, while VeeKay—who had made an impressive charge through the field—made contact with Malukas, who dropped back slightly.

Team Penske’s woes worsened on Lap 218. After the crashes of Power and Newgarden, McLaughlin was forced to retire his No. 3 car due to mechanical issues.

The fourth round of pit stops came slightly too early to finish the race on a full tank, requiring drivers to make one final stop. Kirkwood pitted slightly before Dixon and rejoined ahead of him. O’Ward and Rasmussen also managed to get past Dixon.

In the final laps, O’Ward put heavy pressure on Kirkwood, but never found the opportunity to make a pass. Kirkwood held on to take his third win of the season—and his first career victory on an oval.

Full results of the race on Gateway