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IndyCar: Winners and losers from the 2018 Phoenix Grand Prix

By Justin Carter

AVONDALE, AZ - APRIL 07: General view of racing during the Verizon IndyCar Series Phoenix Grand Prix at ISM Raceway on April 7, 2018 in Avondale, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
AVONDALE, AZ - APRIL 07: General view of racing during the Verizon IndyCar Series Phoenix Grand Prix at ISM Raceway on April 7, 2018 in Avondale, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /
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The 2018 IndyCar season continued with the Desert Diamond West Valley Casino Phoenix Grand Prix. Who were the winners and losers in this one?

The second race of the 2018 IndyCar season, the Desert Diamond West Valley Casino Phoenix Grand Prix, was run on Saturday night at ISM Raceway in Avondale, Arizona. Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden ended the night on the top of the podium. Who were the winners and the losers from this race? Read on to find out.

Winners from Phoenix

Robert Wickens

The rookie was the dominant driver in the season opener at St. Petersburg before contact by Alexander Rossi on the final restart cost him the race. There was a similar feel on Saturday at ISM Raceway, with Wickens leading 44 laps and restarting in the top spot with eight laps to go. Wickens couldn’t hold off the four fresh tires of eventual race winner Josef Newgarden. Still, the second place finish is a decisive statement by Wickens that he’s a driver to be reckoned with this season at both road and street courses and ovals.

Josef Newgarden

Newgarden led 30 laps and won after restarting fourth on the final restart because he pitted for fresh tires on his Team Penske machine. Last season’s champion is now this season’s points leader.

Alexander Rossi

At St. Petersburg, Rossi’s late move on Wickens earned him some scorn from fans, but he has now finished third in both races this season. Rossi had never finished better than 14th in Phoenix, but he qualified fourth for the race and was able to work his way back up after incurring a drive-through penalty for hitting a crew member. In the weird world that’s been the 2018 IndyCar season, Rossi sits second in the standings.

Losers from Phoenix

Will Power

Power started the race in third and led 80 laps, a total that was higher than the laps led total of all other drivers. It looked like he was going to rebound from a disappointing run in the first race of the season, but he tagged the wall and ended up finishing just 22nd. Power is tied for 14th in points right now and is just seven points behind his teammate Simon Pagenaud, as two of the three Team Penske cars have had disappointing starts to the 2018 season.

Pietro Fittipaldi

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The grandson of Emerson Fittipaldi started 10th in his IndyCar debut, but he got too high going into the corner on lap 40 and smacked the wall, ending his day. The rookie showed some encouraging speed. He’ll be back in the #19 Dale Coyne Racing Honda in May for both races at Indianapolis.

Sebastien Bourdais

Bourdais won at St. Petersburg and then started on the pole in Phoenix, but he struck a crew member in the pits and had to serve a drive-through penalty. Bourdais ultimately finished 13th and dropped to third in points. Still, the speed he has displayed through two races shows that he’ll be in contention all year as the four-time Champ Car champion tries to win his first career IndyCar title.

Next: Top 10 IndyCar drivers of all-time

You don’t have to wait another month for another IndyCar race like you did for the race at Phoenix! Next Sunday, the cars head to Long Beach, California for the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. It airs at 4:00 pm ET on NBC Sports Network.