2018 Phoenix Grand Prix results: Josef Newgarden wins

IndyCar’s Phoenix Grand Prix went to Josef Newgarden after a busy evening under the Arizona lights. Here are the complete 2018 Phoenix Grand Prix results.

The Verizon IndyCar Series landed in Arizona on Saturday night, and the 2018 Phoenix Grand Prix was won by a very familiar face: reigning champion Josef Newgarden. Newgarden turned a regular start into a fast victory.

Sebastien Bourdais, coming off his Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg victory, started on the pole Saturday but had an early hiccup when his car wouldn’t roll off the line. Bourdais got an assist from Robert Wickens’ pit crew and was able to rejoin the field before the green flag, ensuring that he kept his pole position.

Bourdais’ rookie teammate Pietro Fittipaldi spoiled a great qualifying session of his own by hitting the wall on Lap 40 of 250, bringing out the first caution. Dale Coyne Racing’s problems continued as Bourdais lost the lead on the subsequent round of pit stops, hitting his front tire changer which caused him to drop all the way back to 13th — before an additional penalty for the contact.

That put last year’s runner-up Will Power into the lead, which he kept until Lap 127. The second round of stops, under green, handed the top spot to James Hinchcliffe with his teammate Robert Wickens behind. Wickens, seeking to avenge his should-have-been victory at St. Petersburg, then swiped the lead at Phoenix on Lap 149.

With 22 laps to go, front-runner Ed Jones caused a caution that packed up the field and made the Phoenix Grand Prix anyone’s race. Leader Josef Newgarden made the surprising decision to head for pit lane, leaving the two Schmidt Peterson Motorsports entries of Wickens and Hinchcliffe up in front on the restart.

Newgarden’s fresh tires swallowed up Wickens after the green flag dropped with eight laps left, and he disappeared after that. The defending Verizon IndyCar Series champion picked up his first victory of the 2018 IndyCar season, and he earned it beating a slew of hard-charging drivers.

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Below are the complete 2018 Phoenix Grand Prix results:

1 – Josef Newgarden
2 – Robert Wickens
3 – Alexander Rossi
4 – Scott Dixon
5 – Ryan Hunter-Reay
6 – James Hinchcliffe
7 – Ed Carpenter
8 – Tony Kanaan
9 – Graham Rahal
10 – Simon Pagenaud
11 – Takuma Sato
12 – Marco Andretti
13 – Sebastien Bourdais
14 – Spencer Pigot
15 – Gabby Chaves
16 – Zach Veach
17 – Charlie Kimball
18 – Max Chilton
19 – Matheus Leist
20 – Ed Jones
21 – Kyle Kaiser
22 – Will Power
23 – Pietro Fittipaldi

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The next Verizon IndyCar Series race is the 2018 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach on Sunday, April 15. For complete IndyCar coverage, follow the Motor Sports category at FanSided.