Instant Recall: Good Ranchers 250

If Saturday’s Good Ranchers 250 at Phoenix Raceway was a preview of oval races to come this NTT INDYCAR SERIES season, sign us up.

The nearly two hours of racing produced a staggering 565 on-track passes, including 323 for position. Nearly half of the latter – 145 – were within the drivers in the top 10, and 60 of them were among those in the top five. All are INDYCAR SERIES records at the 1-mile oval.

There were meaningful battles with significant outcomes. Reigning series champion Alex Palou crashed out following contact from Rinus VeeKay. In a battle that looked similar, Will Power’s race ended after Christian Rasmussen got shoved into the wall (by Power) and then had his front wing cut Power’s right rear tire. More on that in a moment.

How about rookie Dennis Hauger, who spun in front of Rasmussen early in the race but did the perfect rental car spin-around and drove it backward down the track’s longest straightaway. Miraculously, Hauger didn’t hit anything, and Rasmussen didn’t hit him.

The action throughout was intense, with some drivers seemingly late for dinner. Rasmussen was the most on edge, nearly having three incidents in the same race. Somehow, he managed to have his front wing hit Scott Dixon’s left rear tire without either driver missing a step. But Rasmussen wasn’t so fortunate when it came to trying to overtake Power for the lead late in the race.

Rasmussen (photo, above, left) was a nonstop highlight reel until his car could handle no more. He gave it his all, and the race was better for it, but eventually the car said no mas and took its final hit with the outside wall. He finished 14th but deserved so much better.

After the race, Rasmussen went to Power’s transporter for an explanation. To Power’s credit, he took responsibility, and Rasmussen walked away without incident.

Josef Newgarden started second and led eight laps, and he wasn’t much in the camera shot for most of the race, which is not the way he’s handled most of the oval races over the past three years. But this time, his car was a rocket at the end. Of course, having newer tires than those in front of him helped, and he made it look easy getting to the lead.

Newgarden had a very challenging season in 2025, but he has won two of the past three races, and he heads to this weekend’s Java House Grand Prix of Arlington (Sunday, 12:30 p.m., FOX, FOX One, FOX Deportes, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio, powered by OnlyBulls) as the series points leader. Palou’s early exit in the desert dropped him to fifth.

Kyle Kirkwood finished second with pole winner David Malukas third as they and others offered a myriad of pit strategies to combat how strong Rasmussen’s car was. Eleven of the 25 drivers led the race, highlighted by Malukas’ 73 laps led and Rasmussen’s 69.

It’s too early to draw meaningful conclusions about the season, especially with 16 more races to go, including five on ovals. But Newgarden is back, and it’s safe to say Palou soon will be.

Meanwhile, Rasmussen is the new short-oval sensation, and don’t be surprised if Malukas wins his first series race sometime soon. Good, too, for rookie Mick Schumacher (photo, above), who a week after being taken out on the first lap was able to complete all but two laps in his first oval race and might have finished near the top 10 if not for an air gun failure during a mid-race pit stop.

What else to know about this highly entertaining show? We need more of them.