Josef Newgarden qualified second in Phoenix IndyCar qualifying, lining up alongside Penske teammate David Malukas, who earned his first career pole. But directly behind Newgarden will be a pair of RLL cars — veteran Graham Rahal in third, and his rookie teammate Mick Schumacher alongside in fourth.
The son of Formula 1 legend Michael Schumacher earned massive respect from the entire field of drivers for qualifying so high up on the grid in his oval debut.
Newgarden’s word carries weight in the IndyCar scene. The 35-year-old champion is a fixture in the series and one of the best oval racers in the field.
When asked whether Mick’s fourth place on his debut had surprised the competition, Newgarden replied: “I thought he was shockingly good. What do you expect? I mean, the guy is – literally – a stranger to oval racing. He did a great job.”
Praise for the whole team
However, Newgarden added that it wasn’t just the driver, but also the Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing package that worked excellently on the day. RLL had massive problems on short ovals until last season. The third and fourth starting positions for Rahal and Schumacher is a testament to the work done by RLL in the off-season.
“I would also say that Rahal generally looked much better than in the past,” added Newgarden. “I haven’t seen Graham [Rahal] qualify so strongly on an oval in a long time. So that’s also a compliment to the team,” said Newgarden. To put it in context, the last time RLL had two cars in the top four on a short oval was two full decades ago.
Josef Newgarden, pictured here winning the 2025 Nashville finale, is one of the most respected IndyCar drivers.
Photo: Penske Entertainment
Nevertheless, the rookie’s performance remains outstanding for him: “What a tremendous achievement by Mick. The race is another story, but I say this all the time: