Favorites and Sleepers: World Wide Technology Raceway

Team Penske driver Josef Newgarden and Scott Dixon of Chip Ganassi Racing have combined to win six of the last seven NTT INDYCAR SERIES races at World Wide Technology Raceway.

Kyle Kirkwood’s victory for Andretti Global last June (photo, top) is the outlier.

Team Penske swept the front row last year, and all three of its cars started in the top five. That’s been a byproduct of Chevrolet’s short oval dominance lately.

Since the introduction of the 2.2L Twin-Turbo V6 in 2012, Chevrolet-powered drivers and teams have dominated on short ovals (Iowa Speedway, Milwaukee Mile, Nashville Superspeedway, Phoenix Raceway and World Wide Technology Raceway), tracks 1.5 miles or less in length. In those 14 seasons, Chevrolet power has won 32 of 41 races, including the Good Ranchers 250 on March 7 at Phoenix Raceway via Newgarden.

However, Honda has won two of the last three Bommarito Automotive Group 500 presented by Axalta and Valvoline races at WWTR.

Victory Lane at the 1.25-mile oval is reserved for the best. The list of 12 NTT INDYCAR SERIES winners is filled with legends like Paul Tracy, Alex Zanardi, Michael Andretti, Juan Pablo Montoya, Al Unser Jr., Gil de Ferran, Helio Castroneves, Will Power and Takuma Sato joining Newgarden, Dixon and Kirkwood as victors.

Which driver and engine emerge on top in Sunday evening’s race? Will someone new join the winners’ fraternity in Sunday’s 260-lap race airing at 9 p.m. ET on FOX, FOX One and INDYCAR Radio powered by OnlyBulls?

Favorites

Josef Newgarden (No. 2 Astemo Team Penske Chevrolet)

Newgarden has five wins in 10 World Wide Technology Raceway starts. The Tennessee native could have had a sixth last year but crashed into Louis Foster while leading on Lap 129. Newgarden has led an astounding 624 laps on the track. Also, many drivers at Phoenix Raceway said that this year’s March race would be like the annual WWTR stop. Newgarden won this year’s Phoenix race. He has 11 short oval wins since 2019. Newgarden enters with two top-10 finishes in the last three races.

Scott McLaughlin (No. 3 DEX Team Penske Chevrolet)

In five WWTR starts, McLaughlin has four top-five finishes, including a runner-up in 2024. He started second and led 51 laps last year before a mechanical failure on Lap 216 left him 24th. In 19 short oval starts at Iowa Speedway, WWTR, Nashville Superspeedway, Milwaukee Mile and Phoenix Raceway, McLaughlin has two wins and 14 top-five finishes.

Pato O’Ward (No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet)

O’Ward started third and finished second last year, his fourth runner-up finish in seven WWTR starts, including two of the last three years. He’s finished in the top four in six of those seven starts and was fourth this season at Phoenix. In 33 career oval starts, O’Ward has four wins, nine runner-up finishes and 24 top-five results.

David Malukas (No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet)

World Wide Technology Raceway is arguably Malukas’ best track. He finished runner-up in 2022, third in 2023 and despite crashing with Power late in the 2024 race, he was in contention for the win after qualifying second and leading 11 laps. He qualified fourth and led 67 laps last year before scraping the wall and finishing 12th. Malukas earned the Phoenix pole this March in his first oval start with Team Penske, led a race-high 73 laps and finished third.

Kyle Kirkwood (No. 27 Sam’s Club Honda)

The defending WWTR race winner finished runner-up at Phoenix. Kirkwood’s best finish in three World Wide Technology Raceway starts prior to last year’s win was 15th in 2023.

Sleepers

Santino Ferrucci (No. 14 Homes For Our Troops Chevrolet)

Ferrucci has three top-10 finishes in six World Wide Technology Raceway starts, including a fifth-place finish after leading eight laps last year. He has completed 1,425 of 1,428 possible laps. He finished 11th this season at Phoenix.

Alexander Rossi (No. 20 ECR Java House Chevrolet)

Rossi has one top-10 finish in his last eight WWTR starts, but he was 11th last year and strong this March at Phoenix by finishing sixth. Rossi finished sixth and second, respectively, in his first two WWTR starts. He has two career oval wins.

Christian Rasmussen (No. 21 Splenda Chevrolet)

Rasmussen came from the back to the front twice last year in a third-place effort at WWTR. He accumulated the third-most oval points last season, including a victory at Milwaukee Mile. Rasmussen was the show in March at Phoenix before late-race contact with Power while battling for the lead left him 14th.

Will Power (No. 26 TWG AI Honda)

Power led 128 laps from the pole in 2022, 117 laps in 2024 and won the race in 2018. Power, his first season with Andretti Global, started last in Phoenix after a qualifying crash and charged to the lead, leading 10 laps, before contact with Christian Rasmussen while battling for the top spot late in the race dropped him to 16th. Power has 10 career oval victories.

Marcus Armstrong (No. 66 Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb Agajanian Honda)

He finished third at Iowa Speedway last season, fifth at Phoenix Raceway this season and in two WWTR starts, he finished eighth and ninth, respectively.