BIRMINGHAM, Alabama – Rain or shine, Josef Newgarden proved unbeatable again at the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama presented by America’s First.

In today’s completion of the race that was suspended Sunday at Barber Motorsports Park by heavy rain, Newgarden wound up leading 73 of the 82 total laps completed in the timed race to collect his ninth Verizon IndyCar Series victory and third in four years on the 2.3-mile, 17-turn permanent road course.

HONDA INDY GRAND PRIX OF ALABAMA: Unofficial results

Newgarden, driving the No. 1 Hitachi Team Penske Chevrolet, started from the pole position on Sunday and resumed the race from the front on Lap 23 today. The restart occurred under dry conditions and Newgarden built a commanding lead of more than 25 seconds before rain returned.

The first driver to pit for Firestone’s rain tires on Lap 71, Newgarden surrendered the lead to Sebastien Bourdais, who tried to negotiate the conditions on slick dry-condition tires in the No. 18 Team SealMaster Honda. As the precipitation increased and track conditions became more treacherous, Bourdais was forced to stop for rain tires on Lap 76 and finished fifth.

Newgarden crossed the finish line 9.9607 seconds ahead of Ryan Hunter-Reay, the Andretti Autosport driver in the No. 28 DHL Honda. James Hinchcliffe finished a Barber-best third in the No. 5 Arrow Electronics SPM Honda.

The triumph was the sixth in nine Barber Motorsports Park races for Team Penske, which also notched its 199th win in Indy car history. Both statistics are records.

With the win, Newgarden recaptured the unofficial points lead after four of 17 races. The reigning Verizon IndyCar Series champion has 158 points and a 13-point advantage over Alexander Rossi, who gambled longest on slick tires and finished 11th today in the No. 27 Kerauno / MilitaryToMotorsports.com Honda for Andretti Autosport.

The first four laps of today’s restart were run under full-course caution behind the pace car, but one the green flag waved on Lap 27, the remainder ran without a yellow flag. The race ended shy of its originally scheduled 90 laps due to the two-hour time limit split over the two days.

The Verizon IndyCar Series heads to Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the month of May. The INDYCAR Grand Prix is set for May 12 on the IMS road course (3:30 p.m. ET, ABC) and the 102nd Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil will be May 27 on the 2.5-mile oval (11 m.m. ET, ABC).