First Impressions: Milwaukee 2026 Race One

1. Call it a clean sweep for Patricio O'Ward, though the victory in the first race from the Milwaukee Mile came after taking over a day to complete and after a fumbled restart from leader David Malukas. For the surprise that came from O'Ward's victory in the Sunday afternoon race, we can comfort he had one of the best cars of the weekend with this performance. A little stumble from a competitor may have helped O'Ward in this one, but he capitalized on the opportunity and blew through to the lead, never looking back. 

This has been an odd season for O'Ward as he started the season regularly finishing in the top five, it was just never better than fourth or fifth. This is his third podium finish of the season. All his podium finishes have been victories. Three victories is a great season, nine times out of ten, and I think this has been a great season for O'Ward. It has been strange to say the least. 

2. We will pause on going through the rest of the field to acknowledge Álex Palou clinched his fifth career IndyCar championship, and his fourth consecutive with a tenth-place finish. Palou didn't have to do more than ride around today. That goes for both races. It was that way prior to the weekend. He may have coughed up 42 points with a messy Washington, D.C. race, but he wasn't going to do that again. All he needed was clean days. He didn't do anything wrong. Tenth was enough. It helped that the rest of the competition was not perfect. 

We will discuss Palou's legacy later. We have an entire offseason. We were content on Palou had clinched this title after Detroit. Through eight races he had four victories, six top five finishes and seven top ten finishes. Prior to last week, he had finished in the top five of every race this summer. No one was close to matching that output. It is no longer good enough to be great in IndyCar. You must be flawless to beat Palou. They all know it. None have been able to do it.

3. Back to the finishing order, David Malukas took second when it looked he was on his way to his first career victory. Malukas had strategy play in his favor as he had a pit stop before the red flag yesterday and he had the speed later in a stint to maintain a gap to the field. When Malukas had to make his pit stop, he had the tire advantage and carved his way through the field and back into the lead when everyone else had to stop. It looked like Malukas was firmly in control. 

Then the final restart happened. A stutter in the engine allowed O'Ward to fly up the inside into turn one and that was curtains. Malukas remained close but O'Ward eventually pulled away. Lapped traffic never went in Malukas' favor. Overall, fourth and second on the day is a great day. This was Malukas' sixth career runner-up finish and his fourth of the season. It is deflating to be this close and have it not come through.

4. Rounding out the podium was Rinus VeeKay, who used the lapped car of Scott Dixon as a pick to pass Scott McLaughlin in the closing laps. VeeKay had the car at the end of the race to threaten for a great finish, and the Dutchman got it. This has been an outstanding season for VeeKay, and it is on the verge of being a career-best. He was brilliant this weekend and was running with the big boys. There is something special here.

5. Scott McLaughlin comes home in fourth. Malukas went fourth-second. McLaughlin goes second-fourth. McLaughlin didn't need strategy help to get this finish. He didn't quite look as strong as O'Ward and Malukas. A podium would have been a respectable result. I said this a few weeks ago but this feels like where McLaughlin is stuck at the moment. Really good, but not quite the driver to beat.

6. Christian Rasmussen capped off the day with a fifth-place finish. Rasmussen needed this weekend. It has been an underwhelming season. There have been more bad results, some of his doing, some of the team's failings, than you would have expected. We know the oval speed is there. It didn't always show or get the finishes this season. It stood out in Milwaukee. It likely will be enough to secure a Leader Circle position. It is a small victory. It should be a starting point for next season.

7. If you were told on Wednesday, "Christian Lundgaard would finish third and sixth at Milwaukee," you likely would have called it poppycock. Well, it happened. Lundgaard drove two solid races at Milwaukee, and the driver being shown the door at McLaren due to his oval form ended with the best oval races of his career. He has a comfort with Milwaukee. He was comfortable with Iowa as well. There are more than two ovals and Iowa isn't on the schedule. Lundgaard probably still has some mental barrier he must break down especially with quicker ovals, but he is getting there. I am sure Chip Ganassi Racing will get him over that hump. 

8. That extra set of tires did come in handy for Josef Newgarden, the only problem is Newgarden slipped down the running order early in this race resumption and was fighting from behind. It also didn't help that over 15 cars were on the lead lap so the likelihood of riding those tires to an improbable victory was slim-to-none. It was surprising how much Newgarden struggled with the balance of his car this weekend. He has never had a grip on Milwaukee since it returned to the schedule in 2024, which is odd because when IndyCar left, Newgarden had two incredible drivers in 2014 and 2015. A lot can change in a decade. 

9. The top Honda was Marcus Ericsson in eighth. Ericsson had a racy car at the end but it never came close to cracking the top of the field. This was by far Honda's worst race of the season. I don't think they were particularly bad. It was more misfortune today than anything else. If Palou had more to race for, he might have been more of a factor. 

10. In ninth was Marcus Armstrong. Armstrong and Meyer Shank Racing took fuel just before the race restarted. This group was throwing things at the wall in terms of strategy in both races. In this one, it led to a ninth-place finish. It gets Armstrong off the snide. He can head to Laguna Seca with an increase in confidence. 

11. We will cover all of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing here because Louis Foster and Mick Schumacher were 11th and 12th respectively. Graham Rahal was 23rd, three laps down. For a banged up driver, Foster drove stellar this weekend. He was icing his hand as he is still carrying the knocks from the Markham accident. I am surprised he drove this well at Milwaukee considering how off he was at Washington, D.C.

Schumacher overcame a spin after slight contact with Dennis Hauger to finish 12th. We are all surprised Schumacher did this well on ovals. We all expected that he would improve but I don't think we expected him to be starting as well as he did and being a threat for top tens, especially with this team. 

Which leads us to Graham Rahal. I don't get it. You don't get it. It doesn't make sense that the 20-season veteran is one of the slowest cars on the track while his teammates are pushing for the top ten. RLLR had its oval woes for a half-decade or so. Rahal appears trapped in a bottle with all the oval suffering the team went through. We saw Rahal run well on ovals earlier this season. I don't get where it went while everyone else at RLLR took a step forward.

12. Nolan Siegel took 13th, and Siegel benefitted from Will Power's caution. Siegel was running long on that stint and was still on the lead lap in eighth while needing to make a pit stop. When Power, McLaughlin and Lundgaard came upon the slower car of Siegel, Power went to the outside and ended up in the marbles. Power hitting the wall allowed Siegel to make a free pit stop and finish on the lead lap. Power was not particularly happy after that on. 

Siegel was in the way for much of these two races. He has been better this year, we cannot deny that. We started this season with Tony Kanaan saying Siegel had to push for the championship top ten to retain his ride. We knew Siegel would never come close to that. He is closer to 20th than tenth. I don't know if he will get another opportunity in IndyCar. We can do a post-mortem after the season is over. From the beginning, this felt like an unnecessarily rushed move. Everyone is being proved correct on that thought.

13. There was brief thought during the afternoon race that Ed Carpenter Racing is the biggest fraud in the series as it has somewhat frequently shown great pace in practice only for both of its cars to be struggled to run in the top fifteen during the race. Rasmussen somewhat disproved that. Alexander Rossi did no favors against that allegation. Rossi dropped like a rock after this race restarted. He didn't crack the top ten in either race. He has one top ten finish in the last five months. Where have you been, Alex? Should we put your face on a milk carton?

14. We covered in the First Impressions for the afternoon race that the points were not there for Kyle Kirkwood to keep the championship alive into Laguna Seca. If the afternoon race was a brilliant drive, this conclusion was burning your hand on the hot plate. We ended yesterday thinking Kirkwood was on the move and the afternoon race proved it. In the resumption, Kirkwood struggled on that set of tires. He lost ground and never recovered. He nearly caught the Schumacher caution at the right time but he was a hair later entering pit lane. The team took a gamble putting on slightly used tires and it did not net him any more positions. I think Kirkwood was better than 15th. I wish we got two uninterrupted Milwaukee races. I don't think Kirkwood would have been 15th if this race ran in its entirety yesterday. 

15. Kyffin Simpson and Felix Rosenqvist rounded out the lead lap finishers. In two races in one day, I don't think I heard Simpson's name once. I am not sure where Rosenqvist went in this one. Yesterday looked very promising and he vanished in thin air in both races today.

16. Scott Dixon was a lapped car that Rinus VeeKay used as a pick to finish third. That is a sentence you did not expect to be reading when this season started. Dixon was never competitive this weekend. It was hard to watch those closing laps. It has been hard to watch this entire season. 

17. Pretty much everyone from 19th on back was caught a lap down when the red flag came out yesterday and they remained a lap down through the checkered flag today. Romain Grosjean couldn't work his magic like he did in the afternoon race. Santino Ferrucci was a disappointment. Dennis Hauger got screen time for nudging Schumacher into a spin. Sting Ray Robb didn't do anything wrong but he didn't do anything great either. We covered Graham Rahal. 

I am sure all five of these drivers are thinking they would have been better off leaving after the afternoon race and they all would have been home before the delayed race resumed. 

18. Add Caio Collet as the sixth driver who likely wishes he did not restart this race. Collet was already off the lead lap and slow. Pinballing off Josef Newgarden and into the front straightaway barrier was the final nail Collet did not need in his coffin. Newgarden was quick and Collet was in no man's land. The brief brush with greatness put the Brazilian in the barrier and mercifully ended his weekend. 

It was never going to get better. I think it is safe to think Collet will be making his final start with A.J. Foyt Racing at Laguna Seca. The Brazilian money might be enough for him to stay, but it sounded ominous after the last few races. It has flipped drastically from where we were only a few months ago. That is professional motorsports.

19. This was a classic Will Power weekend. Blinding speed, incredible car that can work its way through traffic, lost result because of something absurd. In the afternoon race, it was Power speeding on pit entry for the final stop. In this race, it was coming upon Nolan Siegel, who was trudging along on old tires hoping for a timely caution and who inadvertently helped cause said timely caution. There is a world where Power finishes first and fifth this weekend or second and seventh. Instead, it is 14th and 25th, and that three-race run of third-place finishes feels might far away. 

20. This was a longer day than expected. This was a longer doubleheader than expected. Considering the first race that took the green flag this weekend did not end until after 7:00 p.m. Eastern on Sunday, you cannot say this was a smooth weekend. We will go into greater depths tomorrow. It wasn't IndyCar's greatest weekend. It was far from the worst either, but it had its frustrating moments and while the series cannot control the weather, it didn't handle what it can control the best either

With that said, we should acknowledge two 250-lap races were completed this weekend. The weather on Sunday was nice, even if there was a threat of rain as the evening race resumed. The event still looked good for all the hiccups, and Milwaukee is a track IndyCar should be at, and others agree as the series has a contract through 2030 to race at the facility. No tracks are lining up to host IndyCar. Anyone that is willing to give a four-year deal is one worth sticking with. 

21. These races were fun today. There was plenty of action. It isn't a high-speed oval. It isn't two-by-two for ten rows. The speeds aren't pushing 230 mph, but these drivers are on the ragged edge and there is a substantial amount of precision in the passes that are made. They take time but are enthralling to watch develop. I see this race and wonder why IndyCar isn't trying to organize a race in Loudon. After Gateway and this race, how is the series not dying to get to Richmond? Those are two worn tracks where tire falloff plays a key role in the NASCAR races. It wouldn't be too dissimilar to what we saw today. If only there were a few more one-mile ovals in this world... 

22. We can ponder that thought throughout the night. It could be a nice distraction from the reality that in seven days the season will be over. One more checkered flag will wave at Laguna Seca and then a six-month offseason will begin. We can think about that next week.

First Impressions: Milwaukee 2026 Race Two

1. Not often do you review the second race of a doubleheader before the first race, but that is the case of the 2026 Milwaukee doubleheader, and with a second race about to start in just over three hours, we are going to make it quick on this race. 

Patricio O'Ward took the victory after being rather unnoticed until the final stint when the took the lead through the pit cycle. O'Ward didn't make many, if any, waves over the first 190 laps. The most notable thing was a botched pit stop early when the right rear tire was not secured before O'Ward was dropped off the pneumatic jack. It dropped O'Ward from a podium spot to just outside the top ten, but it was early enough for a recovery.

O'Ward found his pace and kept the car in the top ten. When it came time for the final stop, he was able to leap into the lead. We saw plenty of competitive cars in this race, and we saw plenty of teams shoot themselves in the foot. That played a factor in O'Ward winning this one. If Will Power doesn't speed entering pit lane on the final stop, I am not sure we are talking about an O'Ward victory.

2. Scott McLaughlin's team decided not to stop under caution with just over 100 laps to go, and McLaughlin was able to hold his ground on older tires. It kept him at the front while he was mostly in the middle of the top ten to that point. O'Ward got out ahead of McLaughlin in that final stop. McLaughlin had a few chances to make a pass on O'Ward, but O'Ward was better getting through traffic, and McLaughlin will settle for second.

McLaughlin's run on older tires was reminiscent of what Álex Palou did last year when Palou was on older tire and facing Christian Rasmussen. Palou held off Rasmussen for a good portion of time before Rasmussen got through, but even on the older tires, Palou took second. In this case, McLaughlin used older tires to place him at the front. It could have gone wrong. Scott Dixon also stayed out and dropped like a rock. 

3. Christian Lundgaard was probably the better Arrow McLaren driver today, and Lundgaard will have to settle for third. This was Lundgaard's best oval race of his IndyCar career. He deserved the podium finish. There is another race to finish. We can dissect his oval form this weekend and what it could mean moving forward in a little bit. He looked comfortable today. Comfort goes a long way on an oval.

4. David Malukas did not look set for a good finish and then he was up in the top ten and pushing the top five just by stopping earlier. For almost half this race, it felt like Malukas was not going to have a good day. Finishing fourth is a great result considering where he spent most of this race.

5. The championship is essentially over. Álex Palou was fifth and Kyle Kirkwood was sixth. Palou's championship lead is 97 points, however, Palou will get at least five points for the race that must be completed. That makes the championship lead 102 points. Kirkwood must outscored Palou by 48 points to get back within 54 points. That means Kirkwood must win and Palou finish last in the race to finish. That is asking a lot since 90 laps are complete.

If we are honest, Kirkwood must be within 48 points to win the championship because Palou is going to start Laguna Seca in a week, another five points to Palou. Palou holds the tiebreaker, which means Kirkwood would need to win the championship outright. The points are not there for Kirkwood to leave Milwaukee within 48 points of Palou. Kirkwood is essentially down 102 points and must outscore Palou by 54 points in the Milwaukee race to be completed when the most points Kirkwood can make up is 48 points. 

It is over despite what you are being told.

As for Palou's race, he looked good but not great. A lot of drivers were chasing tire strategy and stopping early to avoid losing time but I think Palou had the speed that he could have run long and sacrificed time to get it back at the end of subsequent stints. Teams could not get away with running 40 laps of every stint. Palou probably had the speed to have a few stints go 50 laps to trap those teams short stinting. 

6. Kirkwood was in the same boat as Palou. Kirkwood had good speed at the end of stints, but once everyone started making pit stops 35-40 laps into a run, everyone jumped at it. Kirkwood was brilliant making up spots early after starting 24th, and he had great pace later in tire life. I think the tail wagged the dog a bit and Kirkwood, like Palou, should have just run 50 laps and traded time at the end of a stint to get it back later. They would lose some spots, but eventually the other teams would be caught out making an extra stop. 

It could have been the circumstances of today with the extra race to complete that teams didn't want to take too much of a risk going long on tires. The last thing a team wanted an accident because of a lack of grip, but it feels like going ten laps longer for two stints was a strategy that could have paid off for a few teams, Kirkwood's included.

7. Rinus VeeKay was strong early and then was shuffled back during pit cycles. For Juncos Hollinger Racing, pit stops have actually been competitive this season compared to the likes of Team Penske and Chip Ganassi Racing. It feels like a bit of shame for VeeKay. For a good portion of this race, he looked like a podium contender if not a possible winner.

8. Christian Rasmussen recovered for finish eighth. Ed Carpenter Racing didn't start strong. Like Malukas, halfway through this race I was not expecting Rasmussen to finish in the top ten. This result significantly helps Rasmussen and ECR's Leader Circle fight as Caio Collet was 23rd and Collet is not doing well in the other race, and Rasmussen was five spots ahead of Schumacher in this race. There is still one more race to complete, but Rasmussen has already created breathing room.

9. I am not sure Marcus Ericsson was mentioned once during this race, but he finished ninth. Ericsson has been the third-best Andretti Global car all week, but still respectable on pace.

10. Louis Foster hung on for a top ten finish. This has been an odd weekend for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. The team looks good one moment and then you see Graham Rahal putzing around in 22nd, three laps down, and Rahal is doing just as poorly in the race that is to resume. 

11. Alexander Rossi took 11th but he was never competitive. 

The best Santino Ferrucci looked was in the final stint when he was a lap down. Ferrucci has not been good this weekend, and that is a surprise.

Mick Schumacher did well. It was only his fifth oval race. I think he learned a lot and these were not easy conditions with tire wear. I am not sure Schumacher has ever been in a race where the tires are done after 35 miles. 

An unforced error cost Will Power victory. We know Power is prone to this. He has been doing this almost his entire career. His last few years at Team Penske he was due for at least two of these races a season. Power and Kirkwood were both carving up the field in the early stages. It is a damn shame Power didn't see this one through.

Scott Dixon never had the pace. Dixon gambled like McLaughlin. The difference was McLaughlin had a good car. Dixon didn't. It showed immediately. Finishing 15th is probably a just result for how Dixon was running.

12. Neither Meyer Shank Racing car was competitive. Marcus Armstrong was 16th, one lap down. Felix Rosenqvist was stunningly 20th, two laps down, and Rosenqvist was running so well in the first Milwaukee race, and he will still be running well when it resumes, as Rosenqvist is second. 

Nolan Siegel did a great job being a road block today. He held up everybody at some point.

Sting Ray Robb didn't cause much trouble and was 18th.

Kyffin Simpson went unnoticed in 19th. 

Dennis Hauger was 21st, and didn't really have a word said about him. 

We touched about Graham Rahal being slow. I almost think Rahal should volunteer to driver for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing next year. Then we will know for sure if it is the car or driver. The other two RLLR drivers have looked competitive this weekend. Rahal hasn't one bit.

Caio Collet was slow. Since he retired from three of the first four oval races, I sense Collet could not afford an accident, but if the pressure is on for him to finish in the Leader Circle, he cannot got out there timid. I feel like that is how he has been driving. He cannot have an accident but he does not feel confident to push. It doesn't help that A.J. Foyt Racing doesn't quite have the speed. It isn't like Ferrucci has been a threat this weekend.

13. Two accidents in this race. Romain Grosjean spun twice. The first time off of turn two was no harm, no foul. It cost him spots after Grosjean was tearing through the field early. The second put him in the wall on a restart. The first spin ruined a promising start.

Josef Newgarden also spun exiting turn four and nudged the wall enough to ruin his day. Newgarden struggled on the long run, which was surprising because in the first stint he caught and passed Álex Palou for the lead. Newgarden was dictating the pit cycle and was one of the first cars to stop almost every cycle. He spun because he did not have grip. The car was still good enough for the top five. Newgarden didn't have control over it.

14. It is odd to write this and know 90 laps of another race have already been completed. We know how the next race is going. Which makes this race a little unusual. 

What happened to Rosenqvist and MSR? 

Even Rossi and ECR? 

Why did teams that looked strong in the first 40% of yesterday's race not show the same muscle in this full race?

How will this race resume? 

Are we going to see everything pick up as status quo or will the conclusion of the first Milwaukee race flip toward what we just saw? 

15. Teams used a lot of tires in this race. The teams only had ten or 11 sets for the entire weekend. I think everyone really only used one set in yesterday's race. Some may have been on their second. Everyone in the top fifteen but McLaughlin made five pit stops in this race. Armstrong made an extra pit stop under the Grosjean caution to try and go off strategy and that did not work. The tires Armstrong took off the car were not that worn. I don't think they had a full green flag lap on them. 

Basically every team but McLaughlin, Grosjean and Newgarden used six sets of tires. Minus the set or two from the first portion of race one and then minus a set or two from practice. Everyone might have two sets remaining for the final 160 laps. This is rough math and very unofficial. 

The conclusion of the first Milwaukee race could be extremely different because everyone was willing to burn through tires in this race. It very well could come down to McLaughlin and Newgarden having an extra set and that could dictate the race.

Based on fuel, the upcoming race conclusion is a two-stopper, but as we saw on tires, everyone will want to make three if not four stops over those 160 laps. The outcome of this race very well could play into Team Penske's favor, at least for two of its drivers. 

16. We will be back in about four hours to wrap up this head-spinning Milwaukee weekend. Stay tuned!

Morning Warm-Up: Milwaukee 2026 Race One and Two

The Milwaukee doubleheader will become a true doubleheader Ernie Banks would love. Rain showers stopped Saturday's opening race of the weekend after 90 completed laps, and the race was unable to resume. This means the remaining 160 laps in the first race will be completed this morning while race two will still take place Sunday afternoon. 

The race is scheduled for a 9:00 a.m. ET resumption 

Update - 8:10 a.m. ET 

Race one has been further delayed to a 6:00 p.m. Eastern start to due wet conditions. 

Race One - Resumption 

Patricio O'Ward was the leader at the time of the red flag, and O'Ward had spent much of the opening portion of the race out front. He did lose ground early as O'Ward was stuck battling back-markers. This allowed Felix Rosenqvist to take the lead. O'Ward returned to the lead through the first pit cycle with Rosenqvist settling into second. 

Alexander Rossi was a big mover during the first pit cycle as Rossi stopped early in the first stint and it cycled Rossi up to third after battling in the back of the top ten. Rossi is ahead of Josef Newgarden, who has been running well in the top five, and Christian Lundgaard had a strong start to place him fifth at the time of the pause. 

Will Power is ahead of his Andretti Global teammate Kyle Kirkwood. Kirkwood made an early stop like Rossi and benefitted in this strategy choice after starting 21st. Kyffin Simpson and Rinus VeeKay round out the top ten. VeeKay was a big mover early in the race, making up ten spots quickly after starting 24th due to a nine-spot grid penalty for an unapproved engine change. Marcus Ericsson is 11th ahead of Marcus Armstrong. 

A few cars made a pit stop under caution before the red flag came out. Those drivers would be David Malukas, Álex Palou, Scott Dixon, Christian Rasmussen, Scott McLaughlin and Mick Schumacher . 

A few drivers are off the lead lap, Santino Ferrucci, Sting Ray Robb, Dennis Hauger, Nolan Siegel, Romain Grosjean, Caio Collet and Graham Rahal. Hauger, Siegel and Grosjean were all stretching their fuel to try and go the fuel distance on three stops. They had stopped just prior to the caution coming out for rain.

Fox Sports 1 will have coverage of race one's resumption at 6:00 p.m. ET. Sunset is at 7:29 p.m. local time (8:29 p.m. Eastern).

Race Two - Qualifying Results

The grid is unofficially set for the second Milwaukee race, as the second qualifying laps from Saturday morning's qualifying runs set the Sunday starting positions. 

Álex Palou won his eighth pole position of the season as his second qualifying lap was run at 22.1915 seconds (164.658 mph), and it was 0.0003 seconds faster than Patricio O'Ward. Last week at Washington, D.C. was only the second time Palou has won pole position and failed to finish in the top five. The other time was earlier this season at Gateway. Washington, D.C. was the first time Palou started on pole position and failed to lead a lap. O'Ward is starting second for the fourth time this season. He won from second at Mid-Ohio in July. 

Josef Newgarden was 0.1207 seconds off Palou's top ten and Newgarden will start second. Mick Schumacher matched his best starting position of the season with a lap of 22.3837 seconds placing him fourth for the second Milwaukee race. Schumacher started fourth at Phoenix in March. Newgarden last won from third starting position at Gateway in 2024. Only once in the last 29 Milwaukee races has the winner started third. That was Tony Kanaan in 2007.

Will Power was a ten-thousandth of a second slower than Schumacher and will start fifth with Schumacher's Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing teammate Louis Foster slotting into sixth position. This is the fifth consecutive Milwaukee race Power has started in the top five and the seventh in the last eight Milwaukee races. After all the engine penalties ahead of the first Milwaukee race, Foster moved up to sixth starting position for that race.

The Meyer Shank Racing cars of Felix Rosenqvist and Marcus Armstrong are sandwiching Scott McLaughlin for seventh, eighth and ninth on the grid. Scott Dixon will start tenth and make it three consecutive New Zealanders in the starting order. Rosenqvist had not finished in the top ten in his first three Milwaukee starts. McLaughlin won pole position for the first Milwaukee race before being sent back nine spots for his unapproved engine change. Armstrong started 16th in race one, matching his worst oval start of the season. Dixon has six consecutive top ten finishes at Milwaukee and 11 in the last 12 Milwaukee races.

Christian Lundgaard is rolling off from 11th starting position with Rinus VeeKay starting 12 spots better than he did in the first race. VeeKay is starting 12th. Lundgaard has two top ten finishes in his first three Milwaukee starts. VeeKay is hoping to make it through race one cleanly. He has not had consecutive retirements since 2022 at the Indianapolis 500 and Belle Isle.

Marcus Ericsson qualified 13th, directly ahead of David Malukas and Dennis Hauger. This will be Ericsson's third consecutive race starting outside the top ten. He had started in the top ten for five consecutive races prior to this stretch. The last time David Malukas started 14th, he didn't complete a lap. He was caught in an opening lap accident in the first Iowa race in 2024. After starting fourth in the first race, Hauger's streak of top ten starts ends at four races.

Alexander Rossi and Christian Rasmussen took 16th and 17th respectively for Ed Carpenter Racing. Rossi started eighth in the first race, ending a streak of three consecutive starts outside the top ten. This is the tenth time Rasmussen has started outside the top fifteen this season. Kyffin Simpson has the outside of row nine with Graham Rahal and Romain Grosjean starting on row ten. This is also the tenth time Simpson has started outside the top fifteen this season. Rahal will make his 274th consecutive start, if he takes the green flag for the second race. Grosjean has only finished better than his starting spot in five of 15 races this season.

A.J. Foyt Racing swept row 11 with Caio Collet and Santino Ferrucci. Collet has failed to finish three of four oval races this season. This is the third consecutive race Ferrucci is starting outside the top twenty. Sting Ray Robb will start 23rd. Kyle Kirkwood and Nolan Siegel, two drivers that were involved in accidents during Friday's practice session, will round out the grid for the second Milwaukee race. 

Fox's coverage of the second Milwaukee race will begin at 1:00 p.m. ET with green flag scheduled for 1:20 p.m. ET. The race is scheduled for 250 laps.

Morning Warm-Up: Milwaukee 2026 Race One

Josef Newgarden set the fastest lap in Friday practice from the Milwaukee Mile with a lap at 22.9191 seconds (159.430 mph). Newgarden has won twice this season, both on ovals. He has won three times in a season on six occasions, but he has not done it since 2023. His last 11 victories have come on ovals, but he has yet to win at Milwaukee. In seven Milwaukee starts, Newgarden has yet to finish on the podium. He was fifth in 2014 and 2015. In the three races held over the last two years, he has led a combined four laps. The next victory would be the 35th for Newgarden in his career, moving him into a tie with Bobby Unser for eighth all-time.

Dennis Hauger was a surprise second-fastest in practice with a late lap in the session at 22.9266 seconds. Hauger has yet to start better than 22nd on an oval this season. He started 22nd at Phoenix and Nashville. His best oval results remains 15th at Phoenix. Hauger clinched the Indy Lights championship last year at Milwaukee with a second-place after starting on pole position.  

Álex Palou was third-fastest at 22.9971 seconds, but Palou will serve a nine-spot grid penalty for an unapproved engine change after Washington, D.C., a set back to his hopes of clinching the championship with two races remaining. Palou will clinch the title scoring 17 points more than Kyle Kirkwood, losing no more than two points to Christian Lundgaard and losing no more than 34 points to David Malukas. Palou's worst starting position this season was 11th at Markham. He has not started outside the top fifteen since starting 24th in the 2024 finale from Nashville.

David Malukas was 0.1106 seconds off his teammate Josef Newgarden and fourth quickest, but, like Palou, Malukas will have a nine-spot grid penalty for an unapproved engine change. In three of four oval races this season Malukas has finished on the podium. This includes a third at the most recent oval race at Nashville after starting 25th. His worst oval finish was seventh at Gateway. 

Rinus VeeKay rounded out the top five, a further 0.0024 seconds slower than Malukas, but you guessed it, VeeKay has a nine-spot grid penalty as well. Prior to his retirement at Washington, D.C., VeeKay had been running at the finish of every race this season. He was one of seven drivers entering last week that had finished every race. Four drivers suffered their first retirement of the season at Washington, D.C. One of those other three drivers was Malukas.

Alexander Rossi had the sixth-fastest lap at 23.0479 seconds. Rossi started sixth at Nashville last month, and he has started in the top ten of all four oval races this season. It has been a year since Rossi's most recent top five finish, which was a fourth at Milwaukee. In last three Milwaukee races, Rossi has an average finish of 5.667. His last victory was 70 starts ago, but Rossi has not won on an oval since Pocono in 2018.

Will Power was the fastest Andretti Global driver in seventh with a lap at 23.1188 seconds. Power is seeking his fourth consecutive podium finish, something he has not done since 2016 when he had a run of six consecutive podium finishes from the second Belle Isle race through Pocono. However, Power has finished outside the top fifteen in three of four oval races this season. He was eighth at Gateway. 

Kyle Kirkwood was only 0.0016 seconds off his teammate Power, but Kirkwood was involved in an accident with Christian Rasmussen late in practice. Rasmussen was on Kirkwood's outside entering turn three when the Dane turned in on the American, causing a spin that put both cars in the barrier. Kirkwood started third and first in the last two oval races. Last year, Kirkwood had consecutive victories at Detroit and Gateway. It was the first time an Andretti Global driver won consecutive races since Colton Herta claimed the final two races of the 2021 season. 

Patricio O'Ward was 0.2097 seconds off Newgarden's top time, placing O'Ward ninth in the session. O'Ward has failed to start in the top five of the last four races. He has not gone five consecutive races without a top five starting position since a nine-race run that covered the final eight events in 2024 and the 2025 season opener from St. Petersburg. His best starting spot on an oval this season was sixth at Indianapolis.

Sting Ray Robb rounded out the top ten with a lap at 23.1401 seconds, but, like his teammate VeeKay, Robb also has a nine-spot grid penalty for an unapproved engine change. Robb scored his best career starting position earlier this season when he qualified 12th at Phoenix. VeeKayhad also been running at the finish of every race this season prior to Washington, D.C., like VeeKay and Malukas. Last week was Juncos Hollinger Racing's first double retirement since the first race of the 2024 Iowa doubleheader. 

Kyffin Simpson just missed out on the top ten, but his best lap was at 23.2102 seconds in practice, good enough for 11th. Washington, D.C. was the second time this season Simpson was the top Chip Ganassi Racing finisher, as he was fifth. Simpson has been the top Ganassi finisher as many times as Scott Dixon this season, and Simpson enters the final three races with a better average finish than Dixon at 12.533 to the New Zealander's 12.667. This race marks the 50th start in Simpson's career. 

Scott McLaughlin was the slowest Team Penske car in 12th, 0.2912 seconds off Newgarden. McLaughlin will take a nine-spot grid penalty for an unapproved engine change like Malukas and the other two Juncos Hollinger Racing cars. Like Malukas and the JHR drivers, McLaughlin had been running at the end of every race this prior to his accident in Washington, D.C. The New Zealander had taken the checkered flag in 18 consecutive races.

Christian Rasmussen was 13th in practice at 23.2374 seconds, but the Dane's car will require repairs after contact with Kyle Kirkwood in turn three wrecked both cars. Rasmussen leads all drivers with seven retirements from 15 races this season. He has only six lead lap finishes, the fewest among full-time competitors. Last year, Rasmussen became the 22nd driver to have their first career victory come at the Milwaukee Mile, and the first since Michel Jourdain, Jr. scored his first career victory in the 2003 CART race. 

Romain Grosjean set the 14th-best time in practice at 23.2628 seconds. Grosjean was 24th and ninth in his lone Milwaukee visit in 2024. The Frenchman's best oval finish this season was ninth in the Indianapolis 500. He rides consecutive top ten finishes into Milwaukee. Grosjean has never had three consecutive top ten finishes in his IndyCar career. He has had two consecutive top ten finishes on seven instances, including the last two races.

Scott Dixon has made 15 Milwaukee starts, and he was 15th in practice at 23.3675 seconds. Dixon ended his top ten finish slump with an seventh-place finish last weekend. He had gone eight consecutive races without a top ten finish. In the last seven Milwaukee races, Dixon's best starting position is tenth, which came in 2015. He has not started in the top five at this circuit since he rolled off from third in 2011.

The first driver over a half-second slower than Newgarden was Santino Ferrucci in 16th, 0.5452 seconds behind the Penske driver. Ferrucci was fourth in both Milwaukee races held during the 2024 doubleheader. He is still looking for his first top five finish of this season. Milwaukee was the site of his first top five finish of that 2024 season. Ferrucci has had three consecutive seasons with at least one top five result. 

Graham Rahal led the Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing cars in practice. The problem is Rahal was only good enough for 17th-fastest. Since finishing ninth at Phoenix, Rahal has finished 19th or worse in the other three oval races this season, two of which have been retirements. While he qualified third at Phoenix, Rahal has not started in the top ten of any other oval races this season. 

Felix Rosenqvist ran the second-most laps in the session, 88 only behind Álex Palou's 93, but Rosenqvist was 18th on the speed chart. Rosenqvist has finished 24th and 19th in the last two races. He has not had three consecutive results outside the top fifteen since 2021 when over stretch of five starts his best finish was 16th. That stretch began with the second Texas race and went through the first Detroit race with Mid-Ohio included on the end. Rosenqvist missed the second Detroit race and Road America that year due to injury.

Marcus Armstrong positioned himself directly behind his Meyer Shank Racing teammate in practice, 19th and only 0.0396 seconds slower than Rosenqvist. In nine oval starts with Meyer Shank Racing, Armstrong has seven top ten finishes with an average finish of 10.222. He has two top five finishes on ovals this season, finishing fifth at Phoenix and Indianapolis.

A surprise in 20th was Marcus Ericsson with the Swede 0.6594 seconds slower than Newgarden's best lap. While Ericsson scored his fourth consecutive top ten finish at Washington, D.C., it was also his second consecutive top five finish. The Swede has never had three consecutive top five finishes in his IndyCar career. He has finished in the top ten in the last two oval races, including a second to Newgarden at Gateway

Mick Schumacher's first trip to Milwaukee placed him in 21st for his first practice session, 0.7467 seconds from the top time. Schumacher has finished better than his starting position in three of four oval races this season. He made up nine positions in the Indianapolis 500 going from 27th to 16th, and he improved eight spots at Nashville finishing eighth from 16th on the grid.

Christian Lundgaard's oval woes with Arrow McLaren continued in Milwaukee practice. Lundgaard was 22nd at 23.7652 seconds. The Dane's best oval start this season was 16th at Gateway. He has finished better than his starting position in all four oval races, but his best result was tenth at Gateway. Lundgaard has two top ten finishes in three Milwaukee starts, and his worst finish is 12th. His sixth-place finish last year matched his best career oval finish, which came at Iowa a month earlier.

Louis Foster slotted into 23rd in practice, the final car within a second of Newgarden's fastest time. Foster was 0.8461 seconds off the best time. Foster has started outside the top fifteen in all four oval races this season. His best oval result remains 12th in last year's Indianapolis 500, the first oval race of Foster's IndyCar career. He won at Milwaukee two years ago in Indy Lights.

Caio Collet is coming off his first career top ten finish with a ninth in Washington, D.C., but Collet is wishing he was back in the nation's capital as he was 24th in practice, 1.2228 seconds off Newgarden's best time in the session. Collet's best starting position on an oval was 15th at Nashville. In two Indy Lights starts from Milwaukee, Collet had finishes of eighth and seventh. 

Nolan Siegel had an accident on his second lap of practice, and his only completed lap was an installation lap. Siegel is coming off his best career finish of sixth in Washington, D.C. In three Milwaukee starts, his best finish is 17th and he has failed to get pass lap 25 twice. Last year, he had an accident on the opening lap. 

IndyCar qualifying will take place at 11:00 a.m. ET. Each car will run two laps. The first qualifying lap will determine the starting grid for today's race with the second lap setting the starting grid for tomorrow's race. 

Fox's coverage of the Snap-On Makers and Fixers 250 will begin at 2:30 p.m. ET with green flag scheduled for 2:50 p.m. ET. The race is scheduled for 250 laps.

Track Walk: Milwaukee 2026

The 16th and 17th races of the 2026 NTT IndyCar Series season takes place from the Milwaukee Mile, the only doubleheader weekend in the season. It is the penultimate race weekend of the season with the Laguna Seca finale only seven days away from the checkered flag this Sunday. Through the first four oval races, we have had three different winners. Over the past two seasons, there have been three different winners in the three Milwaukee races, but all three were victories for Chevrolet drivers, and no Honda driver has won at Milwaukee since engine competition returned to IndyCar in 2012.

Coverage

Time: Race one coverage begins at 2:30 p.m. ET on Saturday August 29 with green flag scheduled for 2:50 p.m. ET. Race two coverage begins at 1:00 p.m. ET with green flag scheduled for 1:20 p.m. ET.
Channel: Fox
Announcers: Will Buxton, Townsend Bell and James Hinchcliffe will be in the booth. Kevin Lee, Georgia Henneberry and Jack Harvey will work pit lane.

IndyCar Weekend Schedule

Saturday:

Practice: 6:00 p.m. ET (90 minutes)

Saturday:

Qualifying: 11:00 a.m. ET 

Race: 2:50 p.m. ET (250 laps)

Sunday:
Race: 1:20 p.m. ET (250 laps)

Take Two For Palou

It was a stretch for Álex Palou to lock up the championship in Washington, D.C., and unfortunately for the Catalan driver he went in the wrong direction. Instead of getting closer to the championship, Palou lost some ground. A 20th-place finish combined with Kyle Kirkwood's dominant victory with 128 of 147 laps led saw Palou's lead shrink to 91 points with three races remaining. 

Despite the decreased advantage, Palou is still in control and has a firm hand on the Astor Cup. There is a chance Palou could lock it up on Saturday. 

To clinch it with two races to spare, Palou would need a 108-point championship lead. It could be done with a race victory. A victory for Palou combined with Kirkwood finishing fourth or worse with fewer than three bonus points scored would clinch the championship for Palou. If Palou were to score the maximum 54 points, he could take the championship if Kirkwood finishes third. 

If Palou were to finish second with no bonus points scored, Kirkwood would need to finish ninth or worse with no bonus points and Christian Lundgaard to finish second or worse with no more than two bonus points scored.

Last year, Palou started on pole position at Milwaukee and led 199 laps before being passed with 16 laps to go and ultimately settling for second. In the 2024 Milwaukee doubleheader, Palou was fifth in the first race, but an electrical issue before the start of the second race saw Palou unable to take the green flag on time. He would join the race but he ended up finishing 21 laps down in 19th. 

Kirkwood's Washington, D.C. victory was a lifeline to his championship hopes. With 53 points scored, he was able to pick up 42 points on Palou. It was Kirkwood's second victory of the season and his ninth top five finish. Kirkwood has finished in the top ten in three of four oval races this season.

Christian Lundgaard begins the Milwaukee weekend needing some work to remain alive for the title. Entering 110 points behind Palou, Lundgaard will need to make up at least two points on Palou in the first race to remain alive, but he will need to make up more than that to have any legitimate hope. Lundgaard's best oval finish this season was tenth at Gateway. 

With three consecutive finishes outside the top ten, David Malukas has dropped to fourth in the championship, 142 points behind Palou. Malukas has finished on the podium in three of four oval races this season with his worst oval result being seventh. He has finished ahead of Palou in three of the four oval races as well.

Patricio O'Ward is still alive for the championship by the slimmest of margins. At 154 points off Palou's lead, O'Ward needs some help to have any hope of stealing the championship. If O'Ward were to win the final three races with the maximum 54 points in all three, he would need Palou to fail to start two of the final three races. O'Ward will be eliminated from the championship if Palou scores eight points or greater in the first Milwaukee race.

If Palou clinches early it would be the first time the championship did not go to the wire in consecutive seasons since Sébastien Bourdais claimed the Champ Car title with a race to spare in 2005, 2006 and 2007. Palou would match Bourdais' record streak of four consecutive titles from 2004 to 2007. Palou's fifth title would place him into third all-time in championships behind A.J. Foyt's seven and Scott Dixon's six.

Andretti Global's Surge

No team is flying higher than Andretti Global at the moment. 

Andretti heads to Milwaukee having won the last two races. On both occasions has it been a double-podium day for the organization as in each case its drivers have finish first and third. At Markham, Marcus Ericsson took his first victory with the team in what was his 47th start for the organization. Will Power was third. Last week, Kyle Kirkwood had a sensational race in Washington, D.C., leading 128 of 147 laps and regularly being over ten seconds clear of the field. Power again had a terrific drive to finish third. 

This is the first time the organization has won consecutive races with two different drivers since 2013 when Ryan Hunter-Reay won at Milwaukee and James Hinchcliffe won at Iowa. 

Not only was Andretti Global first and third in Washington, D.C., Ericsson drove to a fourth-place finish. These three drivers finished in the exact same position at Arlington in March. It is the team's second triple-top five day this season. It is the first time the team has had at least three top five finishers in multiple races in the same season since 2013. At the Indianapolis 500, Andretti went second-third-fourth with Carlos Muñoz, Hunter-Reay and Marco Andretti. Four races later, Hunter-Reay won at Milwaukee with E.J. Viso taking fourth and Hinchcliffe was fifth. 

The team seeks more in 2026. The organization has not won three consecutive races since Ryan Hunter-Reay went on a three-race tear in the summer of 2012 winning at Milwaukee, Iowa and Toronto. That vaulted Hunter-Reay into the title discussion. Andretti Global has three victories this season, but it has not won more than three races in a season since 2018 when it won five times. 

Kirkwood has been one of the better drivers this season. His victory in Washington, D.C. made him one of four drivers with multiple victories this season. His nine top five finishes are second only to Álex Palou's 11, but Kirkwood leads IndyCar with 13 top ten finishes through the first 15 races. His 220 laps led are also second in IndyCar, again behind Palou, who has led 558 laps in 2026.

Ericsson is on a run of form with four consecutive top ten finishes, all results of sixth or better. The Swede will have a chance to match his longest top ten finish stretch with Andretti Global in the opening Milwaukee race. In 2024, Ericsson had five consecutive top ten finishes from Detroit through Iowa. He has consecutive top five finishes for only the third time in his career, and he has never had three consecutive top five results. 

Will Power has been one of the best drivers in IndyCar since the month of August began. Power has yet to finish worse than third since the calendar changed to the eighth month of the year. The problem is Power has not finished better than third either. It is still three consecutive podium finishes for the Australian, a first for him since 2022. 

With Power's surge in particular, there is a chance all three Andretti drivers could finish in the top ten of the championship this season. Kirkwood is second on 462 points, Ericsson has 361 points in seventh, and Power cracked the championship top ten for the first time this season after Washington, D.C. 

The team has not had three drivers in the championship top ten since 2020 if you count Colton Herta, who ran an Andretti Harding Steinbrenner Autosport car that year. Herta was third in the championship while Alexander Rossi was ninth and Ryan Hunter-Reay was tenth.

Historically, Milwaukee has been a great track for the Andretti Global group. The team has won five times at the circuit. In the last two years, the team has combined for six finishes outside the top ten out of nine entries. However, the team did have all three of its cars finish in the top ten of the second race of the 2024 doubleheader with Colton Herta taking third, Ericsson finishing fifth and Kirkwood in eighth.

The Final Oval

There are two oval races remaining this season, and technically 21 drivers could end this season as the unofficial oval champion. 

David Malukas has the most oval points through the first four events though Malukas has not won this season. He has finished third, second, seventh and second in the four oval races. He led the most laps at Phoenix and the second-most laps at Nashville despite starting 25th in that event. 

Five points behind Malukas is Josef Newgarden, a two-time winner this year on ovals. Newgarden made a late charge on fresh tires at Phoenix to take the victory having led only eight laps, including the final seven circuits of the one-mile oval. At Gateway, Newgarden led the second-most laps, but after a tense battle with Marcus Ericsson and Christian Rasmussen, Newgarden came out on top. Newgarden was second at Nashville but his accident in the Indianapolis 500 hangs over his season. 

Team Penske sweeps the top three in oval points. Scott McLaughlin has scored 127 points from the first four oval races, 25 points behind his teammate Malukas. McLaughlin has finished in the top five in the last three oval races and his worst oval result was eighth at Phoenix. McLaughlin won the second race of the 2024 Milwaukee doubleheader. 

Indianapolis 500 winner Felix Rosenqvist sits in fourth on oval points with 125. While Rosenqvist won at Indianapolis, he has finished outside the top ten in two of the four oval races. The Swede was fifth at Nashville. Patricio O'Ward rounds out the top five with 118 points. O'Ward was fourth in the first two oval races before finishing 11th in the next two oval races. 

Nashville winner Álex Palou has scored 110 points in the first four oval races. Palou was 24th at Phoenix after an early accident with Rinus VeeKay. At Gateway, Palou ran out of fuel entering pit lane for his final pit stop and ended up finishing a lap down in 17th after appearing set for a top ten result. 

Kyle Kirkwood is just ahead of his Andretti Global teammate Marcus Ericsson. Kirkwood has 105 points with Ericsson on 102. Ericsson was second at Gateway and sixth at Nashville.

Marcus Armstrong has 90 points, one more than Rinus VeeKay, who rounds out the top ten. Santino Ferrucci has 85 oval points. Scott Dixon is on 77, three more than Kyffin Simpson. While he was third at Gateway, Christian Rasmussen has scored only 67 points on ovals this season with two finishes outside the top ten. Christian Lundgaard rounds out the top fifteen on 65 points. 

Alexander Rossi has 64 points from four oval races, two more than Mick Schumacher and Romain Grosjean has 59 points. Will Power has scored 55 points through the first four oval races, one more than Nolan Siegel. Graham Rahal has 50 points. 

Sting Ray Robb, Dennis Hauger, Louis Foster and Caio Collet are the four drivers that are mathematically eliminated from the unofficial oval championship. These four drivers have 42, 41, 40 and 31 points respectively. 

Last season, Palou topped the unofficial oval championship with 252 points, 44 points clear of O'Ward, the only other driver to break 200 ovals points in 2025. Rasmussen took third on 173 points, 16 points ahead of Newgarden with Dixon rounding out the top five on 153 points. 

Malukas was sixth on 149 points, seven ahead of Conor Daly. Ferrucci scored 140 oval points in 2025 with Meyer Shank Racing teammates Rosenqvist and Armstrong rounding out the top ten on 129 points and 125 points respectively. Kirkwood and McLaughlin were level on 120 points. Lundgaard was the final driver to break 100 oval points as the Dane scored 117 over the six races.

Along with Palou, Dixon (2011, 2020), Newgarden (2016, 2023), Power (2018), O'Ward (2021-22) and McLaughlin (2024) are the active drivers that previously led the series in oval points in a season since 2010. Dixon did not win an oval race in 2011. That is the only time since 2010 the top oval driver did not win an oval race.

Rasmussen's Return

The oval results do not add up compared to the pace we have seen from Christian Rasmussen this season, but Rasmussen is likely thrilled to be back in Milwaukee.

Last year, Rasmussen had a top ten run going, but a late caution for a sun shower opened an opportunity for drivers to take tires before the final 40-lap sprint to the finish. Rasmussen took tires and started working his way forward. Soon, he was the lone challenger to Álex Palou, who had been in firm control of the race. With 16 laps remaining, Rasmussen took the lead.

Despite being in front and pulling away from Palou, Rasmussen remained on the ragged edge with a few notable corrections on corner exit that could have put any other driver in the barrier. 

The victory was Ed Carpenter Racing's first since Rinus VeeKay won the 2021 Grand Prix of Indianapolis, and it was ECR's first oval victory since 2016 at Iowa with Josef Newgarden. 

Rasmussen is hoping for a repeat of his 2025 performance, and he mightily needs it. The Dane and the #21 ECR team are on the bubble for the final Leader Circle spot, 22nd in the standings on 180 points, tied with Caio Collet and the #4 A.J. Foyt Racing Chevrolet. Rasmussen and the #21 team holds the tiebreaker with the better finish. 

The best finish for Rasmussen is third while Collet picked up his first top ten finish of the season last week in Washington, D.C. when the Brazilian was ninth. Collet has finished outside the top twenty in three of four oval races this season, retiring on all three occasions, and two of those were accidents. His best oval result was 19th at Phoenix. 

Collet isn't the only one pushing for the final Leader Circle spot. Mick Schumacher and the #47 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda has 170 points, ten points off 22nd. Schumacher was eighth in the most recent oval race at Nashville. The German has finished outside the top fifteen in the other three oval races. 

Sting Ray Robb and the #77 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet is not out of the mix either. Robb is 25 points on the outside. Robb's best oval result was 15th at Nashville. His best finish this season was 11th at Markham. 

Just above Rasmussen is Dennis Hauger. Hauger is only 24 points clear of safety in 21st. Louis Foster is another eight points clear in 20th, 32 points above the drop zone. Hauger has finished outside the top twenty in the last two oval races. Foster's best oval finish was 17th at Nashville.

These will be the 117th and 118th IndyCar races held at the Milwaukee Mile. On 19 occasions has a driver won consecutive Milwaukee races. The most recent to do it was Ryan Hunter-Reay, who won in 2012 and 2013. Rasmussen could win three consecutive Milwaukee races if he sweeps the doubleheader. Prior to Hunter-Reay, Tony Kanaan won in consecutive years, taking victory in 2006 and 2007.

Only once has a driver won three consecutive Milwaukee races. That would be Tom Sneva, who won at the circuit in August 1982 before winning in 1983 and 1984. 

Road to Indy

We are at the very end of the Road to Indy seasons as well, and two series will compete this weekend with IndyCar, both of which will be contesting their penultimate rounds. 

Three races remain in the Indy Lights season, but it has the reverse of IndyCar. The junior series has one race at Milwaukee before concluding with a doubleheader in Laguna Seca. Eight drivers are still mathematically alive for the championship, but it is really a three-horse race that could quickly turn into two. 

Enzo Fittipaldi retook the championship lead at Portland with a seventh-place finish, and Nikita Johnson was eighth. Only one point separates the two drivers with three races remaining. Fittipaldi has 476 points and Johnson has 475 points. 

Fittipaldi has won four times this season, all coming since Johnson's most recent victory. Johnson won two of the first three races, but he has not won since. That eighth at Portland is Johnson's worst result this season. Fittipaldi has finished outside the top ten in four races this season, including both oval races. The Brazilian was 13th at Gateway and 11th at Nashville. Johnson was seventh at Gateway and second at Nashville. 

Tymek Kucharczyk is within touching distance of the championship lead. Kucharczyk is 18 points behind Fittipaldi. While the Polish driver has four top five finishes in the last five races, mixed in there is an 18th at Nashville. He was also ninth at Gateway in June. 

Max Taylor got back on the podium with a third at Portland, his first trip to the rostrum since he was second in the second race from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. Taylor is 80 points off the championship lead. He was fifth in both oval races this season. 

Lochie Hughes is 90 points behind Fittipaldi, and Hughes was second at Portland. It was only his third podium finish of the season. Hughes had eight podium finishes in 2025. Alessandro de Tullio scored his second victory of the season at Portland. De Tullio trails Fittipaldi by 98 points.

Myles Rowe needs a fair amount of help for his title hopes. Rowe is 132 points back. He was the winner at Gateway after starting last, and he did finish third at Nashville. Jack Beeton is mathematically alive for the championship, but he will be eliminated as soon as Fittipaldi starts the race. Beeton is 160 points back with 162 points left on the table. 

Nashville race winner Matteo Nannini is just outside championship contention. Nannini is 169 points back. Jacob Abel will be back for his second round of the season. Abel was fifth at Portland. He was second in the 2024 Milwaukee race, and he has three runner-up finishes on ovals in Indy Lights.

The Indy Lights race will begin at 11:00 a.m. ET on Sunday August 30 with the race scheduled for 90 laps. 

For USF Pro 2000, we have four races remaining as, after its Milwaukee date, the series will remain in Wisconsin for the finale weekend from Road America, a triple-header held over September 24-26. U.S. F2000 will also finish its season with a triple-header that weekend at Road America.

Nine drivers are still mathematically alive for the USF Pro 2000 championship, and we had a championship lead change in Markham. 

With Leonardo Escorpioni unable to compete in Canada due to a visa issue, Jack Jeffers moved into first with a victory and a second in Markham. Jeffers has 309 points and a 33-point lead over Escorpioni. 

Jeffers had not won since the IMS road course in May. Escorpioni had won four of the previous five races before the Canadian weekend. 

G3 Argyros is third, 41 points behind Jeffers. Argyros has seven top five finishes from the last nine races with three victories in that stretch, but he has finished outside the top ten in those other two races. Andrés Cárdenas scored his first victory of the season in the second Markham race, and Cárdenas is 63 points back. 

Frankie Mossman rounds out the top five, 83 points behind Jeffers. Another ten points back is Thomas Schrage, who scored his first podium finish of the season with a third in Markham. Teddy Musella is on 179 points with Brady Golan on 171 points. Indianapolis Raceway Park winner Michael Costello is still mathematically alive with 166 points, but Costello ran out of budget after the Mid-Ohio weekend and has not been able to contest the last two race weekends. 

Full-time U.S. F2000 drivers Evan Cooley and Anthony Martella will compete this weekend in USF Pro 2000 at Milwaukee. Both are racing for Exclusive Autosport, the same team they run for in U.S. F2000. 

Cooley sits fourth in the U.S. F2000 championship, and he won the U.S. F2000 race from IRP in May. It is his only victory of the eason. Martella has three victories in U.S. F2000, IMS road course, Road America and Mid-Ohio. Martella led the first 43 laps of the U.S. F2000 race from IRP but the Canadian was caught in an accident when the lapped car od Cal Peters spun in front of him.

This will be the first time the USF Pro 2000 division has competed at Milwaukee since 2014. Spencer Pigot won that race ahead of Scott Hargrove and Shelby Blackstock.

USF Pro 2000 will follow the IndyCar race on Saturday August 29. It is scheduled for a 5:30 p.m. ET start. The race will have a 45-minute time limit. 

Fast Facts

This will be the 12th IndyCar race to take place on August 29 and the 15th race to take place on August 30, and it will be the first time both these dates have held races since 2020 when a doubleheader weekend was held at Gateway. Scott Dixon won the first race and Josef Newgarden won the second race.

Twice previously has Milwaukee hosted a race on August 29. Myron Fohr and Tony Bettenhausen won on this date in 1948. Bettenhausen ran the final 67 laps after his car droped out of the race. Manny Ayulo won in 1954. 

There have also been two past Milwaukee races held on August 30. Chuck Stevenson won on that date in 1953 and Rodger Ward won in 1959.

Ward is the all-time leader in Milwaukee races with seven races.

There have been six different winners in the last six Milwaukee races (Ryan Hunter-Reay, Will Power, Sébastien Bourdais, Patricio O'Ward, Scott McLaughlin, Christian Rasmussen).

Christian Lundgaard won at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin in June. The most recent driver to win at Road America and the Milwaukee Mile in the same season was Michael Andretti in 1996. Andretti also swept the Wisconsin races in 1991. Andretti is the only driver to win at both tracks in the same season.

This will be the tenth and 11th Milwaukee races scheduled for a 250-lap distance. 

Last year, 16 cars finished on the lead lap at Milwaukee, the most ever for a Milwaukee race.

The average starting position for a Milwaukee winner is 4.5517 with a median of third. 

Eleven of the last 15 Milwaukee races have been won from a top five starting position. Two of those Milwaukee races were won from 11th, Patricio O'Ward won the first race of the 2024 doubleheader from sixth and Christian Rasmussen won from ninth last year.

Thirteen of 116 Milwaukee races have been won from outside the top ten.

The average number of lead changes in a Milwaukee race is 4.7699 with a median of five.

The second race of the 2024 doubleheader had 13 lead changes, the most ever for a Milwaukee race. Last year's race had 11 lead changes. 

The six Milwaukee races held during the DW12 era had an average of 9.833 lead changes with a median of ten.

Only once in the 25 Milwaukee races prior to the DW12 chassis were there at least ten lead changes. The 2001 CART race had 12 lead changes with Kenny Bräck taking the victory. Michael Andretti was second with Scott Dixon finishing third, the second career podium finish for Dixon. 

Ryan Hunter-Reay led all 250 laps in the 2004 Milwaukee race.

The fewest laps led by a Milwaukee winner is nine. Joe Leonard led the final nine laps in the June 1970 race.

The average number of caution laps in a Milwaukee race since 1972 is four with a median of four. The average number of caution laps is 29.7 with a median of 28.5.

There have been two caution-free races at Milwaukee, in June 1976 and June 1982.

Predictions

Álex Palou will sweep the weekend, but if Palou doesn't sweep the weekend, he is going to win at least one race, and if Palou doesn't win at least one race, Josef Newgarden takes one victory and Scott McLaughlin takes the other. Christian Rasmussen will have one good race and one bad race, but Rasmussen will put points between himself and Caio Collet for 22nd in the championship. There will be no cautions for rain. Christian Lundgaard scores his best oval finish of the season, and Lundgaard will be the best Arrow McLaren finisher in one of the races. Will Power does not have a third-place finish. Sleepers: Alexander Rossi and Marcus Armstrong.

First Impressions: Milwaukee 2025

1. One spritz of rain with just over 40 laps to go completely flipped IndyCar's penultimate race of the season from Milwaukee. Álex Palou had this race in the bag. It was set to be one of Palou's most dominant performances of the season, but a quick spritz turned the race upside down, and produced a first-time winner in Christian Rasmussen almost from out of nowhere. 

For some reason, the top three drivers, Palou along with Scott McLaughlin and Josef Newgarden, did not come to the pit lane under that final caution despite all the teams having a set of tires remaining. Every other lead lap car stopped, and it set up a thrilling finish, the likes we haven't really seen since Iowa 2014. 

Palou and company would have some buffer of the lapped cars to those on fresher tires, but with just over 30 laps to go when the race restarted, they would eventually lose that protection and it would be down to whether or not time would be on their side. 

Patricio O'Ward was in fourth, the first car on new tires, but Alexander Rossi quickly dispatched O'Ward. However, as they battled with traffic, Christian Rasmussen clawed his way forward and passed both O'Ward and Rossi, and Rasmussen was soon the leader of those on new tires. 

Rasmussen got through Newgarden and he was up to second ahead of McLaughlin with 20 laps to go. It felt like time was on Rasmussen's side, but Palou tried his best to outrun the Dane. However, the tire advantage inevitably swung in Rasmussen's favor. Palou did all he could to hold off Rasmussen, but Rasmussen made his move and took the lead with 15 laps to go.

Palou fought back and kept it close, but the tires were gone. Paou was never going to have enough to counter the pass Rasmussen had completed. 

However, Rasmussen might have been his own worst enemy and greatest obstacle to victory, pushing the car to the limit as he has become known for doing. He kept making risky moves, including lapping Felix Rosenqvist to the outside on exit of turn two. The tires were in his favor, but this race was not settled strictly because it was unclear if Rasmussen, in an unknown position, would step over the edge and cost himself the greatest day of his career. 

Despite the twitches and the quick reactionary moves, Rasmussen held on and took a stunning victory to make him the 300th winner in IndyCar history. 

He drove really well in this race and was competitive. He was making passes, and he actually had to comeback from a pit lane speeding penalty early, but that occurred under caution and all he had to do was going to the rear of the field. This was going to be a top ten day for Rasmussen, but it would not have been a victory without a brief spritz of rain. 

It is ironic enough that Rasmussen wins this race two weeks after he was under a microscope for his driving at Portland. He has essentially completed two full seasons in IndyCar, and what has stood out the most about Rasmussen is his aggression. He will put a car on the limit and take a competitor with him. There is never say die attitude from Rasmussen, but at times it can come off as unwarranted and risky to others on the track. There are plenty who are not thrilled to see him on track because he can be a little reckless. 

Over his two years, Rasmussen has had good oval races, but he has mostly been mid-pack. That is kind of where Ed Carpenter Racing has been for an extended period of time. The form hasn't been the strongest on the road courses, but when it comes to ovals, Rasmussen has shined. This year alone he has been one of the best on ovals. Entering this race, three drivers had finished in the top ten of all four oval races, Patricio O'Ward, Palou and Rasmussen. Rasmussen had an aggressive drive lead to a podium at Gateway, but I don't think anyone saw a victory coming this season, not with the competition in this field. 

Rasmussen looked good, but when you consider what the first 200 laps of this race looked like, it required an act of God for Rasmussen to win this race. It appears the Almighty wiped the sweat from his brow on this sabbath, and those drops fell on the Milwaukee Mile, blessing Rasmussen to accomplish the unthinkable.

2.  Why didn't Álex Palou stop for tires? With 40 laps to go and under caution, it felt obvious to take tires. This final stint was going to be 54 laps, a little longer than most had drive all race. Taking tires under the caution would have meant at most 32 green flag laps would be run on this new set. 

All I can think is Palou's team didn't want to be caught as the only driver to come in and restart 15th after leading all race. However, if Palou was the only car on new tires with 30 laps to go, I think he would have had a great shot of driving back to first before the checkered flag.

There was nothing Palou could do when Rasmussen got around McLaughlin. Palou drove probably the hardest he has driven all season, and the fact he was still within two seconds of Rasmussen at the checkered flag is impressive, but this one got away because Chip Ganassi Racing did not bring in Álex Palou for a set of tires that just said their unused. 

If Palou stops, I still think a dozen other drivers stop and at worse Palou is restarting fourth or fifth. It is a shame that this one got away. Gone is a potential share of the record for most victories in a season, but that is a champagne problem for Palou and company. It has still been a great season, one of the best we have ever seen in IndyCar.

3. Scott McLaughlin still held on for third on his older tires.

This is one of those cases, and we see it once or twice a season on a road or street course, where the winner had the alternate strategy but then the next two or three drivers ran the typical strategy, and it seems like either was the right choice.

We had this last year with Scott Dixon at Long Beach. Dixon won stretching the fuel, but the next five drivers ran hard and finished ahead of the next driver who was stretching fuel, and that was Will Power in sixth. Did Scott Dixon run the right strategy or was Dixon the one guy to make it the alternate work while the other strategy appears to have been better considering the rest of the finishers behind the winner?

I think taking tires was the right choice. After all, there was over nine seconds between Palou in second and McLaughlin in third. McLaughlin wasn't close to victory, but he benefitted from some of the lapped cars and only Rasmussen made it through them in a quick fashion. By the time Alexander Rossi and Patricio O'Ward got through the traffic, their tires had lost their edge and McLaughlin could hold on for a podium and a good day.

4. Considering Alexander Rossi sprinted immediately to victory lane and met Rasmussen with his helmet still on, I doubt Rossi feels any regret that he didn't win this race and blew a chance to be the man driving into victory lane, though he was positioned to be that guy. Rossi was the top driver on the new tires until Rasmussen came blazing through. Rossi couldn't even pass McLaughlin. If he couldn't pass McLaughlin, Rossi wasn't going to win this race. 

What Rossi is most excited about is he spent the entire race in the top ten and pushing for a top five result. He stopped early on the first pit cycle and it took him from the bottom of the top ten into the top five. He had to fight a bit, but he drove a stellar race. 

Perhaps age played a role and a level of aggression you don't have after years of experience and knowing better allowed Rasmussen to take the risks required to win this race. Maybe Rossi knew better while Rasmussen had no clue and acted on instinct. 

5. Patricio O'Ward came out of the pit lane first under that final caution, and he was fourth at the restart, but O'Ward lost that advantage immediately, and once it was gone, he was settled for a fight just to finish in the top five and not go for the victory. 

O'Ward took a risk like the rest of them. The opportunity was there for fresh rubber and an extra pit stop would be the only way to win this race. If that caution doesn't come out and O'Ward finishes fifth, no one is looking at it as a disappointing result. We shouldn't either.

6. Christian Lundgaard had likely his best oval race. Lundgaard stopped early on the first pit cycle and jumped into the top ten, and he spent the rest of the race in a top ten spot. It was a good day. Sixth might have been a little better than expected. He needed a day like this though as he continues to develop on ovals.

7. Josef Newgarden slipped from third to seventh on his older tires. Newgarden made a nice save that cost him a few spots though. This one hurts because Newgarden should have been on the podium today. My question is if Team Penske had two of the top three, more specifically, if it had second and third, why didn't it split its strategies and have one car take tires while the other stayed out? 

I don't understand how Penske missed that. Newgarden has had a wretched season. Why not roll the dice and be on the offensive in the closing laps? With ten or 15 laps to go, I could understand not stopping, but there was going to be about 30 laps to go when the race restarted, and those tires the top three had on were asked to go a little longer than anyone dared earlier in the race. The safe strategy was stopping. 

This stinks because it was a missed opportunity, and one the likes of Tim Cindric would not have overlooked. 

8. David Malukas salvaged his day with an eighth-place finish. Malukas ran well and was in the top five. Then in the middle of the race, an air gun issue caused Malukas to lose a lap as the team could not get the right front tire secured in a quick fashion. He spent much of the second half of the race outside the top fifteen. However, IndyCar's overly forgiving wave around rules got Malukas back on the lead lap and he could benefit from taking tires on that final caution. He drove to finish eighth but this will feel like a missed opportunity.

Malukas led early from Palou, but Palou had the better car. Malukas wasn't beating Palou in a straight-up fight. Nobody was beating Palou straight-up today. Either way, Malukas likely believed he should have been competing for a podium spot and finishing ahead of at least one Team Penske driver. Instead, he finished ahead of none. It was a good recovery for something that was out of his control.

9. Scott Dixon didn't have the best day and he finished ninth. It felt like Dixon was between 12th and 14th this entire race. He never really went forward after starting 14th due to his grid penalty. He didn't make any big moves in this race. It never was quite his day. 

10. Marcus Armstrong pulled out a miraculous tenth-place finish because the team decided not to stop with just over 100 laps to go, the only car not to stop under that caution. Armstrong went from first to about ninth in a lap and he was down to 17th in about ten laps. It looked like the dumbest decision of the season, and he was going to finish a lap or two down in 18th after being just outside the top ten for most of the race.

However, that spritz blessed more than just Rasmussen. Armstrong was back on the lead lap, he could take that extra set of new tires, and he was able to drive to a top ten finish. The team "tried something different" by not stopping under that caution when staying out meant it was still a two-stop race from that point. It was a ballsy choice when it was clearly going to fail. The pit stand caught a break today. 

11. Colton Herta was 11th and Kyle Kirkwood was 12th. This was a better day than these results will show for each driver. Herta drove up to sixth from 24th on the grid, and he appeared to be a contender for a top five finish. Kirkwood spent most of the race in the top ten. However, both drivers lost spots in that final pit cycle and it appears both drivers were elbowed out of the top ten in the sprint to the finish. I am surprised it happened to Herta because he was moving forward the entire race.

It has been an odd end of the season for Andretti Global. Herta wasn't confident in his car after practice, was upset about his qualifying spin but brushed it off because he felt he wasn't going to be starting that well anyway, and then he was probably one of the best four or five drivers on track today, only to be freight-trained in the final sprint to the finish. 

Kirkwood drove well today but not great. He was going to finish eighth or ninth without that last caution. Not a great day, but a fine day, however Kirkwood has won three times this season and he hasn't been close to a victory since he won at Gateway.

We haven't even mentioned Marcus Ericsson was nowhere to be seen and finished 19th. I don't know what went wrong for Andretti Global in the second half of the season. On the surface, it doesn't appear they did anything drastic to cost the team its form.

12. Conor Daly probably should have finished in the top ten as well, but pit stops are Juncos Hollinger Raicng's kryptonite. Daly was in the top five in the early going, then he dropped to the lower part of the top ten after this first pit stop. He didn't have a good final stop when basically the entire field stopped. Daly drove well, but there is a limit of what he can get out of Juncos Hollinger Racing. 

I guess I should mentioned Sting Ray Robb was 23rd to cover JHR's entire day. It was a typical Sting Ray Robb performance. Slow. A lap down. At least he didn't get more attention than that.

13. Santino Ferrucci was 14th, and that was a generous result for Ferrucci, which is something we do not say often about him on ovals. Ferrucci wasn't good this weekend. He didn't have the speed, and David Malukas was quicker from the very start of practice. Ferrucci probably should have been 18th, 19th or 20th. He lost a lap. The only reason Ferrucci had a chance to finish this well was IndyCar's wave around rules. If drivers could not make a pit stop after taking the wave around, every oval race would have at least two or three drivers finishing about five to six spots worse than they actually end up.

14. Rinus VeeKay spent a fair amount of this race in the top ten, and VeeKay would have been better that 15th without that final caution. He lost all his ground in the final pit cycle. At the start of the season, I would have felt better about a 15th for VeeKay and Dale Coyne Racing, but they have been competitive across the board, and VeeKay started 11th today. These are a few too many points lost. It could have been worse, but it is ok to be upset that this should have been better.

15. Let's run through the field. Devlin DeFrancesco was 16th in a race where I honestly never noticed him, but that means he did nothing wrong. DeFrancesco was a spot ahead of his teammate Louis Foster, who was the first car to finish one lap down. Foster went the longest on the first pit cycle, but that trapped him a lap down for most of the race. He was actually a two laps down for a good portion. 

Graham Rahal had a half spin early in the race, it cost him ground, but he never recovered, finishing two laps down in 24th. I don't know what happened because Rahal qualified tenth. I understand that first stint being difficult because his tires were likely shot after that move. I don't know why Rahal didn't stop for tires after that. My guess is the team didn't want to get caught out if there was a late caution, but either way, Rahal fell like a rock and never looked quick after that incident. It was strange because he sounded hopeful after qualifying.

16. Robert Shwartzman was 18th, so he only lost one point in the rookie of the year battle to Louis Foster. At least we will have that to watch at Nashville. Shwartzman didn't do anything notable today. Good because it meant he didn't wreck. Bad because it meant he was slow. 

Callum Ilott lost an engine, which ended his top ten finish streak. That was always going to end today because neither Prema car was particularly quick. 

17. Kyffin Simpson was 20th. I don't know which Kyffin Simpson to believe. I think we can acknowledge Simpson got a few breaks to finish fifth in Detroit and third in Toronto, but there have been races where he has legitimately been about tenth, 11th or 12th. But then he has races like this where he wasn't any good. Ovals are definitely something he struggles with. 

18. Jacob Abel completed 248 laps and finished 21st. That is about as good as it can get for Abel at the moment. 

Felix Rosenqvist never looked quite right after his qualifying accident yesterday. That car was never right. It was slow. Rosenqvist had to suffer to finish 22nd. 

19. There were two notable accidents. Will Power got into the wall in turn two attempting to overtake the lapped car of Kyffin Simpson, and that damage led to Power spinning in turn four. Power was in a top five position at the time. 

I don't know if Power can do anything to save his job, but throwing away a top five run was likely not the best choice. However, it is another race where something went wrong for a Penske car. At least one of them has been snake-bitten in every race this season. 

Nolan Siegel spun exiting turn four on the opening lap and he will be scored with zero laps completed for this race. Siegel gets his fair amount of attention for everything he is not doing. He isn't any better than where he was a year ago when was wrapping up running the final ten races with Arrow McLaren. I am sure it can get better next year, but I would not be surprised if it doesn't in 2026. No glimmer of hope is breaking through.

When you consider how short of a leash some other drivers have gotten with McLaren, it would surprise no one if McLaren showed the Siegel family the door in the offseason and hired a third driver it thought could run with O'Ward and Lundgaard. At the moment, Siegel is not even close to those two. 

20. This was another great Milwaukee crowd. I acknowledge that due to the size of the grandstands, and grandstands that were covered with tarps, that was likely about 20,000 people, which is still good, but I think this event has a chance to grow even more. The people have bought in, but I believe IndyCar can get more out of this race. Road America gets more than double this on race day and that is an hour further north. 

IndyCar is heading in the right direction with Milwaukee, but the goal for 2026 is for all those covered grandstands in turn one to be open and filled with people.

21. I kind of wish Milwaukee was 50 laps longer and I kind of wish Milwaukee was the season finale. Nashville Superspeedway is 45 minutes outside of Nashville. Let's not act like IndyCar is giving up some grand location if it flipped Nashville to be the penultimate race. Both are drawing about the same size crowd, Milwaukee likely has more potential growth, and we have seen some pretty good racing over two years at Milwaukee. The fans love the fair vibe, and I think IndyCar can take that to the next level. It seems like a fun race just to be at, and if it was the finale, it could be the big party to end the season without having to do much more. All the infrastructure is already there because of the fairgrounds. That is a great foundation to start with and I think a great way for IndyCar to end the season would be with a 300-lap race at a historic venue. 

Embrace the history you have, IndyCar! Give this legendary venue its chance to shine. Hell, make the finale 400 laps and go wild! People would love it. 

22. I want to end circling back to Christian Rasmussen and his victory. 

This is the beauty of IndyCar. 

In any race, pretty much any team can pull out a strategy and drive to victory. 

Rasmussen wasn't the best driver today, but he was probably one of the five best. When the race was shaken up with an unexpected caution, Rasmussen could take on an alternate strategy and drive to the front and steal a victory. This wasn't all luck. The luck was the caution. Passing all those cars and beating Álex Palou required skill even with fresher tires.

It was Rasmussen today but it could have been Alexander Rossi. It could have been Felix Rosenqvist or Marcus Armstrong with Meyer Shank Racing. It could have been Conor Daly at Juncos Hollinger Racing. It could have been David Malukas or Santino Ferrucci with A.J. Foyt Racing. 

When you consider this season we saw Graham Rahal lead the most laps and likely have a great shout for victory at the Grand Prix of Indianapolis, and Felix Rosenqvist was chasing down Palou at Road America, we are looking at a season where the smallest of teams still have a shot when everything clicks on their best day. Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing has been struggling for years, but its best day isn't capped at potentially finishing eighth. It can be on the podium and fighting for a victory. Ed Carpenter Racing has been through its share of troubles, but it has found something where it can be a force on the ovals, and if it falls right it can drive to a win.

We are coming off one of the most dominant seasons we have ever seen for a driver in IndyCar, and yet we can still see a first-time winner for a mid-pack team and it isn't just because of a timely caution or a freak rainstorm. 

Yes, I realize both those things happened today, but Rasmussen didn't win because only because of those things. Rasmussen got a shot and could drive to the front. For all the amazing things he has done this season, in a single race he can use his talent to take a car to the front and beat the other 26 cars competing, and driving for Ed Carpenter Racing isn't keeping him from being the best. 

Many times this season we have gone into a race thinking we knew what was going to happen and Álex Palou ended up winning like we expected, but IndyCar is still capable of these days, and that is beautiful. 

23. Let's see if we can continue this high into the final week of the season. In less than seven days, the checkered flag will wave for the final time at Nashville Superspeedway, and the 2025 NTT IndyCar Series season will be over.

Morning Warm-Up: Milwaukee 2025

Álex Palou won his sixth pole position of the season after Palou had a two-lap average of 162.971 mph (44.8422 seconds) around the Milwaukee Mile, and this is the 12th pole position of his career. He has won eight times from pole position in his IndyCar career. Palou enters this weekend with the championship already secured. This is the 45th time since 1946 that an IndyCar championship has been clinched with races in hand. In 13 of the first 44 occasions did the champion-elect win a race after clinching the title. Sébastien Bourdais was the most recent driver to do it. Bourdais won the 2007 Champ Car finale from Mexico City after he had locked up the title in the previous race. 

 

David Malukas was 0.1978 seconds off his first career pole position. Instead, Malukas will start second for the third time in his career. He started second at Detroit earlier this season and finished 14th, partially due to a penalty for contact that sent Palou into the turn one barrier. Malukas has two top five finishes this season, both on ovals. All five of his top five finishes in his career have come on ovals. He has never had more than two top five finishes in a season. This will be Malukas' 60th career start. Eighteen drivers scored their first career victory in their 60th start or later.

Patricio O’Ward will start third after he was 0.2472 seconds slower than Palou. This is the third consecutive race O'Ward is starting in the top five. O’Ward is coming off his worst result of the season, a 25th at Portland largely due to electrical issues. He has finished in the top five of all four oval races this season, including podium finishes in three of the events.

Scott McLaughlin is the best Team Penske starter in fourth. McLaughlin was 0.3363 seconds off pole position. McLaughlin won the second race of last year's doubleheader from second on the grid. Nineteen times has a driver won consecutive Milwaukee. The most recent driver to do it was Ryan Hunter-Reay in 2012 and 2013.

Will Power will start fifth, his sixth consecutive race starting in the top ten. Power enters as the most recent IndyCar winner. He led 78 laps on his way to winning at Portland. Prior to Portland, Power had only led four laps in the first 14 races. He has not won consecutive races since he swept the Indianapolis races in May 2018. He was second in the first race of last year’s Milwaukee doubleheader. 

Kyle Kirkwood has his best starting position on an oval in sixth. Kirkwood's previous best was tenth at Gateway. Though he won at Gateway, Kirkwood’s average finish of ovals this year is 19.25, largely due to his disqualification at the Indianapolis 500. This dropped him from sixth to 32nd. Based on where he finished on the road, Kirkwood’s average result is 12.75.

Josef Newgarden will start seventh. Newgarden has won from seventh starting spot six times with four of those coming on ovals. In Newgarden's seven oval starts since his most recent victory, his average finish is 16.428 with four finishes outside the top twenty. He finished 26th and 27th in last year's Milwaukee doubleheader. 

Conor Daly is starting to Newgarden's outside on row four. Prior to his accident last week at Portland, Daly had not retired from a race due to an accident since the second race of the 2021 Texas doubleheader when Daly was caught in an opening lap accident. It had been 61 consecutive starts without retiring due to an accident for Daly. 

Christian Rasmussen is starting a spot behind Daly in ninth, one race after the two infamously came together at Portland. This is only the second time Rasmussen has started inside the top ten this season. He started tenth at Detroit. Rasmussen has finished in the top ten of all four oval races this season. The only other drivers to do that are the top two in the championship, Álex Palou and Patricio O’Ward.

Graham Rahal rounds out the top ten. This is the fourth time in five races Rahal is starting in the top ten. Rahal is coming off his first top five finish in two years after he was fourth at Portland. He has not had consecutive top five finishes since he was fifth in both Belle Isle races in 2021. Rahal's best oval finish this season was 11th in the first Iowa race. His average oval result is 17.25.

Rinus VeeKay starts just outside the top ten in 11th, his best starting position on an oval this season. VeeKay started 18th or worse in the first four oval races. Last season, VeeKay had five top ten finishes in seven oval races. This year, he has only one top ten finish in the first four oval races. While VeeKay was second at Toronto three races ago, he has finished outside the top ten in four of the last five races.

Alexander Rossi starts next to VeeKay on row six. This is the fifth consecutive oval race Rossi is starting between 12th and 15th. He started 12th at Indianapolis 500 and 12th at Gateway. Gateway is only oval race where he finished better than his starting position, finishing 11th. Rossi has not finished in the top ten in his last five oval starts. His most recent top five finish on an oval was fifth in last year’s Indianapolis 500. 

Marcus Ericsson takes 13th on the grid. Ericsson has finished outside the top twenty in three of the last four races. Thanks to his post-race penalty at the Indianapolis 500, his best classification from an oval race this season was 13th at Gateway. Last year, Ericsson went from 16th to fifth in the second Milwaukee race.

A nine-spot grid penalty for an unapproved engine change knocks Scott Dixon from fifth to 14th on the grid. This is Dixon's third grid penalty of the season. The first was at Detroit. He went from 16th to 11th in that race. At Toronto, Dixon had to start 17th and he finished tenth. Dixon has finished on the podium in the 16th race of the season for four consecutive seasons. He hasn't won the 16th race of a season since 2015 when he won the Sonoma season finale. 

Devlin DeFrancesco starts in the top fifteen for the second consecutive race as the Canadian will start 15th at Milwaukee. This is his best start on an oval this season. His previous best was 16th at the Indianaplis 500.  DeFrancesco won one oval race during his Road to Indy career. It was at Gateway on August 29, 2020. 

Marcus Armstrong will be to DeFrancesco's outside on row eight. Armstrong has finished in the top ten of the last three oval races. Last year, he was 21st and 26th in the two Milwaukee races. He was three laps down in race one and only completed six laps in race two. Last week, Armstrong signed an extension to remain with Meyer Shank Racing for the 2026 season. 

Christian Lundgaard leads an all-Arrow McLaren row nine as Lundgaard has Nolan Siegel starting to his outside. While Rasmussen started eighth at the Indianapolis 500, his average starting spot on ovals this season is 16.4 With runner-up finishes in the last two races, Lundgaard could become the 14th driver in IndyCar history to have three consecutive runner-up finishes. The most recent driver to do it was Hélio Castroneves in 2008.

Nolan Siegel is 18th. This is the third consecutive race Siegel is starting outside the top fifteen and the eighth time in 16 races he is starting outside the top fifteen. Siegel competed in six oval races last season, and he had an average finish of 15.5. Through three oval starts this season, Siegel's average finish is 18.667.

Sting Ray Robb has his best starting position since Mid-Ohio in 19th. Robb has finished on the lead lap in the last two races, and he was 14th at Portland. It was his third time finishing in the top fifteen this season. Robb’s best oval finish this season was 20th at Gateway. Last year, he finished 23rd and 18th in the two Milwaukee races. Robb had an accident in the final minutes of final practice yesterday evening.

Robert Shwartzman rounds out the top twenty on the grid. This is his fourth consecutive race starting 20th or worse. Shwartzman has two top ten finishes in the last three oval races. He went from 24th to tenth at Gateway, and he was ninth in the second Iowa race after starting 11th. With two races remaining, Shwartzman is six points behind Louis Foster in the Rookie of the Year battle.

Santino Ferrucci starts 21st for the second consecutive race. At Portland, Ferrucci's race only lasted two laps after starting 21st. It is the 15th time this season Ferrucci has started outside the top ten. Only one driver finished in the top five of both Milwaukee races last year. That was Ferrucci, who finished fourth both days. He started 19th and 12th in those two races.

Jacob Abel takes 22nd on his grid, his best starting position on an oval this season. Abel will drive the #50 Miller Lite Honda this week, a slight number change from his #51 entry. This is to recognize the 50th anniversary of Miller Lite. Abel had Miller High Life as his sponsor when he failed to qualify for the Indianapolis 500. He has had an accident end three of his last five races.

Callum Ilott will start 23rd, one spot better than where Ilott has started in the last two races. Ilott enters Milwaukee with three consecutive top ten finishes. It is the longest top ten streak of his IndyCar career. Prior to this three-race stretch, Ilott had only five top ten finishes in his entire IndyCar career. His only top ten finish on an oval was ninth at Texas in April 2023.

Colton Herta spun on his first qualifying lap, but he was able to keep the car out of the barrier. However, Herta will start 24th due to the incident and after grid penalties are applied. This is his worst starting position since Herta started 27th at the Indianapolis 500 in May, which was the worst starting position of his IndyCar career. In his first six seasons, Herta has finished in the top five of the penultimate race four times with another finish of sixth. 

Félix Rosenqvist spun and hit the barrier in turn four on his first qualifying lap. Grid penalties for others will move Rosenqvist to 25th starting position. Prior to Milwaukee, Rosenqvist had not started worse than seventh on an oval. This is his first time starting outside the top twenty since he started 22nd at Road America last season. Rosenqvist has not had a top five finish in his last six starts after opening the season with four top five finishes in the first nine races.

Kyffin Simpson has a nine-spot grid penalty for an unapproved engine change, and this will move Simpson to 26th starting spot. After finishing in the top ten in three of four races, Simpson has finished outside the top ten in four of the last five races with three of those results being outside the top fifteen. No driver has won from worse than 25th in a Milwaukee race.

Louis Foster was unable to complete a lap at speed in the first practice session due to an engine issue. Foster only ran three instillation laps in the first practice session before qualifying. A subsequent engine change has resulted in a nine-spot grid penalty and Foster will start in last for the Milwaukee race. While he had an accident at Gateway, Foster has finished no worse than 14th in the other three oval races this season.

Fox’s coverage of the SnapOn 250 from the Milwaukee Mile will begin at 2:00 p.m. ET with green flag scheduled for 2:20 p.m. The race is scheduled for 250 laps.