Like the Iowa doubleheader weekend, Milwaukee has one qualifying session to set the grid for both races. Qualifying is scheduled for this afternoon at 2:15 p.m. ET. The first lap of each qualifying run will set the grid for Saturday evening's race while the second lap of each qualifying run will set the grid for Sunday's race.
There was a practice session held on Friday afternoon, and Josef Newgarden topped the session with a lap of 23.0156 seconds. Newgarden has won two of four oval races this season, including the most recent one held two weeks ago at Gateway Motorsports Park. Newgarden has won at least three races in six of the last seven seasons, and he has won at least three oval races in each of the last two seasons. He is looking for his second pole position of the season. The first was at the St. Petersburg season opener. Even if Newgarden is the fastest qualifier, he will not be starting first for race one. He has a nine-spot grid penalty for taking his fifth engine this season.
On the cusp of his 400th career start, Scott Dixon was second-quickest in practice, 0.0993 seconds off Newgarden's top time. Dixon could become the sixth driver to win in a century mark start. The previous five all did it in their 100th start and the most recent was Patrick Carpentier at Mid-Ohio on August 11, 2002. All five century mark winners occured in the month of August. A.J. Foyt, Roger McCluskey and Mario Andretti all did it at Springfield in 1965, 1968 and 1968 respectively. Mike Mosley won in his 100th start at Milwaukee on August 17, 1975. Dixon has finished in the top five in each of his first three century mark starts.
Patricio O'Ward was 0.1477 seconds off Newgarden's fastest time. O'Ward is attempting to avoid his four-race top ten finish slump since a seven-race stretch that spanned the 2019 and 2020 seasons. He has finished in the top five of the 15th race of the season in all three seasons he has contested a 15th race. O’Ward has led only 33 laps this season, nine in the Indianapolis 500 and 24 at Mid-Ohio.
Felix Rosenqvist took fourth on the time chart with a lap at 23.1812 seconds. Rosenqvist is coming off his best oval finish of the season with a sixth at Gateway Motorsports Park, but his average finish on ovals this season is 18th. The Swede's average finish in the last eight races is 15.125 after opening the season at 10.5 over the first six races.
Scott McLaughlin round out the top five for Team Penske, 0.1725 seconds off his teammate Newgarden. McLaughlin has finished on the podium in the last three oval races and he has started on pole position in the last two oval races. A total of 391 of the 472 laps McLaughlin has led this season have come on ovals. That is 82.838%.
In his first appearance at the Milwaukee Mile, Marcus Armstrong made it three New Zealanders in the top six, and Armstrong was the fastest Chip Ganassi Racing car. He has been the best starting Ganassi driver in two of the last three races. There will be some extra work for Armstrong in race one, as he has a nine-spot grid penalty awaiting him fo an unapproved engine change.
Linus Lundqvist was the second-fastest Chip Ganassi Racing driver, seventh overall, and 0.0111 seconds off his teammate Armstrong. Lundqvist was also 0.2478 seconds off Newgarden's fastest lap, the final driver within a quarter second of the top spot. Lundqvist was third at Iowa, but his average finish on ovals this season is 16th, however, his finishing position has improved in each subsequent oval race.
David Malukas completed 69 laps in the practice session, and Malukas was 0.2682 seconds off the top. In 13 oval starts, Malukas has three top ten finishes and five top ten finishes. He has had at least two top ten finishes on ovals in each of his first two seasons. Portland last week was the first time Malukas has finished better than his starting position, going form 25h to 20th.
Álex Palou has his eyes set on possibly clinching his third championship this weekend, and the weekend started off in promising form with Palou ninth in practice, 0.289 seconds slower than Newgarden. Palou has four consecutive top five finishes with three races remaining. His longest top five finish streak is eight races, and he has had two eight-race top five streaks in his career.
Colton Herta rounded out the top ten in practice with Herta running 0.3107 seconds slower than Newgarden in the session. Colton's father Bryan Herta made ten starts at the Milwaukee Mile with his best finish being sixth. The only track where Bryan Herta made more starts in his IndyCar career was Michigan International Speedway. With fifth-place finishes in the last two oval races, this is the first season where Colton Herta has earned multiple top five finishes.
Will Power has a milestone weekend of his own as his 300th start falls in the middle of a tense championship fight for the Australian. Power was second in his 100th start at Sonoma in 2012, and he was third in his 200th start at Mid-Ohio in 2018. His 2014 Milwaukee victory came in his 137th start. Power has not won four races in a season since 2016.
A surprise 12th quickest was Jack Harvey in the #18 Honda for Dale Coyne Racing. Harvey was 0.3394 seconds off Newgarden in first. Harvey's best starting position this season was 16th in the Grand Prix of Indianapolis. His best finish was 13th at Barber Motorsports Park. Dale Coyne Racing has produced two top ten finishes in 22 Milwaukee appearances for the team. Harvey made two starts at Milwaukee in Indy Lights.
Santino Ferrucci was 13th in the practice session a week after Ferrucci won pole position for the Portland race. A.J. Foyt Racing has not won pole position in consecutive races since 1998 when Billy Boat won four consecutive pole positions to close out that season. However, Boat failed to finish better than ninth in any of those four races. A.J. Foyt Racing has not won a race from pole position since A.J. Foyt's 67th and final victory at Pocono on June 21, 1981.
Alexander Rossi could not do better than 14th in practice as Rossi looks to end a top ten finish drought that is three races long. Rossi had eight top ten finishes in the first ten races. He has failed to finish in the top ten since and missed Toronto due to a broken thumb. Despite his slump, Rossi has only lost one spot in the championship, dropping from eighth to ninth over this time.
Nolan Siegel's unexpected rookie season continues with him visiting Milwaukee, preparing for his fourth oval race of the season. Siegel went from 20th to seventh at Gateway, and he led eight laps in the process. He has yet to start in the top ten on an oval this season, and that will likely continue into Saturday's race. Siegel has a nine-spot for an unapproved engine chance in the #6 McLaren Chevrolet.
Kyle Kirkwood was a hair over a half-second slower than the fastest practice lap. Kirkwood was 0.5038 seconds off the top spot. Gateway two weeks ago was the first time he has started inside the top ten for an oval race in his IndyCar career. His career average starting position in oval races is 18.0714.
Rinus VeeKay enters Milwaukee with his top ten finish streak having just ended in Portland. The good news is VeeKay's streak ended only with an 11th-place finish. The Dutchman will have some work to do to get back into the top ten as he was 17th in practice, 0.5296 seconds off first but 0.2189 seconds outside the top ten.
Christian Rasmussen is in for Ed Carpenter in the #20 Chevrolet as Rasmussen will run the final three races. It was already going to be a trying weekend down in 18th after practice, but the Dane's session ended early after an accident in turn two. To add insult to injury, Rasmussen has a nine-spot grid penalty for an unapproved engine change.
Romain Grosjean took 19th in practice. In 15 oval starts in his career, Grosjean has only three top ten finishes, and all three of those results have come at Iowa Speedway. Despite Grosjean having finished outside the top fifteen in seven of the first 14 races, he has only failed to finish two races this season.
Sting Ray Robb rounded out the top twenty in practice, 0.7288 seconds slower than Newgarden in the session. Robb has an average finish of 15.25 in the four oval races this season. Part of that is boosted from a ninth at Gateway two weeks ago. He has completed all but three of 960 laps run on ovals this year.
Marcus Ericsson was stuck in 21st, 0.835 seconds from the top spot. Entering this season, Ericsson had 11 consecutive top ten finishes in oval races. This season, Ericsson has finished outside the top twenty in three of four oval races, and his average finish in ovals is 22.25. He has only led one lap through the first 14 races, lap 55 at Toronto.
Graham Rahal was the top Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing driver, but Rahal was the top RLLR driver in 22nd, 0.8847 seconds behind Newgarden. The three RLLR cars were all bunched together in the final practice results. Rahal was third in the 2015 Milwaukee race, IndyCar’s most recent visit to the circuit. He has not won at Milwaukee, just like his father Bobby, who in 18 starts had two runner-up finishes and only led 22 laps out of a possible 3,492 laps.
Pietro Fittipaldi was the next of the RLLR cars on the time sheet, and Fittipaldi was only 0.0344 seconds off Rahal. Like the Rahal family, the Fittipaldi family has never won at Milwaukee. Emerson Fittipaldi was runner-up in the 1994 race, and Christian Fittipaldi's best result was fourth. Pietro Fittipaldi will drop nine spots down from his qualifying result due to an unapproved engine change.
Christian Lundgaard was the slowest of the three RLLR cars, 24th overall, but Lundgaard had the three RLLR covered by 0.0365 seconds. Lundgaard has an average starting position of 22.785 on ovals with his best oval starting spot being 17th. Like his teammate Fittipaldi, Lundgaard will serve a nine-spot grid penalty, and that will likely not help his averages. This will be Lundgaard's 50th career start.
Conor Daly had the distinction of being the first driver more than a second slower than Newgarden. Daly was 1.0054 seconds slower in practice, putting him 25th in the session. Daly will also be the seventh driver to serve a nine-spot grid penalty for an unapproved engine change.
Kyffin Simpson could only run a lap at 24.1162 seconds in the practice session. Simpson has started outside the top twenty in six of the last seven races, which includes three oval events. After opening the season with four consecutive top twenty results, Simpson has three top twenty finishes in the last ten races, including 16th at Portland last week.
Katherine Legge was the slowest in the session, 1.2349 seconds from the top spot. Legge has finished two laps down and five laps down in her first two Milwaukee appearances. Legge has not finished on the lead lap in 18 consecutive starts. Her most recent lead lap finish was at TT Circuit Assen in the Netherlands on September 2, 2007 when she completed all 69 laps and finished 12th driving for Dale Coyne Racing.
Qualifying for the first race of the HyVee 250s will be at 2:15 p.m. ET. Peacock's coverage of the first HyVee 250 will be at 5:40 p.m. ET with green flag scheduled for 6:00 p.m. ET. The race is scheduled for 250 laps.
