West Allis, WI – The famous Milwaukee Mile – the oldest active race track in the world, hosting auto racing since it started as a dirt track in 1903 – held a doubleheader for the NTT INDYCAR series. The 16th and 17th rounds of the season were swept by Pato O’Ward, while the 2026 Driver’s Championship was clinched by Alex Palou and the Manufacturer’s Championship was secured by Honda ahead of the finale in Monterey, CA.
The SNAP-ON Makers and Fixers 250
O’Ward won the first race of the weekend (which finished after race two), leading David Malukas by 1.7535 seconds. Rinus VeeKay finished third, followed by Scott McLaughlin and Christian Rasmussen.
“I’ve dreamt of weekends like this,” said O’Ward, matching Rick Mears, who was the last driver to win two races on the same weekend. “I’ve only had a doubleheader a couple times in my career. I’ve wanted to win both in a weekend and we were able to win both in a day. We wanted to get back to our oval form. David (Malukas) was on fire. He was so quick and good in traffic. I was just going to have to wait for something to happen (to get by him). I had an issue in Race Two (lost pace). Maybe he had the same issue. I’m writing my own story. I don’t know what is in store for my INDYCAR career. I’m a hungry competitor. I’ve scored three podiums this season and they are all wins.”
O’Ward struggled to pass Malukas and patiently bided his time. The Milwaukee Mile track is 70 feet wide and considered a flat track, with nine degrees of banking in the turns, allowing drivers to run the low, middle or high line. Often, drivers cannot get their car to handle in all three lanes. Malukas could, but an engine issue, such as an overboost, may have allowed O’Ward to pass him.
“I am so frustrated,” revealed Malukas, having led 93 laps before finishing second for the fourth time this season, including the 110th running of the Indianapolis 500 by the closest loss in its history. “We had the car and everything right. I must be cursed. Everything was in my favour, the car, engine, and pit stops. We just lost power in the first race and then this race.”
VeeKay was exciting to watch as he aggressively carved his way through the field from his 19th starting position to finish third.
“I’m excited and happy to get a podium,” described VeeKay, who will likely return to Juncos Hollinger Racing next season. “I was attacking and moving forward. The team has worked very hard and has improved a lot this year. The second half of the season, we’ve moved up towards the front on every type of track. I wasn’t going to finish fourth again. Other cars were racing with similar pace as me. It was a matter of staying calm and knowing what to do. I relied on my experience from 125 races and I’m only 25.”
Race One started under cloudy skies, only to be red flagged on Lap 90, at 3:20 p.m. on Saturday, due to rain. Race Control predetermined that Race One could go the full distance until 7:30 p.m. The winner could be declared if the leader reached just past the halfway point, 126 laps. Attempts were made to dry the track for the next four hours but moisture soaked through the old pavement, creating weepers along with the loss of daylight.
Because Race One was moved to resume after Race Two, cars were impounded, tires on the car were documented and to be used when Race One resumed, and the fuel was measured and removed so it could be added back. Teams could make adjustments to the car, such as changing the set-up and even an engine.
When Race One resumed at 5:00 p.m. local time on Sunday, the top-five were O’Ward, Felix Rosenqvist, Alexander Rossi, Josef Newgarden and Christian Lundgaard. Palou was in 14th-place and Kyle Kirkwood was seventh. There were four cautions lasting a total of 70 laps.
Qualifying for a doubleheader meant that drivers made their runs based on the order of their points in the championship fight. The last driver to qualify was the points leader, Palou, allowing him to observe everyone else’s run of two timed laps. The first lap decided the grid order for Saturday’s race and the second lap decided the grid order for Sunday’s event.
McLaughlin set the fastest lap for Saturday’s race, with a speed of 165.536 mph (22.0738 seconds) on the 1.015-mile course. Palou set the fastest lap time for Sunday’s race, with a speed of 164.658 mph (22.1915 seconds). But because of unapproved engine changes – drivers that exceeded the four allotted engines that mileage out at 2,500 miles for the 18-race season – each received a nine-spot grid penalty (in addition to McLaughlin and Palou, the other drivers were Malukas, VeeKay and Sting Ray Robb).
Entering the first of two Milwaukee races, Kirkwood was one of three drivers who had a mathematical chance of catching Palou for the title. But coming off his dominant win at the Freedom 250 Grand Prix in Washington D.C. last weekend, where he shrunk the gap to Palou to only 91 points, Kirkwood made contact entering Turn 3 with an overtaking Rasmussen in the first and only practice session, held Friday afternoon. Both teams worked late into the night to repair their cars.
The drivers had no track time before contesting the two-lap timed qualifying session on Saturday morning. Kirkwood, noticeably angry after his qualifying run, had handling issues with his repaired car and qualified 22nd out of 25 cars for the first race and 24th for the second race.
The consequence of that accident and his race results dropped Kirkwood (505 points after both races) from second in the title fight to third, replaced by Lundgaard (507 points). O’Ward ranked fourth, with 503 points, having won both races, and Malukas dropped to fifth. Palou heads into the final race of the season with an untouchable 100-point lead, at 607 points; more on him clinching the title further below.
SNAP-ON Milwaukee Mile 250
O’Ward won the second race of the Milwaukee Mile doubleheader on Sunday, held early afternoon. The Mexican held off McLaughlin by a gap of 0.7916 seconds, followed by Lundgaard, Malukas and Palou.
“We fought really hard for that one,” said O’Ward, who led 55 laps, earning his second victory of the season (won at Mid-Ohio) in the first race to finish this weekend. “I was just fighting hard, determined. I knew what I needed from the car this weekend and put myself in a position to win. I was definitely on the edge. It took me a while to find a rhythm. I went forward, fell backwards, and then forwards again. Good thing we stayed there. It shows the hunger we have to turn these ovals around this season.
“I’ve never been in this position before,” revealed O’Ward. “We just won a race while leading another one (the unfinished Race One). Hopefully, the rain stays away and we’ll try to get it in. The temperature was hotter today. We need to make the car better to finish the first race.”
McLaughlin was the highest-finishing Team Penske driver. Teammate Malukas finished fourth, but Newgarden spun entering Turn 4, on Lap 142, and made contact with the wall to finish 25th.
“A great team effort and pit stops,” stated McLaughlin, who led 28 laps. “We made a lot of changes overnight. I was wrecking loose to start and nearly spun at turn three. The car was a lot better as the race went on, which is good for Race One tonight. I was definitely better in traffic. I was just a bit frustrated with lapped traffic because guys three laps down race you to the death. What goes around comes around because we have plenty of memories. It’s going to be fun the next time I get a lap down.”
Lundgaard has won two races for Arrow McLaren this season (Indianapolis road course and Road America) and ranked third in the points, but his team chose not to renew his contract because he’s not strong on ovals and their goal is to win the Indianapolis 500. Rumours indicate he will replace Scott Dixon at Chip Ganassi Racing. Ganassi suggested strengthening a driver’s oval ability was related to having a good race car. Finishing third shows he has greatly improved.
“The team earned a first and a third,” described Lundgaard, who captured his first ever podium on an oval. “We have to do it again today. We’ll make changes for the later race. We are better today than yesterday. I struggled less than everyone else. It was tough to find clean air. Our car came alive in the race. I had to take care of the tires because this was a degradation race.”
The podium drivers could not drink champagne because they had to resume Race One, nor did they follow the Milwaukee tradition of smashing a crème puff in their competitors face.
This 250-lap race had three cautions totaling 37 laps. Most drivers made five pit stops, changing to fresh tires about every 40-50 laps, even though the fuel would’ve carried them about 10-15 laps farther. There were a record 333 passes.
Palou started on pole and finished fifth after leading the most laps, with 115.
“We were going for the win today but didn’t really have enough pace,” explained Palou. “We battled with the leaders and I felt good at the beginning. My car fell off at the end. We still have a good opportunity tonight to get that championship. We know it’s going to be tough, but we’re going to try and fix the car a little bit and see if we can make it faster.”
There have been seven different winners in the first 16 races of the highly-competitive INDYCAR season. Palou won six races. Newgarden, Kirkwood, Lundgaard and O’Ward have won two each. Felix Rosenqvist and Marcus Ericsson have one win. O’Ward added another victory in the conclusion of Race One.
Alex Palou Crowned the 2026 Champion
After the doubleheader, Palou earned his fifth title in six seasons. Four of those titles were consecutive, giving Chip Ganassi Racing their 18th title to surpass Team Penske.
“It’s incredible,” said Palou, struggling for words. “I don’t know what to say. I owe everything to this team, Chip, and my sponsors. I’m so proud of this team. Today was a pretty bad race for us (finished 5th in Race Two and 10th in Race One, dealing with handling issues). I was suffering. Great to have another championship. I’m very excited for next weekend (Laguna Seca), which is my favourite track of the year. Everything I owe to this team. They give me the opportunity to be a race winner and now a five-time champion. I’m having more fun each day. It’s an absolute joy.”
The INDYCAR season concludes at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, in Monterey, CA, next Sunday, September 6.
Discussion about this post