West Allis, WI – The third- and second-to-last races of the IndyCar season took place at the Milwaukee Mile, where Pato O’Ward and Scott McLaughlin recorded victories. Here’s a recap of the weekend’s action.
Race One
The NTT INDYCAR Series returned to the Milwaukee Mile, the oldest continuously operated motor speedway in the world (since 1903). Located on the Wisconsin State Fair grounds in West Allis, WI, the track is a 1.015-mile oval, described as flat (nine degrees of banking) and having a low grip surface. The 27-car field was challenged to a doubleheader, a Saturday early evening and Sunday afternoon race.
Many of the greatest drivers in open wheel history have found their way to Milwaukee’s victory lane, including Rodger Ward, Parnelli Jones, A.J. Foyt, Mario Andretti, Al Unser, Bobby Unser, Rick Mears, Johnny Rutherford, Michael Andretti, Al Unser Jr., and Canada’s Greg Moore (the 1997 winner).
Team Penske captured both poles, with Scott McLaughlin’s winning speed of 162.341 mph (22.508 seconds) for Saturday’s race and Josef Newgarden’s winning speed of 160.983 mph (22.698 seconds) on Sunday.
But it was Pato O’Ward who held off Will Power for the victory by 1.8215 seconds in race one, having led 133 laps of the 250-lap race. Conor Daly had the drive of his life, having started 25th to finish third. There were seven lead changes among five drivers and three cautions for a total of 38 laps.
“We got another win,” exclaimed O’Ward, earning his third victory of the season (St. Peterburg and Mid-Ohio) for Arrow McLaren. “The car was fantastic. It was getting a little wobbly there at the end but glad I could bring it home. The car came to life in the second stint as the track was cooling a lot. With the changing conditions the balance changed. The quick cars devolved.
“This was a super bounce back after the Portland race,” he continued. “This year has been really tough. I’ve been asking what we’ve been missing. I feel I needed something to fight with. We put it together with great pit stops and strategy.”
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Power reduced the gap to Alex Palou (who finished fifth) in the title fight, from 54 to 43 points.
“It was very difficult to pass but not impossible,” explained Power. “The car was all over the place with the adjustments as you go through the run. The car changed so much and even from run to run it was different. Tire degradation was big. You either do a big under cut to make track position, which we lost out in the first stint, or do what we did there and hopefully catch a yellow.
“One more position was all we needed but Pato (O’Ward) was really strong and got through the traffic really well,” he continued. “Alex (Palou) is forever consistent, so it’s hard to drop that points gap. We are doing everything we need to with great strategy. We’ll keep digging until the end.”
Power also congratulated Daly for finishing third, stating that “it shows it doesn’t matter where you qualify.”
Daly made 51 on track passes, having started 25th due to a nine-grid-position penalty for an unapproved engine change (four engines for the 17-race season are required to reach 2,500 miles each).
“It felt amazing to be on the podium,” said Daly. “I appreciate Ricardo (Juncos) and Brad (Hollinger) for giving me a chance. We had a lot of bad luck the first few times together. The team gave me the car today to do it. Obviously, the (engine) penalty was tough. I used to watch Tomas Scheckter back in the day and there was no space on track he wouldn’t use. I decided to just go where there was an open space. That seemed to work and I just kept moving forward.
“My goal has been to be on the podium in this series,” he continued. “I just love racing in INDYCAR. I know I can run up front. I can’t be more proud of what we accomplished tonight.”
Daly’s result was called the million dollar drive, as full-time teams compete to rank in the top 22 positions to earn the Leader’s Circle US $1 million (per team) funding, based on entrant points. His podium finish elevated Juncos Hollinger Racing out of the danger zone and up from 25th, with the additional 35 points.
The title fight becomes much clearer as Palou still leads with 514 points over Power’s 471. Colton Herta remains third, with 426 points, after being penalized for losing a tire during his third pit stop (finished four laps down in 22nd place).
Race Two
One big question when the NTT INDYCAR series returned to the Milwaukee Mile, after a nine-year absence, was whether the people would return as well. The answer was yes. The second race of the doubleheader, on Sunday afternoon, offered those fans all kinds of drama and great side-by-side racing.
Even before the green flag, on the third pace lap, the drama began as points leader Alex Palou stalled near pit out. There was “No Start” called by officials, but not all drivers realized it.
Pole winner Josef Newgarden led the 27-car field and then backed off at the start-finish line, but Linus Lundqvist (lined up in fifth) hit his Ganassi teammate Marcus Armstrong (lined up in third), punting Armstrong to the right and into the back of Newgarden on the front straightaway. Power, starting fourth, avoided the incident from the higher outside lane, protecting his championship hopes.
The race finally went green on Lap 16, as the initial laps, under caution, counted towards the 250-lap distance. Scott McLaughlin led Power, Lundqvist, Alexander Rossi and Pato O’Ward through the first lap, while Newgarden and Armstrong were too damaged to continue. Palou’s car was pulled behind the wall, where his team frantically tried to diagnose the problem that caused dire consequences in his quest for a third title.
As the race evolved, there were seven different leaders. Drivers were allotted nine sets of tires for the entire weekend – Friday’s practice, Saturday’s qualifying, and both races. Some drivers only had three new sets of tires left for Sunday’s race, which affected pit strategy. Meanwhile, the temperature change from Saturday evening to Sunday afternoon caught some teams falling behind on set-up adjustments.
There were six cautions for a total of 57 laps; three cars stopped on track due to mechanical issues and three cautions for contact. The final 12 laps came down to a fight for the win between three drivers; McLaughlin crossed the finish line 0.4558 seconds ahead of Scott Dixon, closely followed by Colton Herta.
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“That was the most fun race I have had in INDYCAR,” exclaimed McLaughlin, who led 85 laps and earned his second oval win for Team Penske. “So happy for everyone on the Gallagher Chevy because we just stuck with it. The car wasn’t quite as good at the start, but we trimmed it up and it was awesome. My car was a lot better with traffic today. Our car wasn’t good last night. I did a terrible job yesterday. We really worked hard on it and I had about four and a half hours of sleep last night because I was so stressed about it, what I did wrong, and what I could do better. Credit to Colton (Herta) and all the guys we raced with. It was a blast.”
fight on the podium. The cream puffs are famous at the Milwaukee Mile. CREDIT: Chevy
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Dixon tried to catch McLaughlin but lacked a little pace, earning his 142nd podium with the runner-up finish, a new record.
“It was definitely a rough start to our weekend,” said Dixon. “Practice was full of highs and lows. Qualifying was a mess. It was nice to roll from 17th (on the grid) and get up to second. We changed everything but the kitchen sink last night after yesterday’s car. The car was definitely good on long runs and fast.
“There was never a lap that you were relaxing,” he continued. “It was just flat out the whole time. In the race, you have these peaks, everything is going well. Then you might run on top of somebody or get high, they come by, and you’re kind of in the crap again. Just got into a traffic sequence where I couldn’t really run on the bottom. I couldn’t understand why everybody else could. As soon as I did, I had loads of understeer. That kind of sums up Milwaukee. I love it just because it is so difficult.”
Herta, driving for Andretti Global, led 43 laps and, like most drivers, pitted five times.
“I knew that the way we ran our strategy, we were going to get on the podium today,” said a confident Herta. “We made a really fast race car. The guys did an incredible job in the pits. That’s all I can ask for as a driver. I had a lot of fun, and I’m really happy about going from 18th to third.”
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It looked like Power might leave Milwaukee leading the championship, capitalizing on Palou’s ill fortune, until he spun entering Turn 4 on the Lap 131 restart. He finished 10th, earning 21 points.
“It caught me by surprise,” revealed Power, about the spin, where he lightly tapped the wall with his front wing. “I was just happy to keep it off the wall. I lost a lap replacing the front wing. Maybe it would have been better to stay out as it is now a long shot, 33 points, to catch Palou.
“I saw Palou’s situation and it was looking pretty good,” continued Power. “As per usual, something else happens! It’s never straightforward. We were trying to win it. That’s racing.”
Missing the start of the race and resuming 28 laps down, Palou finished 19th, earning 11 points.
“We’re a bit sad and disappointed,” stated Palou. “We had no power. Then we thought we had it fixed, but it stopped again. The problem we had was not in my control, or the team’s or Honda’s. We changed the battery and then we could get back out. Once we got going, we were happier. We were getting points, one more point, then one more point (as cars fell out). Not a great day, but could’ve been a lot worse.”
With a maximum of 54 points still possible, the battle goes down to the September 15 finale on the Nashville Superspeedway oval, where the championship, the Astor Cup trophy, and the US $1 million prize will be decided. Leaving Milwaukee, the top five in points are Palou (525 points), Power (492), McLaughlin (475), Herta (462), and Dixon (443).
