The 15th and 16th races of the NTT IndyCar season saw the drivers take on the 1.015-mile oval in West Allis, Wisconsin called the Milwaukee Mile for the first time since 2015! Championship leader Alex Palou came into the weekend 54 points up on Team Penske’s Will Power and looking to secure his third championship in four years.

Race 1 saw Penske’s Scott McLaughlin and Meyer Shank Racing’s David Malukas start on the front row of the 250 lap race. Palou started all the way back in 12th and had his work cut out for him. Like many races this season, this race saw teams split into two strategies, a three stop and a four-stop strategy.

Pato O’Ward Wins Race 1 With Some Good Strategy and a Little Luck

Starting the race in sixth place and having never run at the Milwaukee Mile, O’Ward had his work cut out for him if he wanted to clinch his third win of the season. From the drop of the green flag, O’Ward was aggressive and stayed consistent all day, rarely falling below fifth place outside of green flag pit stops.

Late in the race, O’Ward took his final pitstop and not two laps later, the caution came out for Colton Herta. Herta’s left front wheel came off after the tire changer failed to secure the lug nut. This caution led to much confusion from both the race officials and the announcers as to who would end up where, causing the field to complete several laps under caution. Once race control got the order correct, O’Ward took over the lead with less than 50 laps to go.

Although the racing was intense in the last 50 laps, O’Ward only had to fend off one strong push by Will Power when he caught some lap traffic. O’Ward, who has already been mathematically eliminated from title contention, joins the aforementioned Power as three time winners on the season having won at Mid-Ohio and St. Petersburg earlier in the season.

Will Power’s 7th Podium Keeps Title Hopes Alive

Power comes into this weekend on a hot streak after winning at Portland last weekend. Starting in fifth, Power just needed a consistent run (and maybe some back luck by Alex Palou) to tighten up the title race going into Race 2 tomorrow. 

Keeping his nose clean most of the race, he was one of the beneficiaries of the Herta caution. Getting essentially a “free” pitstop, he came out third, four spots up on Palou. The final restart was hectic as both Power and Palou aggressively attempted to make their way through the field.

Power mustered up enough speed to challenge O’Ward for the race lead just once after the final restart, but could not get around O’Ward and settled in for a second place finish. After capturing his seventh podium of the season, Power still sits 43 points back in the championship hunt. A great run tomorrow in Race 2 could make the series finale at Nashville a lot tighter. 

Alex Palou’s Consistency Puts Him One Step Closer to Third Title in Four Years

Alex Palou entered the day with a comfortable points lead after having consistent runs the past few weekends. A runner-up finish at Portland last weekend kept Power from cutting too much into the lead that he has built up throughout the season.

Starting all the way back in 12th in his first race at the Milwaukee Mile, Palou needed to make up some spots quickly. Power rolled off the grid seven spots ahead of him and was looking to cut into Palou’s championship lead as much as possible. 

Palou showed throughout the race that he was going to be aggressive but not careless as he was trying to preserve his lead for the championship. Palou put down consistent laps, and found himself in third prior to the last caution. Unfortunately, he would get caught on pit road when the Herta caution came out, forcing him to restart seventh. He would battle hard off the last restart and finish fifth after failing to pass Santino Ferrucci in the closing laps. 

Storylines Going Forward:

• Colton Herta’s bad day likely takes him out of title hunt. Herta would likely want to put the Race 1 at the Milwaukee Mile in the rear view mirror. After starting the race strong and looking like he had the speed to compete for a top five, disaster would strike. All his hard work was undone after his left front tire changer failed to get the lug nut on the car, causing the wheel to fall off and bringing out the caution. He would finish outside the top 20, multiple laps down.
• Josef Newgarden’s up and down season continues after wrecking out of Race 1. Newgarden was a bit of an afterthought compared to his Penske teammates throughout the race. Starting just ahead of Palou on the grid, he was steadily making up ground throughout the race. Unfortunately, he and Marcus Ericsson collided going into turn one, wrecking both cars. As one would expect, both drivers placed the blame on the other, with Newgarden stating Ericsson came up the track and Ericsson stating that Newgarden came down on him. 
• Conor Daly finishes third in a surprise podium performance. All the excitement of the first several laps centered around Daly and his impressive drive up to the front. Passing cars on the outside of turns before the marbles settled into the turns, Daly managed to move up 12 spots by lap five and kept the strong run all day to bring home a solid third place finish.