The NTT IndyCar Series tackled the historic Milwaukee Mile on Sunday, with 250 laps deciding who would walk away with a special tool-themed trophy at the end of the day.

Christian Lundgaard stormed to his first IndyCar victory, taking advantage of fresh tires in the final laps to fly past five cars to take the top spot. It was Ed Carpenter Racing’s first win since 2021.

Alex Palou led the most laps, but ended the day second after Rasmussen slid past. McLaughlin similarly was hampered by old tires, and rounded out the podium in third.

READ MORE: IndyCar Milwaukee – Full Race Report

There were a high number of cautions and high number of pit stops, as drivers looked to change to fresh tires nearly every 50 laps.

Unfortunately, the cautions came with disappointment as Callum Ilott, Will Power, and Nolan Siegel all failed to see the checkered flag.

Only one more race left on the 2025 IndyCar calendar, with a tilt around the Nashville Superspeedway coming up next weekend.

The post IndyCar Milwaukee – Race Results appeared first on Motorsport Week.

The penultimate round of the 2025 IndyCar season took place on Sunday, with drivers completing 250 laps around the iconic Milwaukee Mile.

Low banking and wide, sweeping turns produced side by side racing for much of the event, thrilling the fans that packed the fairground grandstands.

The end of the race was particularly thrilling, as three of the front running drivers chose not to take new tires while the rest of the field did.

READ MORE: IndyCar Milwaukee – Full Race Results

Christian Rasmussen positively rocketed through the field on his new tires, climbing from sixth up to second in a matter of a few laps.

His rush did not stop there, as he disposed of the leader Alex Palou in a similarly quick method. Rasmussen’s final pass was clean and neat on the outside, and allowed him to quickly build a gap.

In the final 15 laps, Rasmussen built up over a one second lead and took home his first ever IndyCar victory in style.

The Danish driver is wrapping up his first full season, having raced the road courses for a majority of last season, and secured Ed Carpenter Racing’s first win since 2021 in the process.

Palou led 195 laps, but was content to cross the line in second. He noted that it was one of his best oval performances, and had no external factors helping propel him to the front.

Finishing in third was Scott McLaughlin, who hung around near the front and was also undone by a decision to not pit on the final yellow flag period.

Rasmussen’s ECR team-mate Alexander Rossi was fourth, and Pato O’Ward finished fifth after starting on the second row.

Colton Herta climbed right through the field with an impressive performance. He was 11 positions ahead in just the first 20 laps, and ended up gaining 13 positions total.

After starting down the order due to a spin in qualifying, Herta finished in 11th.

Pit stops and strategy

There were ample amounts of pit stops during the afternoon, with tire wear the deciding factor for how long drivers could stay on track.

Instead of running a full fuel cycle, drivers largely chose to pit after only 50 laps or so to take on new Firestone tires.

The difference in speed with fresh rubber was massive, and when a couple teams attempted to extend their stints their drivers were immediately three to four miles per hour off the pace.

The winning strategy was to pit as often as possible, with the top teams stacking six sets of fresh tires in their pit boxes before the event began.

One of those pits stops proved to be David Malukas’ undoing, however, as his AJ Foyt crew struggled to get the right front wheel tightened.

Malukas had been battling for the lead in the early portion of the event and looked to have the best chance to unseat Palou at the top of the order.

But after the slow stop put him a lap down, he was caught in traffic and could not quite make it back to the front.

Malukas worked his way up to eighth, but rued what could have been if his pit stops had gone as cleanly as Palou’s.

Incidents galore

There were plenty of cautions to help facilitate pit stops, although some came too early to allow teams to fit new tires.

On the second lap of the event, Nolan Siegel touched the inside curb and spun hard into the outside barriers. His day was done before it even got started.

Graham Rahal spun on the ensuing restart and brought out a second caution, but he was able to keep his car out of the wall and continued only having lost a few positions.

During the second round of pit stops near lap 100, Will Power was pushed into the upper lane while battling with Kyffin Simpson.

His #12 Team Penske Chevy touched the wall, which broke the toe link. He could no longer keep control of his car with the damage, and spun across the track to bring out another caution.

There was another caution just past halfway when Callum Ilott’s engine expired on track, forcing him to retire in his pit box amid a cloud of smoke.

Race control used the break to inspect the mile long track for oil, but none was found and the action was restarted shortly after.

There was one final caution on lap 208 when a tiny rain shower dropped sprinkles over the speedway. The rain moved out immediately, and there were only a few laps under yellow before drivers were released again.

The impacts of the final stoppage were many, however, as it allowed Rasmussen to fit a fresh set to tires and fly to his first career win.

There is just one race left on the 2025 IndyCar calendar, and the paddock will reform next weekend in Nashville for the finale.

The post Christian Rasmussen storms to maiden IndyCar victory at the Milwaukee Mile appeared first on Motorsport Week.

All 27 drivers of the NTT IndyCar Series buckled in and completed two of the fastest laps they could muster around the Milwaukee Mile Saturday afternoon, setting the grid for Sunday’s race.

Continuing his hot streak, Alex Palou earned pole by completing his laps in 44.8422 seconds, which gave him an average speed of 162.971 MPH. His laps were nearly three quarters of a MPH faster than any other driver, once again showing the field how talented he is.

David Malukas was second quick, followed by Pato O’Ward and Scott McLaughlin who filled out the second row on the grid.

READ MORE: IndyCar Milwaukee – Full Qualifying Report

Colton Herta saved an oversteer moment on his first lap and kept his #26 Honda from damage, but his run was still ruined. Felix Rosenqvist was not so lucky, and backed his #60 MSR entry into the barriers before he could complete his run.

Kyffin Simpson, Scott Dixon, and Louis Foster all were given grid penalties for excessive engine changes, and each will drop nine positions down the order for race time.

Drivers have a final practice yet to complete, then will jump straight into the 250-lap race on Sunday at 1:00 central time.

The post IndyCar Milwaukee – Qualifying Results appeared first on Motorsport Week.

Saturday afternoon at the Milwaukee Mile was set aside for IndyCar qualifying, with drivers completing two solo laps in order to set the grid for Sunday’s race.

Drivers generally improved as the session went out, with later laps having the benefit of more rubber built up on the concrete surface.

When the line of cars on pit lane was emptied, however, it was the inevitable Alex Palou that had the fastest time of the afternoon.

READ MORE: IndyCar Milwaukee – Full Qualifying Results

Palou’s two laps were completed in 44.8422 seconds, which gave him an average speed of 162.971 MPH. His laps were nearly three quarters of a MPH faster than any other driver.

David Malukas had a good chance at earning his first career IndyCar pole, and was in the provisional top spot for most of the final portion of the event.

He was seen getting his hopes up as his time stood up, but then disappointment hit when Palou, who was the final qualifier, knocked him out of the top position.

Pato O’Ward also had a good set of laps and earned the third grid position, just ahead of Scott McLaughlin in fourth.

The other members of Team Penske had solid runs as well, with Will Power qualifying sixth and Josef Newgarden setting the eighth best time.

Grid penalties and disappointment

Three drivers were assessed grid penalties ahead of qualifying, with all three entries needing an engine change which pushed them over the number allowed.

Kyffin Simpson and Scott Dixon each lost an engine at the team’s test at Milwaukee last week, and Louis Foster’s engine failed at the beginning of practice earlier in the day.

All three were Honda engines, and the most consequential was the penalty for Dixon.

The veteran qualified with the fifth best time, but he will roll away from the 14th position.

Simpson and Foster were well down the order, and will take up the final two positions on the grid on Sunday.

Colton Herta was simultaneously extremely unlucky and lucky, and the Californian’s skills saved his Andretti crew from having to rebuild the #26.

The rear of his car stepped out on his first flying lap, but quick hands and deft throttle control allowed him to control his car while in an extreme slide. He remarkably brought the car to rest without touching any walls at all.

Herta’s time was obviously way off the pace, and he will start Sunday’s event from the rear of the field.

Felix Rosenqvist also had a sudden case of oversteer, but he was not able to save his car from taking damage.

His #60 MSR Honda slid into the Turn 4 wall and impacted it squarely with the rear attenuator, damaging his rear wing and suspension in the process.

With the grid set, drivers will hit the track in anger on Sunday afternoon at 1:00 PM central time for 250 laps around the flat oval.

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The NTT IndyCar Series has announced three grid penalties for this weekend’s event at the Milwaukee Mile.

Two entries from Chip Ganassi Racing are affected, with Kyffin Simpson in the #8 car and Scott Dixon in the #9 car both taking new engines ahead of the weekend.

Both drivers reportedly had an engine expire during the team’s test session at Milwaukee last week, leading to the penalties this weekend.

The engines push both entries over the prescribed yearly limit, meaning each will have to slide down the order before the race begins.

The third driver to incur a penalty was rookie Louis Foster, whose #45 entry developed a problem at the very beginning of practice.

Foster did not turn any laps whatsoever, and his Rahal Letterman Lanigan crew began work to fit a new Honda power plant to his car as well.

All three drivers will receive a nine-place grid penalty, which is the standard for oval events.

If one of the three happens to qualify fastest, he will still earn pole but will have to start the race from further down the order.

Qualifying takes place at 1:00 PM central time, with the 250-lap race taking place at the same time on Sunday afternoon.

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The NTT IndyCar Series took to the historic Milwaukee Mile on Saturday morning, sampling the track and getting in a solid hour of practice.

Perhaps making a break in his run of poor results, Josef Newgarden set the fastest lap of the morning.

His fast lap was run in 22.6864 seconds, leading to an average speed of 161.066 MPH on the flat oval.

Team Penske overall looked dialed in, with all three drivers posting laps in the top eight of the time sheets.

The series’ newest four time champion Alex Palou was second quick, with Conor Daly setting the third best time.

Drivers were a little cautious during their practice runs, making sure they did not damage their cars ahead of qualifying.

There is only two hours between practice and qualifying, meaning any repair work would have potentially led to sitting out of qualifying altogether.

A few drivers had moments of oversteer as they pushed the limits a bit, but overall there were no incidents to speak of.

The only interruption was for track inspection, with series officials making sure that there was no moisture seeping through the track.

The Milwaukee area had flooding rains just two weeks ago, but it appears that the track remains safe to race on this weekend.

Louis Foster did not complete any competitive laps at all, and the team quickly diagnosed that a new Honda engine was needed.

His RLL team began work on the rear of the #45 entry, and Foster will take a grid penalty taking a fresh power plant.

Qualifying takes place at 1:00 PM central time, when two timed laps will set the order for Sunday’s race.

The post Josef Newgarden tops the timesheets for Milwaukee’s opening practice appeared first on Motorsport Week.

After being away from The Milwaukee Mile for nearly a decade, nobody was quite sure how good the racing product would be IndyCar returned to the track this past weekend.

Most of the opinions expressed by drivers ahead of the races contained at least some concern that passing could be difficult and the end result might be single file running similar to Iowa earlier in the year.

But once the green flags flew, those concerns were quickly dashed. There were multiple racing lines that were available throughout the weekend, and the two races produced 667 and 763 on track passes respectively.

The relatively flat banking and wide track area produced side by side racing at all points in the races, and fans received a healthy dose of entertainment for their admission price.

Drivers related similar thoughts to the fans that watched on, saying it was one of the most fun racing weekend they had experienced in some time.

“It was so cool,” said Scott McLaughlin after the second race. “Like being in Supercars again. You’re just banging doors. This place is nice because you haven’t got much banking. It’s like a big road course. It was fun.

“Yeah, the track was really fun to drive. Slick in places, but once you sort of got your head around it, it was really, really cool. Super fun, man. Super fun.

“The test day was hard, difficult to pass and whatnot, no deg. This weekend was really good. I probably would say it was better than we all thought.”

The quality of racing on ovals can heavily depend on IndyCar’s aero and tire packages, with the series often tweaking parameters between each visit to particular track in order to try to get the best racing possible.

A majority of drivers had a test in Milwaukee earlier in the season, and the early indications were not good.

But the changes to the package made before the actual race weekend, combined with the decision by the series to have an alternate line practice session and to sweep the rubber marbles off the track throughout the race, helped immensely.

“Yeah, it was a lot of fun,” related Colton Herta. “It was tough to get the balance right. I think that’s why you saw so many passes.

“A lot of different lanes opened up, just like yesterday. Traffic was tough to get around, so it gave opportunities if you were passing for position for the guy in front of you or behind you. The restarts were a lot of fun also.

“When you had the turbulent air, it really upset the cars. It was tough to choose the right line through the corners and not get hurt by that. It was a lot of fun to race in for both the races.”

There were also concerns that there would be a lot of empty seats in the grandstands, especially considering the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and ARCA Menard’s Series competed on the track the weekend before IndyCar.

Fans nearly filled the stands on the main straight, however, and estimates put the weekend attendance totals at nearly 40,000.

With full stands, happy race fans, good racing, and multiple storylines around the championship battle, it is hard to call IndyCar’s return to The Milwaukee Mile anything but a success.

“Yeah, it was pretty good,” echoed Will Power. “There was a lot of passing, back and forth. I thought the crowd was really good, too. Sounded awesome once you got out of the car, the cheer of the crowd.

“I think it was a very successful return. A lot of fun in the race.”

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Sunday’s IndyCar race from The Milwaukee Mile, the second race in as many days, allowed one of IndyCar’s all-time greats to secure another impressive record to his name.

Scott Dixon, who is affectionately known as The Iceman, finished in second place and claimed the 142nd podium result of his 24-plus year long career.

The astonishing number moves him ahead of another all-time great Mario Andretti, giving him the most podium finishes of any driver in series history.

As with other achievements that Dixon has earned over his career, the 44-year-old was humble while learning about his achievement.

“Yeah, it’s cool,” said Dixon when informed of his new record. “Obviously Mario, I’m a massive fan of Mario. He’s a huge part of our series. Again, I keep saying it, but it’s so cool that him and A.J. [Foyt] and many others, whether it’s Rick [Mears], come to a lot of our races.

“Obviously Mario raced in a lot of different categories, as well, and achieved many great things. Just to be mentioned with any of those guys is very special.”

Dixon’s podium on Sunday was his fifth of the season, allowing him to close up and take the record for himself as quickly as he has done throughout his career.

Among the various impressive records that are listed in Dixon’s name is the one that notes he has won at least one IndyCar race for 20 consecutive years and counting.

The veteran has been asked many times over recent years if he plans to retire soon, but his answer is never definitive and he continues to keep racing at the highest of levels.

As long as he keeps performing at the top of his game, he continues to see no need do anything other than keep racking up more and more records.

The post Dixon humble as he claims all-time IndyCar podium record appeared first on Motorsport Week.

The NTT IndyCar Series raced for the second time in as many days on Sunday afternoon, completing a second full race distance around The Milwaukee Mile.

Scott McLaughlin put his mark on the weekend by laying down impressive laps on his way to victory. He was able to drive high, low, and anywhere in between on his way to the top step of the podium.

Scott Dixon and Colton Herta rounded out the podium, with each having their own strong performing cars, but not quite good enough to take the win for themselves.

READ MORE: IndyCar Milwaukee – Full Race 2 Report

There were major title implications in the penultimate race, as the championship leader pulled to the side of the track and stopped with electrical issues before the race even began.

Will Power had his own troubles, but still gained a bit of ground and now sits 33 points adrift of the reigning champion heading into the final race of the season at Nashville Superspeedway.

There is only one race left in the 2024 IndyCar season, and the paddock will reconvene one more time at the Nashville Superspeedway in two weeks to decide who this year’s champion will be.

The post IndyCar Milwaukee – Race 2 Results appeared first on Motorsport Week.

Drivers of the NTT IndyCar Series tackled the historic Milwaukee Mile for the second consecutive day, with a bevy of action filling the 250 lap event.

When the chaos calmed down enough to allow the race to reach its conclusion, it was Scott McLaughlin that emerged as the winner.

McLaughlin earned his third victory of the season with his strong run around the 1.015-mile oval, but it did not come easy. He battled against Colton Herta in a back and forth battle that lasted multiple laps near the end of the race.

READ MORE: IndyCar Milwaukee – Full Race 2 Results

The Team Penske driver’s pace was unbeatable, however, and he was able to finish off his strong weekend on a good note.

Scott Dixon crossed the line in second, running a typically mistake-free race throughout the day on Sunday.

His podium was the 142nd of his illustrious career, and allowed him to break the all-time record in the process. Just another record that The Iceman now holds all to himself.

Herta ended up crossing the line in third, with his battle against McLaughlin resulting in him losing another position shortly after.

Santino Ferrucci capped off a fantastic weekend by finishing fourth. The AJ Foyt driver was able to drive high and low as needed, and was one of the most exciting drivers on the track.

Also able to drive the high line at will was Marcus Ericsson, and he used that ability to drive from 16th up to fifth by the end of the day.

There was side by side racing for much of the day, and for much of the weekend across both races, putting aside fears that the track could produce boring racing.

Boring was definitely not the word of the day, and fans looking for close racing joined fans looking for accidents and crashes in having an enjoyable day.

The race did not even get started before major consequential events took place. On the second formation lap, well before the green flag was set to fly, Alex Palou pulled to the apron with no drive.

The safety crew could not even roll his car away because the #10 was stuck in gear, necessitating a trip to the garage area for the championship leader.

After making sure the hybrid system was working well, the Chip Ganassi crew eventually diagnosed a 12 volt battery issue. A replacement battery allowed him to return to the track, 28 laps behind.

The damage was already done to his championship ambitions, however, and he lost some of his hard-earned advantage over Will Power.

Palou started the race 43 points ahead and ended the day with a 33 point advantage, still a sizable margin but definitely smaller than he would prefer.

When the race was actually set to begin, on lap five due to Palou’s stopped machine, there was a second major event that took place before everyone got up to speed.

Race control called off the start of the race last second because the field was not lined up correctly, but Linus Lundqvist did not back off the throttle quickly enough to match the rest of the field’s sudden slow down.

The Swede ran into the back of Marcus Armstrong, who then turned into the pole sitter Josef Newgarden and sent both spinning into the wall.

Armstrong and Newgarden were both forced to retire on the spot, making for the strange situation where the first and third qualifying driver did not even begin the race before being knocked out.

The retirements meant that Scott McLaughlin was able to lead the field to green for the second day in a row, although race control deemed that it would be a single file start in order to finally get the race underway on lap 16.

Multiple other retirements spelled disaster for drivers up and down the order, including for Saturday’s winner Pato O’Ward.

The popular Mexican driver was forced to retire with a gearbox issue before the halfway point, resulting in a 23rd place finish.

His team-mate Nolan Siegel also retired with gearbox problems early in the race, pointing to a possible pattern among the Arrow McLaren team.

David Malukas also retired due to mechanical issues, stopping on track and bringing out the caution in the process.

Graham Rahal also retired from the race before halfway, but his problems resulted from contact with rookie Christian Rasmussen that sent the RLL Honda into the wall.

The veteran was easing in to Turn 3 in order to stay away from a dense group of traffic, but Rasmussen entered aggressively and tagged the back of the #15 machine.

Rahal was less than impressed with Rasmussen’s driving, giving him a gesture to use his head as he drove past the crash scene.

Drivers now have a weekend off to rest and recover before the season finale, which takes place at Nashville Superspeedway on September 15.

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