The NTT INDYCAR SERIES hasn’t raced at the Milwaukee Mile since 2015, but a recent trend of oval racing in the series continued Friday during the opening practice for the Hy-Vee Milwaukee Mile 250s.
Two-time series champion Josef Newgarden led at 158.762 mph in the No. 2 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet on the 1.015-mile oval. Team Penske has won all four previous oval races this season, and two-time and reigning Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge winner Newgarden has triumphed in 10 of the last 15 circle-track races in the series.
SEE: Practice Results
The practice was divided into two groups of 15 minutes each to work in the lower groove on the historic track, and then the circuit opened for all cars for 90 minutes. Newgarden said the challenge was interpreting how the Firestone Firehawk tires adapted to the lower and higher lines on the track.
“I think you definitely have your hands full midway through to the end of the (tire) stint,” Newgarden said. “I liked our car a lot. It was tricky in the beginning. We had two different tires we were working with. The low-line running had like one balance by itself, and then it completely flipped when we went to this weekend’s tire.
“There was some tuning that went on there. I felt like we got into a good spot. The PPG car was really comfy at the end. Everyone is going to make their own decisions on how they view the tire usage and the mileage. It’s been really interesting the last couple of ovals on how people have strategized it.”
Up next is NTT P1 Award qualifying for both races this weekend at 2:15 p.m. ET Saturday. The first 250-lap race follows later that afternoon at 5:40 p.m., with Peacock and the INDYCAR Radio Network providing exclusive live coverage of qualifying and the race. Race 2 starts at 2:30 p.m. ET Sunday (USA Network, Peacock, INDYCAR Radio Network).
Six-time series champion Scott Dixon was second in practice at 158.080 in the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. Pato O’Ward was third at 157.750 in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet.
Felix Rosenqvist ended up fourth at 157.628 in the No. 60 AutoNation/SiriusXM Honda of Meyer Shank Racing, and Scott McLaughlin put two Team Penske cars in the top five with his best lap of 157.581 in the No. 3 Odyssey Battery Team Penske Chevrolet.
Series leader and reigning series champion Alex Palou was ninth overall at 156.793 in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. His closest pursuer, two-time series champion Will Power, was 11th at 156.539 in the No. 12 Verizon Business Team Penske Chevrolet.
Palou leads Power by 54 points – a gap of exactly one race’s worth of points – with three races remaining this season as the Spaniard seeks to earn his third title in the last four seasons and become the first repeat champion since Dario Franchitti pulled off the feat for the Ganassi team in 2010-11. Franchitti also won the title in 2009, pulling off a three-peat by 2011.
Colton Herta, third in points and 67 behind Palou, was 10th at 156.647 in the No. 26 Gainbridge Honda of Andretti Global with Curb-Agajanian, as the top three drivers in the standings were sandwiched together from ninth through 11th on the speed chart.
The long session was incident-free until eight minutes remained, when rookie Christian Rasmussen crashed. 2023 INDY NXT by Firestone champion Rasmussen drifted above the racing line in Turn 2, lost grip and hit the SAFER Barrier with the right side of his No. 20 GuyCare Chevrolet of Ed Carpenter Racing. He was unhurt.