The NTT IndyCar Series returned to the historic Milwaukee Mile over the weekend, the oldest continuously operating race circuit in the world.
The 1.015-mile oval at Wisconsin State Fair Park hosted the 250-lap Milwaukee Mile 250, and the race delivered high drama, shifting strategies, and a surprise winner.
Christian Rasmussen claimed his first-ever IndyCar victory, storming through in the closing laps to beat Alex Palou, while New Zealand’s Scott McLaughlin secured a long-awaited podium in third. Scott Dixon and Marcus Armstrong both fought through eventful afternoons to complete the Top 10.
Practice & Qualifying Recap:
Track time was scarce, with only one practice before qualifying. Josef Newgarden and Alex Palou led the charts, while McLaughlin was the fastest Kiwi, 7th overall and less than a tenth off the top. Dixon was 12th and Armstrong 14th, with just nine-tenths covering the entire field.
Palou then sealed pole position in qualifying, joined by David Malukas on the front row. McLaughlin impressed in 4th, lining up beside Pato O’Ward.
Dixon qualified 5th but dropped to 14th after an engine change penalty. Armstrong struggled by recent standards, starting 16th, his worst since Iowa in July.
Final practice saw Dixon rebound to lead the session, Armstrong slotting into 5th, while McLaughlin found himself down in 21st, reporting balance issues.
Milwaukee Mile 250:
Palou got the jump at the green flag, fending off Malukas into Turn 1, but the race immediately went under caution.
Nolan Siegel spun mid-pack after clipping the painted apron line at the bottom of the track. He slammed into the wall, ending his day before a lap was completed.
“I tried to go low, the grip was low, and I got a little greedy on power and spun,” Siegel admitted.
“It’s extremely frustrating… we had a really good race car today.”
The restart came on Lap 10, but it lasted only moments before Graham Rahal nearly spun after contact while running alongside Dixon, triggering another yellow. The race resumed properly on Lap 16.
On the restart, Malukas boldly swung high to snatch the lead from Palou in Turn 3, while McLaughlin tucked into third. Connor Daly, charging hard, moved up four positions to sit fourth ahead of O’Ward. Dixon held 14th, while Armstrong slipped to 18th.
By Lap 39, Malukas was already into lapped traffic, clearing Jacob Abel. But his grip began to fade, and on Lap 41 Palou reclaimed the lead. Will Power, meanwhile, climbed into the Top 5.
The first round of pit stops began on Lap 50, led by Rossi. Within laps, most of the field followed. McLaughlin pitted on Lap 55, reporting his Penske felt “a little loose on exit,” while Dixon came in the same lap.
The two nearly collided in pit lane, McLaughlin released directly in front of Dixon. Officials reviewed the incident but took no action.
When the cycle ended, Palou retained the lead, narrowly ahead of McLaughlin, who held tyre temperature advantage. Rossi’s early stop vaulted him up to 4th after an undercut.
Palou’s pace was untouchable through the next stint. By Lap 78, he had stretched his margin to 8.2 seconds. McLaughlin, under heavy pressure from Malukas, switched to defensive driving and began losing further ground to Palou.
Dixon and Armstrong were stuck in 14th and 16th, unable to make progress. By Lap 89, Palou lapped Santino Ferrucci, and moments later, Armstrong was next in his sights. Yet McLaughlin began to stabilise his pace, trimming the gap to 5.1 seconds by Lap 94.
The second pit cycle began on Lap 100, McLaughlin stopping on Lap 104. A slow stop for Malukas, caused by an air gun issue, dropped him behind Palou. Then Power spun into the wall at Turn 3, triggering a caution and jumbling strategies.
Dixon and Armstrong, having not yet pitted, cycled to the front under yellow, with Palou behind.
Once they stopped on Lap 116, Palou reassumed the lead, McLaughlin slotted into second, O’Ward third, and Rossi fourth. Dixon and Armstrong rejoined the Top 12.
By Lap 129, Newgarden had surged to third, carving through Rossi, O’Ward, and Lundgaard. Palou, meanwhile, rebuilt a 5-second cushion over McLaughlin, who was left to hold station ahead of Newgarden.
Another caution came on Lap 142 when Callum Ilott’s car smoked and coasted to the pits. Under yellow, Palou, McLaughlin, and the leaders pitted, but Armstrong gambled and stayed out, briefly inheriting the race lead.
On the Lap 154 restart, Armstrong led after the team opted to keep him out on old tyres, followed by Palou, McLaughlin, and Newgarden. But his worn tyres left him defenceless, and by Lap 157 he had plummeted to 17th.
McLaughlin, however, was now hanging closer to Palou than earlier stints, keeping within a second. But by Lap 190, his tyres began to fade, the gap expanding to nearly four seconds.
The third pit cycle started shortly after: Armstrong pitting on Lap 191, Dixon on 194, McLaughlin on 196, and Palou covering him a lap later. With 54 laps to go, Palou still held control. Dixon was 8th, Armstrong 14th.
A short sun shower on Lap 209 triggered another caution. The majority of the field seized the chance to pit for fresh tyres. But Palou, McLaughlin, and Newgarden stayed out, a bold call that set the stage for a thrilling finish.
The Lap 223 restart saw Rossi, on fresh tyres, immediately attack Newgarden for third, while Rasmussen surged forward. McLaughlin tried to hang with Palou, but by Lap 226 the Spaniard was 1.7 seconds clear.
Rasmussen, flying on fresh rubber, swept past McLaughlin with 20 laps to go and rapidly closed on Palou.
By Lap 233, the gap was under a second, and on Lap 235, Rasmussen went side-by-side before completing the pass for the lead with 15 to go.
From there, Rasmussen pulled away, extending his margin to over a second in the final laps to claim his first IndyCar victory in style. Palou settled for second, while McLaughlin fended off Rossi to secure third, his first podium since May and only his second of the season.
Dixon recovered to 9th, Armstrong finished 10th, giving all three Kiwis a Top-10 result at Milwaukee.
Final Top 10 Classification:
- Christian Rasmussen
- Alex Palou
- Scott McLaughlin
- Alexander Rossi
- Pato O’Ward
- Christian Lundgaard
- Josef Newgarden
- David Malukas
- Scott Dixon
- Marcus Armstrong
Rasmussen’s shock but well deserved victory rewrote the script at Milwaukee, while Palou extended his remarkable consistency but fell short of matching the record for the most wins in a season and will fall short by one win if he manages to take the chequered flag in the season finale next weekend.
For McLaughlin, the podium was a timely return to form at a venue he mastered last year, while Dixon and Armstrong banked more solid points.
The NTT IndyCar Series now heads to Nashville Superspeedway next weekend for the season-ending Music City Grand Prix.
Header Image: Penske Entertainment – Paul Hurley
