Unsure About the Milwaukee Mile a Year Ago, Lundgaard Can’t Wait to Return
Joe Skibinski/Penske Entertainment
By Dennis Krause
Like many of his fellow competitors, Christian Lundgaard had questions about what the racing at the Milwaukee Mile would be like when the NTT INDYCAR SERIES returned in 2024 after a decade away.
He’d taken part in the hybrid test at The Mile in June last year, but he still was apprehensive. After the HyVee Milwaukee Mile 250s weekend was over, however, he was hooked.
“I'm actually looking a lot more forward than I thought I would,” said Lundgaard when asked about returning for the Snap-on Milwaukee Mile 250 this weekend. “Going to Milwaukee last year, I think there was a lot of questions raised from everybody. It's been a while since we had been there. It produced such great racing that I think all of us left last year wanting to do another race straightaway. Just excited to be back.”
While Lundgaard’s Milwaukee results last year weren’t spectacular, his best finish of ninth came in Race 1, he came away from the weekend having enjoyed how the track raced.
“Yeah, I think a lot of it has to do with, one, the hybrid system in the car, right? The hybrid has kind of changed, one, the way we race, the way we drive. The cars are heavier. It's a lot harder to follow closer. I think we saw that at Indy this year. I think we've seen it at pretty much all the ovals. We've seen Iowa change with the asphalt after they repaved it. The racing was very different.
“Going into Milwaukee,” Lundgaard continued, “I don't remember exactly how long it was before we came back for last year. I would assume around a decade or more since we were at the Mile. Not having raced at a track, you don't know what the race or the track is going to produce. I think all of us were kind of worried that it was going to look like an Iowa. It didn't. It was great racing.
“All of us, when we finally got there, we got to race, I think we all kind of appreciated how it raced. It excited us all. We did race one, then we did race two. We're all excited to come back the next year.”
Two weeks ago, portions of the track were underwater from the torrential rains the Milwaukee area received. INDYCAR officials have since inspected the track and declared it safe for racing this weekend.
“We all kind of saw the flooding of the track a few weeks ago,” acknowledged Lundgaard. “There was obviously a lot of questions raised if any of the surface of the track has been damaged, whatsoever.
“At the end of the day it's going to be the same for everybody. I think for us, it's all about being competitive from the get-go.
“Not having been there for a year, the track is going to be very green. There were a couple of teams that tested earlier in the year. I've spoken to those guys, they said the track was very green, similar to last year.
“Just having already that information, regardless of what we've done from a sim perspective, from an analyst perspective, all I have to do is go out there with an open mind, use the same references from last year. The car was faster last year.
“I've learned a lot just having been there, having analyzed it by myself from past experiences.”
Joe Skibinski/Penske Entertainment
The driver of the No. 7 VELO Arrow McLaren Chevrolet admits he’s not, by any means, a finished product yet on the ovals. It’s a process the former Alpine F1 junior is looking to speed up with team principal Tony Kanaan, a two-time winner at Milwaukee in 2006 and 2007.
“I think we've definitely identified where some of the issues lie. Most of them are easier said than done. I think it's also having driven a car for three years, if I put myself in any of the other drivers' shoes that's been in the series in a very competitive car, it is a lot easier to progress than if you were in a car that's already a back marker. It is kind of difficult to make a difference because you're chasing your own tail as opposed to moving forward.
“I think in a sense that's a situation that I've been in. I've had a lot of conversations with Tony about this, how do we speed up this process of having to relearn it all and unlearn some of the things, bad habits, that have been created, these kind of things.
But the 24-year-old Dane feels good about coming back to Milwaukee chasing a third place finish in the series standings in his first year with McLaren after three seasons with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing..
“The month of May was an interesting one because I feel like it was the first oval of the year. I definitely felt like I was somewhat at a disadvantage to both (teammates) Nolan (Siegel) and Pato (O’Ward) because I feel like I had to relearn everything.
“I would honestly say St. Louis was probably the best overall race weekend we had on oval. Despite what happened in the pit lane, I think that result was much worse than I think what we deserved. I think Iowa we just struggled on the 7 car. We weren't really necessarily comfortable all weekend.
“Milwaukee is one of the races I'm looking the most forward to. Coming out here fourth in the standings at the moment, trying to hunt for third, I couldn't see a better place to go to of any of the ovals so I'm pretty excited.
“There's a foundation this year that's being built for next year 'cause I feel like I'm relearning it all.”
Lundgaard says his approach this weekend is to be aggressive as well as looking to build his experience on ovals and carry that over to next year.
“There's a fine line because you want to learn as much as possible,” noted Lundgaard. “I think you learn the most by attacking and being aggressive, right? You're not really going to learn much by laying back and running completely off strategy to everybody else trying to learn something different.
“One thing I learned this year in May was you have got to run with the people you want to run the race with. Obviously that's the fast cars. The mentality isn't really let's try to build more for next year. I think we will build more by trying to go for it, as well.”
Josh Hernandez/Penske Entertainment
The 2021 INDYCAR rookie of the year, Lundgaard finished 11th in last year’s standings and is coming off of back-to-back runner-up finishes at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca and Portland International Raceway. Lundgaard claims he’s not desperate to win for his new team, but if he did, it would be his first series win since Toronto in 2023 and his first on an oval.
“Yeah, obviously that's the hope, right? I don't really put the expectations on myself. I put a lot of pressure on myself regardless, but I don't think the right way to look at it is you need to get a win, otherwise it's not successful, it's not a successful season, that's what you need to complete the season. I don't see it like that.
“I race to win. I don't race to finish second. But I also know that's not realistic. You can't win all of the races, apart from if you're Alex Palou kind of deal. He can. That's what makes it great. It forces me to work harder. It forces me to wake up earlier, go to bed later, try to figure out stuff. I like that challenge of it. I think that's what makes the series so great.”
Realistically then, what is Lundgaard looking for in the final two races of the season?
“I think if I look at it with realistic eyes, last year was probably... Milwaukee and Nashville were the two worst racetracks we went to for me, from the car that I was in. We just did not have pace. We did not have balance. Those were just the two weekends we struggled the most at.
“I know I'm going into these two tracks with one of the fastest cars from last year. At the end of the day there's not really an excuse. You need to go out there and deliver what the car is capable of doing.
“I'm going out there wanting to have fun, get the best out of the material, see what we can get.”
Sunday’s Snap-on Milwaukee Mile 250 takes the green flag at 1 PM (CDT).
Dennis Krause has spent decades covering all forms of motorsports, including over 40 Indianapolis 500s, with stints at WIBA Radio, PIT PASS - Radio’s Premier Motorsports Magazine and Motorsports Minute. Follow him on X @DennisKrause500 or motorsportsminute.bluesky.social or motorsportsminute on Threads or MotorsportsMinute+ on Facebook.