Milwaukee Mile Test Important for INDYCAR Championship Hopefuls
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By Dennis Krause
25 NTT INDYCAR SERIES drivers from ten teams took part in a rain interrupted test, Wednesday, at the Milwaukee Mile.
The test comes ahead of next month’s Snap-on INDYCAR Weekend at the Milwaukee Mile. As the penultimate race weekend and the only doubleheader on the schedule this season, the Snap-on Makers and Mixers 250 on Saturday, August 28th and the Snap-on 250 on Sunday, August 30th will go a long way in determining who’ll win this season’s championship.
“Yeah, that's why we see all the grid’s here,” said four-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion and current championship leader, Alex Palou. “There's no teams or drivers missing. Normally, this should be just a team test, where a couple teams come and test, but everybody's here because we know it counts double, right? So it's gonna make it interesting.
Photo: Chris Jones/Penske Entertainment
“I'm not nervous now, but I'm sure I'll be nervous when it comes to race day, especially after race one, and then heading into race two. But hopefully it's a good one for us.”
The driver of the No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda conceded the twin 250-mile races will be tough, especially with all of the championship implications.
“It makes it tough having a double header. I think it just makes everything super close. Just because, especially being the last second to last event of the year, and having two races, if you have a good weekend, it's great, but if you don't, you can be crying after it.
“But yeah, I'm looking forward to it. We had an amazing weekend here last last year, until the rain kind of came a little bit and made that last yellow, but still we got the pole, we finished second, and hopefully we can get to do the same this year.”
Photo: Matt Fraser/Penske Entertainment
2024 Milwaukee Mile Race 1 winner, Pato O’Ward is currently fifth in the championship standings. Coming off a win in the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio, O’Ward knows the importance of Wednesday’s test at The Mile.
“We race here twice,” noted the driver of the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, “and so there's basically 100 points on the table for that weekend, so it's a very important weekend to make sure that you maximize, because that can really put you in a great position to win the championship. Or it can kind of fall you back a little bit.”
One driver excited to be back at the Milwaukee Mile was last year’s winner, Christian Rasmussen.
“Yeah, it feels good. Feels good to be back, obviously. Some good memories, for sure, right? But it's a new year, and we have to work just as hard to try and get back up there. That's going to be the goal.”
Photo: Chris Owens/Penske Entertainment
While he didn’t exactly pick right up where he left off, the driver of the No. 21 ECR Chevrolet was making progress to improve the his car over last year.
“We always try to learn things,” Rasmussen said. “I think, even though we won the race last year, I still think we can be better. So, obviously, that's that's going to be the goal, to try and improve the improve the package, especially in qualifying trim compared to last year. So, yeah, we're just trying to learn as much as we can.
“Last year we had a very, very loose race car, so trying to figure out how we can settle down the rear without adding too much understeer to the car and still be competitive is kind of the kind of what we're trying to accomplish today,”
Arguably the master of short ovals in the INDYCAR these days, Josef Newgarden felt strongly about his No. 2 Team Penske Chevrolet in the morning session.
“I think if I was judging off the car today, I think we've got a race-winning car,” the 34-time INDYCAR race winner stated. “It felt like that the first laps I ran today, I was like, you could put this in the truck, this thing's gonna be, you know, pretty solid. But that's a bold statement, but I really felt that way about it. So, I think we can come back here and have something competitive to compete with.”
Photo: Chris Jones/Penske Entertainment
According to Newgarden, Team Penske brings a perfect car to short ovals, more often than not.
“We always have good cars on ovals. I don't know how to answer it differently. It seems like almost every time I show up to one of these tracks, we've got a great car underneath us. I don't want to say the car to beat, but just a very good car, and it makes a difference. On a road to street course, there's a little bit more leeway to maneuver the car if it's not quite there. On an oval, if you don't have the car in perfect condition, it's very hard to will the thing to a result. I mean, there's certainly some sway from the driver in there, but you've got to have the car just perfect, and we have that more often than not when we show up to an oval track here.”
Still sporting a walking boot and crutches from his accident in the Indianapolis 500, Newgarden would only say his left foot felt good in the car.
“I feel good. I feel great here. Yeah, I'm good. I feel the car is amazing. So that's what's carrying me.
“I'm not gonna talk about the foot much,” said Newgarden who has yet to win at Milwaukee, “but I'll say that we feel good in the car.
“Yeah, how difficult is a double header? Double header is tough. I think it's the points is what comes to the forefront of your mind. It's like a really important weekend. I think that's why you see everybody testing here. When we were looking at the preseason test list and going, okay, you only have so many tests in season that you can do. I think everybody circles this because this is a huge weekend. If you don't have a good car throughout this weekend, you're going to lose a lot of points.
“So, I think of it more from that standpoint than the physicality or anything, but it can also be, you know, if you have a good car, could be double the fun, because you run one good race and then you get to do it again. So, it's important to get it right, and more fun if you do get it right.”
Photo: Aaron Skillman/Penske Entertainment
For reigning Indianapolis 500 champion Felix Rosenqvist, Wednesday’s test was a welcome chance to improve his car from a year ago.
“A lot better than last year, when we were here,” Rosenqvist said when asked about his test session. “This was our worst race by far last year, and it seems like we definitely bounced back a little bit on the car set up, and the feeling for me, so yeah, it's been (good) already.”
A subject of INDYCAR’s silly season, Rosenqvist is relieved the news about his move back to Arrow McLaren from Meyer Shank Racing is finally out in the open.
“Yeah, I mean, it's always a bit awkward, obviously, when you have the silly season start early in IndyCar. Normally the talk starts in May or June, so you obviously have a lot of more driving to do, and that's really my big focus, just finishing this season strong. We're all big boys, we're pros, and just want to continue what we've built on. And we've a lot to be proud of Meyer Shank Racing, and me, and the stuff we've done together, so you just want to continue this season on the same momentum we had, and hopefully get a couple of wins together here shortly.”
Next stop for the NTT INDYCAR SERIES is the Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix at Nashville Superspeedway, July 17-19.
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.