INDYCAR Delivers on Milwaukee Mile Return
Photo by Joe Skibinski/Penske Entertainment
Abundant sunshine, a light breeze and an energized crowd greeted the return of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES upon its return to the Milwaukee Mile at Wisconsin State Fair Park. Saturday’s Race 1 of the Hy-Vee Milwaukee Mile 250s delivered an entertaining and competitive race that yielded any number of compelling storylines.
Arrow McLaren driver Pato O’Ward posted a popular win at The Mile, his third this season.
“Yeah, wonderful race for us. The car really came to life in the second stint, then it was a little gnarly after that. A lot of changing conditions. The track was getting quite a bit cooler. Tomorrow it's going to be quite a bit hotter than what it was today, at least how it ended. Balances are going to change. Quick cars are going to evolve. We'll see where we're at.
“But yeah, super stoked. A great bounceback after a really tough weekend (at Portland) for me and the whole team. Really happy that I was able to give them this.”
Photo by Joe Skibinski/Penske Entertainment
For O’Ward, Saturday’s win at The Mile was a great bounce-back after finishing 15th, or worse, in the last three races.
“Yeah, I mean, it's all about what are we missing, right? We're not going to get it right all the time. But specifically this year has been really, really tough just to feel like I have something to fight with. I feel like I've had it in numerous races along the year, but there's been some where it's just been really, really tough in a lot of different angles, I would say.
“It was nice to bounce back like this after a solid qualifying effort, then really putting it together in the race. Great pit stops, great strategy. It all definitely came together for us.”
Photo by Joe Skibinski/Penske Entertainment
It nearly all came together for runner-up, Will Power. The driver of the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet kept his title hopes alive for at least another race as he chipped away at Alex Palou’s point lead in the standings, trimming it from 54 to 43 with two races remaining.
“Yep, shrinks a little more. Another 10 points would have been great. Almost had him (O’Ward) there, but just too good.
“Closing the gap. Palou is a serious contender, man. Nothing can rattle that guy. Very tough to go head-to-head with him.”
Palou, in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda came home in fifth.
Photo by Joe Skibinski/Penske Entertainment
Arguably, the drive of the day belonged to Conor Daly in the No. 78 Juncos Hollinger Chevrolet. Of the 667 on-track passes in Saturday’s race, 326 were for position, the most on record at the Milwaukee Mile. 51 of those were by Daly who finished third after starting 25th. It was Daly’s second career podium finish, his first one coming at Detroit in 2016.
“Yeah, it's really cool, especially when you get to share it with -- the last podium I was on had Juan Pablo Montoya and Sebastien Bourdais. I changed my era of INDYCAR drivers.
“Yeah, kind of crazy. I honestly didn't know how good we were. The first lap I decided to just go where there was open space. Turns out that worked. Then, we just kept going. It was kind of slowly working our way forward.
“Our pit box might be the worse thing in the world,” Daly continued. “I am just thankful that we didn't hit anyone. The guys got the work done, we got out of the pits okay.
“It's going to be a struggle tomorrow for us, too. Obviously we want to win and we want to compete at the front, and this team gave me the opportunity to do that.
“We thought we could do it at Gateway. That opportunity quickly came to a grinding halt. But yes, I'm thankful to be here and be back up where I dreamed of being my whole life, really.”
Photo by Joe Skibinski/Penske Entertainment
For the series’ first time back at the Milwaukee Mile since 2015, Power, who had run and won at The Mile before, thought the quality of the racing was good.
“Yeah, 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. I don't know what it looked like from the outside, but it felt... He (Daly) passed 50 times. I don't think anyone is going to get close to that.”
O’Ward, in his first time at The Mile, thought the racing and the crowd were fantastic.
“You could just hear the cheers of everybody. Super happy on the podium. Everybody was just super into it, brought a lot of energy today. That was fantastic to see.
“My first time here in Milwaukee, so I don't know what to compare to. But this was fantastic. Really been amazing. It was a pretty good race. We could get through traffic and stuff like that, so that usually means it's eventful pretty much everywhere but leaders.
“It was definitely a success and excited for tomorrow.”
Sunday’s Race 2 of the Hy-Vee Milwaukee Mile 250s gets the green flag at 2pm local time.