Just a few hours after qualifying, it was time for the first INDYCAR race at the Milwaukee Mile. The SNAP ON Makers and Fixers 250 would see drivers complete 250 laps of the oval track. Whilst qualifying saw Scott McLaughlin be the fastest man, it was Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward who lined up from pole. Despite O’Ward qualifying fourth best, McLaughlin, Álex Palou, and David Malukas all had to serve a nine-place grid penalty today. After rain delayed the start, the inclement weather also halted the race. When paused, O’Ward was leading.
Rain Delays Racing
As the drivers and teams were preparing to go racing, eyes were also being kept on the weather. With high humidity and clouds forming, teams were looking at the forecast. Drips of rain started to fall and Race Control sent out safety trucks to assess conditions and dry the track.
Cars were then removed from pit lane, allowing marshals to focus on drying the track and the pits. Despite the rain being light, the race was put on indefinite hold. With running at oval tracks being high-speed and teams having no wet tyres, any racing on a wet track can be too dangerous.
Start
After an hour under a rain delay, it was time to begin. Finally, drivers were in their cars and the command was given before they headed onto track. When the green flag came out, O’Ward defended his lead from Josef Newgarden, but the Team Penske driver wasn’t settling for second. The pair stretched away from Felix Rosenqvist, who made up places on the start to third. Whilst many made up places in the opening laps, Graham Rahal lost out, falling six places to last.
In contrast, Rinus VeeKay was pushing forward. The Dutch driver made up 10 places within eight laps, immediately making up the places he lost due to his grid penalty. After initially fighting for the lead, Newgarden fell back into the clutches of Rosenqvist, seeing a change for P2. Whilst the No. 60 was closing in on the leader, the No. 2 was falling behind.
After patiently waiting for a few laps, Rosenqvist finally mounted a move on O’Ward, taking first. As the laps passed, drivers start to settle into position, opting to conserve fuel and manage their tyre degradation. The Milwaukee Mile sees high degradation on tyres, and Christian Rasmussen proved last year that a tyre deficit come the end of the race can be critical.
As the leader began to lap the back markers, Newgarden caught and overtook O’Ward, relegating the polesitter to third. However, the Arrow McLaren was staying in touch with the car ahead whilst defending from Will Power. The duo once again fought, with O’Ward coming out on top. This battle paired with the lapped traffic saw Rosenqvist stretch his lead to nearly seven seconds.
Pit Stops Begin
Trying to prove his progress on ovals, Christian Lundgaard took a risky move onto the low-line to overtake Will Power whilst the pair lapped Graham Rahal. VeeKay was continuing to push through the field, now battling with Álex Palou for P9.
Kyle Kirkwood was the first to pit on Lap 45. After starting 21st, the title contender wasn’t making much ground in his first stint. Consequently, he opted to come in early and go onto an alternate strategy. Other drivers, such as Alexander Rossi and Scott Dixon, opted to follow in Kirkwood’s steps and pit.
After overtaking Power, Lundgaard chased down Newgarden and eventually made his way into P3. The Team Penske driver then headed to pit lane. Rosenqvist pitted a lap after O’Ward, but came out ahead, protecting his lead. However, one of the first to pit, Rossi, was out ahead of Newgarden. Similarly, Kirkwood was now in the top ten.
The First Yellow
Eventually, Nolan Siegel was the last to take his first stop. Just after he pitted, drops of rain came down. Consequently, Race Control called a caution to reduce the speed in the damp. Running behind the pace car would allow drivers to protect their tyres and conserve fuel as they waited for the drizzle to clear.
With the field neutralised, O’Ward was once again leading, this time ahead of Rosenqvist. Rossi’s early stop saw him in third, ahead of Newgarden. Lap 70 saw pit lane re-open, and some drivers opted to take a second stop. Hoping to top-up their fuel and take new tyres, this would allow them to have a tyre deficit on the restart. Palou was one of the drivers to take this extra stop, hoping it would allow him to capitalise when the track went green.
The Red Flag Comes Out
On Lap 91, Race Control opted to wave the red flag, neutralising the race. The constant drizzle meant that green-flag running was unachievable, and officials felt running under caution was unproductive. With less than half race distance (125 laps) completed, it was assumed racing would be resumed, should conditions clear up and the daylight remained.
Following two hours of a red-flag rain delay, conditions eased up. Consequently, Race Control were able to begin the track-drying procedures. As the track began to dry, it became a race against the sunset. With Milwaukee not having flood lights, the racing cannot continue once the sun starts to set. The aim was to at least hit 126 laps, passing half-race distance, so that official results can be given.
Milwaukee Mile Race 1 Postponed
Despite the track drying efforts, time ran out for racing to resume at the Milwaukee Mile. Consequently, Race 1 was postponed. It will now be held tomorrow, Sunday 30th August at 9am ET / 3pm CEST. It will be followed by IndyNXT and Race 2.
Leading at the red-flag, Pato O’Ward will start the remaining race from the front. The race itself will commence from where they left it and race to full distance. Tune in tomorrow for the conclusion of the first race, and the second.