2024 Hy-Vee Milwaukee Mile 250s

Race Notes

• The 2024 Hy-Vee Milwaukee MIle 250s Race 2 was 250 laps on the 1.015-mile Milwaukee Mile oval totaling 253.75 miles. The start was double file and the restarts were single file. Josef Newgarden, the pole sitter, was to start the race the fourth time by the start-finish line.
• At 1:37 p.m. CDT, 23 minutes prior to the scheduled green-flag time, the ambient temperature was 74 degrees with 49% relative humidity and partly cloudy skies. The track temperature was 108 degrees according to Firestone engineers.
• At 1:56 p.m., Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers gave the command, "Drivers, start your engines." All engines fired and all cars rolled on the grid.
• On the third pace lap, the No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda of Alex Palou pulled off course and stopped, causing the initial start to be aborted. The race started under yellow-flag conditions.
• On Lap 5, the race's initial start was waved off. There was a multi-car incident involving the No. 2 Team Penske Chevrolet of Josef Newgarden and the No. 11 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda of Marcus Armstrong. Linus Lundqvist was later penalized for avoidable contact stemming from his role in causing the incident for which he served a drive-through penalty.
• Green-flag running began on Lap 16 with McLaughlin leading the field out of Turn 4 in a single-file start.
• McLaughlin led until Lap 44, when the No. 12 Team Penske Chevrolet of Will Power passed for the lead in Turn 3. The move coupled with Palou's 27th-placed position briefly put Power into the points lead.
• Shortly after the first round of green-flag pit stops, the race's second caution period began on Lap 62 when the No. 66 Meyer Shank Racing Honda of David Malukas slowed on course and was running against the wall on the frontstretch. Leaders at the start of the caution were Power, Alexander Rossi, McLaughlin, Pato O'Ward and Santino Ferrucci.
• The race resumed with a restart on Lap 71 that saw Power leading the field. Power continued to lead through the second round of green-flag pit stops, until the race's third caution began on Lap 113 when the No. 41 AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet of Sting Ray Robb spun in Turn 2 without making contact.
• During the caution, the leaders pitted while both Rossi and Scott Dixon stayed out. Rossi led the field on the Lap 124 restart but green-flag running was short lived.
• On Lap 125, the No. 20 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet of rookie Christian Rasmussen made contact with the No. 15 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda of Graham Rahal, sending the veteran driver into the Turn 3 SAFER Barrier. Rahal climbed from his car without assistance from the AMR INDYCAR Safety team and proceeded to gesture at Rasmussen's car as it went by. Leaders at the start of the Lap 125 caution were Rossi, Dixon, McLaughlin, Marcus Ericsson and Ferrucci. Championship contenders Power and Alex Palou were in the sixth and 22nd positions, respectively.
• On the Lap 131, Rossi led the field back to green. Behind, the No. 12 Chevrolet of Power spun in Turn 4 and made light contact bringing out another caution.
• The race restarted on Lap 137 with Rossi continuing to lead. He remained out front until the next round of green-flag pit stops began, with Rossi pitting on Lap 162.
• Colton Herta emerged as the race leader on Lap 199 but was passed by McLaughlin in Turn 1 on Lap 218.
• The race's final caution period began on Lap 229 when the No. 41 Chevrolet of Robb mad contact with the SAFER Barrier in Turn 2. Leaders at the start of the caution were McLaughlin, Herta, Rossi, Dixon and Ferrucci.
• After the Lap 239 restart, McLaughlin continued to lead although he was challenged by Scott Dixon, who charged up to the second position and turned the fastest lap of the race on Lap 242.
• McLaughlin took the white flat 0.7352 of a second ahead of Dixon and went on to cross the finish line with a 0.4558 of a second margin of victory. The result marked McLaughlin's third win of 2024 and the seventh win of his NTT IndyCar Series career. He previously won this year at Barber Motorsports Park and Iowa Speedway.
• Dixon finished second, his first runner-up finish of 2024. The result also marked Dixon's 142nd career podium finish, breaking a tie with Mario Andretti to put Dixon atop the all-time podium finishes list.
• Unofficial points after 2024 Hy-Vee Milwaukee Mile 250s Race 1:
  1. Palou 525
  2. lPower 492 (-33)
  3. McLaughlin 476 (-49)
  4. Herta 462 (-63)
  5. Dixon 443 (-82)
  6. O'Ward 419 (-106)
  7. Kirkwood 384 (-141)
  8. Newgarden 364 (-161)
  9. Rossi 350 (-175)
  10. Ferrucci 339 (-186)
      

Race Notes

• The 2024 Hy-Vee Milwaukee MIle 250s Race 1 was 250 laps on the 1.015-mile Milwaukee Mile oval totaling 253.75 miles. The start was double file and the restarts were single file. Scott McLaughlin, the pole sitter, started the race the fourth time by the start-finish line.
• At 5 p.m. CDT, the ambient temperature was 84 degrees with 47% relative humidity and fair skies. The track temperature was 107 degrees according to Firestone engineers.
• At 5:01 p.m., James Beard Award-winning restauranteur Paul Bartolotta gave the command, "Drivers, start your engines." All engines fired and all cars rolled on the grid.
• On Lap 1, the initial start was waved off by Race Control because the pole sitter was too slow.
• McLaughlin led the field off Turn 4 to the start-finish line at the end of Lap 1 to start the race.
• During the first stint, the No. 8 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda of Linus Lundqvist passed leader McLaughlin in Turn 1 on Lap 49, the first lead change of the race.
• By Lap 71, the first round of green-flag pit stops were complete. Pato O'Ward, Colton Herta, McLaughlin, Lundqvist, Alexander Rossi, David Malukas, Santino Ferrucci, Romain Grosjean, Marcus Ericsson and Marcus Armstrong comprised the top 10.
• On Lap 83, the first of the race's three cautions began when the No. 51 Dale Coyne Racing Honda of Katherine Legge spun in Turn 2 but made no contact. The leaders at the start of the caution were Herta, O'Ward, McLaughlin, Lundqvist and Rossi. The leaders pitted during this caution except for McLaughlin, who assumed the race lead.
• The race returned to green-flag running on Lap 95. On Lap 119, O'Ward passed McLaughlin for the lead in Turn 1.
• At the halfway point, O'Ward led McLaughlin by 2.6253 seconds.
• The race's second caution period began on Lap 147 when the No. 28 Andretti Global Honda of Marcus Ericsson and the No. 2 Team Penske Chevrolet of Josef Newgarden made contact in Turn 2 while battling for the second position. Leaders at the beginning of the caution were O'Ward, Alex Palou, Will Power, McLaughlin and Ferrucci.
• O'Ward led the field back to green on Lap 157. He pitted on Lap 175, promoting Power to the race lead. Two laps later, the race's third and final caution began when the left-front tire of the No. 26 Andretti Global Honda of Colton Herta fell off the car on the backstretch. Leaders at the beginning of the third caution were Power, Conor Daly, Lundqvist, O'Ward and Christian Lundgaard.
• O'Ward regained the lead following pit stops under caution, and led the field to green on Lap 203. The Arrow McLaren driver led the remainder of the race, taking the white flag with a 1.3730-second advantage over Power.
• The victory marked O'Ward's third win of 2024 and the seventh win of his NTT IndyCar Series career. He previously won this year at St. Petersburg and Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
• Unofficial points after 2024 Hy-Vee Milwaukee Mile 250s Race 1:
  1. Palou 514
  2. Power 471 (-43)
  3. Herta 426 (-88)
  4. McLaughlin 421 (-93)
  5. O'Ward 413 (-101)
  6. Dixon 403 (-111)
  7. Kirkwood 360 (-154)
  8. Newgarden 358 (-156)
  9. Rossi 321 (-193)
  10. Ferrucci 306 (-208)
      

Session Notes

• Single-car qualifying for the 2024 Hy-Vee Milwaukee Mile 250s began on time at 1:15 p.m. CDT. Each qualifying run consisted of two official timed laps, with Lap 1 setting the qualifying results for Race 1 and Lap 2 setting the qualifying results for Race 2.
• There were no incidents during the 27 qualifying runs.
• At the conclusion of qualifying, Scott McLaughlin had the fastest Lap 1 at 162.341 mph which earned him the NTT P1 Award for Race 1. The effort marked McLaughlin's fifth pole of 2024 and the 10th pole of his NTT IndyCar Series career. McLaughlin was previously on pole this year at Barber Motorsports Park, the Indianapolis 500, Iowa Speedway Race 2 and Portland International Raceway.
• Josef Newgarden had the fastest Lap 2 at 160.983 mph which earned him the NTT P1 Award for Race 2. The result was Newgaren's second pole of 2024 and the 17th pole of his IndyCar career. He was last on pole at St. Petersburg.
  

Session Notes

• Practice for the 2024 Hy-Vee Milwaukee Mile 250s at Wisconsin State Fair Park began with five minutes designated for install laps from 2:35 to 2:40 p.m. CDT. After a five-minute break, low-line practice began at 2:45 p.m. and featured 30 minutes of total track time with cars split into two 15-minute groups.
• After a break, regular practice for all cars started at 3:30 p.m. and ran until 5 p.m. The session was interrupted by two yellow flags:
  • A track inspection began at 4:01 p.m. The session resumed nine minutes later.
  • At 4:52 p.m., the No. 20 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet of Christian Rasmussen made right-side contact in Turn 2. The resulting yellow flag lasted for six minutes.
• At the conclusion of practice, the No. 2 Team Penske Chevrolet of Josef Newgarden was fastest with a speed of 158.762 mph.