IndyCar Gradebook: Milwaukee 250
- Dan Jones
- 8 hours ago
- 9 min read
In his true box-office oval racing fashion, Christian Rasmussen claimed his maiden IndyCar victory in Milwaukee after a stunning late-race surge. He stole the headlines, but there were plenty of stories up and down the field. DIVEBOMB IndyCar Correspondent, Dan Jones, graded all 27 drivers' performances during the Milwaukee weekend.
Chip Ganassi Racing
No.8 - Kyffin Simpson - C-
There's been a significant improvement in Simpson's performances on road and street courses in his sophomore IndyCar campaign, but it is clear that his oval performance still needs work. Simpson finished where he started in 20th, frustrating Josef Newgarden along the way when he defended his position against the two-time champion when Newgarden has attempting to lap him. Simpson did no wrong in helping his teammate extend his lead. There were no major problems with Simpson's weekend but a general improvement in pace on ovals needs to be a focus for 2026.
No.9 - Scott Dixon - B
It was an unremarkable weekend for the six-time champion. Dixon qualified in fifth but had to take a third engine penalty of the year, meaning he started 14th. He quietly progressed up to ninth but still lost out on points to Christian Lundgaard, in the battle for third in the standings. He will be looking to seal that position at Nashville, a venue he has won at three times.
No.10 - Álex Palou - A+
Is it an outrageous statement to say I think this is Palou's best performance of the season? And this was one he didn't even win. We've seen dominant weekends from the champion this season, notably in Barber and Laguna Seca but we have never seen such dominance from Palou on a short oval - something that was once considered his weakness. His qualifying run was dominant, being 0.7 mph quicker than anybody else in the field and he backed that speed up on Sunday. He effortlessly wove around traffic and looked set for one of those dominant victories we've seen him do on so many occasions on road courses this season. He would ultimately be hopeless against Rasmussen but that's not to take away from his best ever oval performance. If he's figured ovals out - what is his weakness?
Team Penske
No.2 - Josef Newgarden - B+
The driver considered the best on ovals in the series now looks at serious peril of not claiming an oval victory this season. On each of the other four oval races this season, that was down to misfortune, but in Milwaukee, Newgarden simply did not have the pace of his opposition. He qualified in eighth after being frustrated at his opening lap and slowly progressed through the order before really turning his pace up midway through to move into the podium places. That was short lived and Newgarden further struggled on the final restart on older tyres as he dropped to seventh. Maybe unfortunate to not get a podium, but he did not have the pace that Palou or Scott McLaughlin had.
No.3 - Scott McLaughlin - A
It's been a season which has been lacking in these sort of weekends for McLaughlin. The New Zealander qualified fourth and jumped to third at the start, which is where he would stay for the majority of the race. It never felt as if he'd have the pace for Palou and was unable to hold off the fast-charging Rasmussen late-on. It was a result which felt the maximum for McLaughlin, something that we haven't seen enough of in 2025.
No.12 - Will Power - C+
Milwaukee is not an easy one to rank for Power, but it feel as if the mistakes he made should not have happened given his experience. Power qualified sixth and ran in the top five until the second set of stops, despite making minor contact with Graham Rahal. After pitting, Power got high when trying to overtake Simpson, before careering into the wall - the nature of going on the high line when the sweepers have not been out. His future remains unknown at the team for 2026.
Andretti Global
No.26 - Colton Herta - C+
It's becoming a bit too much of a common theme of Herta making major errors when qualifying on ovals. A spin on his opening lap only added to that list despite executing a miraculous save. Herta had made fantastic progress through the field after starting 24th though and eventually came home 11th at the flag. It rather felt he gave himself far more work than he should have though.
No.27 - Kyle Kirkwood - B-
Kirkwood continues to prove himself as Andretti's lead driver on ovals - even if the results did not show that. Kirkwood qualified well in seventh and ran comfortably in the top 10 in the opening stages of the race. However, strategy would not fall the American's way as he tumbled to 12th by the finish. After a fantastic start to the year, it has been a frustrating drop-off since the mid-point of the season for Kirkwood but he will aim to impress like he did in Nashville last season.
No.28 - Marcus Ericsson - C-
There's not much more to say that I have not said in previous Gradebooks. Ericsson qualified 14th and finished 19th, once again a lap down. Something has to change soon because the form displayed this season is not exemplary of what was once one of the series' most consistent drivers.
Arrow McLaren
No.5 - Pato O'Ward - A-
Although it was only a fifth-place finish for O'Ward, it was a monumental weekend in which his second-place finish in the standings was confirmed - the highest position he has finished in his IndyCar career. His Milwaukee race was very reminiscent of this season where O'Ward quietly brought home a strong result, his sixth top five in seven races. The Mexican qualified third and ran in the fringes of the top five for the majority of the race. However, he looked in an excellent position to win after pitting for tyres late but was unable to switch them on to the effect that Rasmussen did. Nonetheless another solid showing from O'Ward.
No.6 - Nolan Siegel - D-
A crash on the opening lap marked the third oval crash Siegel has had this season in just four races. Siegel qualified 18th but was too ambitious on the low line on the opening lap as he careered into the barriers and out of the race. Although he's in his first full season, Siegel is returning to venues he raced at last season and it is concerning these incidents are repeating themselves. He will need to ensure he avoids such repeats in 2026.
No.7 - Christian Lundgaard - B+
It's save to say that Lundgaard's sixth-place finish is his best oval performance of his IndyCar career, a result earned completely on merit. Lundgaard was one of the early stoppers which hugely elevated his position after qualifying 17th. He ran competitively from than onward and was even close to challenging O'Ward on occasion. His ambitions to claim third place in the standings don't look as far-fetched after a strong oval performance, and will need this sort of standard across the course of the season if he is to claim an IndyCar championship in the future.
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
No.15 - Graham Rahal - D
The mystery of Rahal and oval performances really does not seem to end. It looked encouraging when Rahal qualified 11th and he was certainly wheeling his No.15 Honda in the early stages with two very impressive saves. However, like we've seen on too many occasions this season, in race trim Rahal was significantly off the pace. He finished three laps down after being lapped throughout the race. After not finding a formula for several seasons, when will oval performance improve?
No.30 - Devlin DeFrancesco - B-
There's not been many occasions where DeFrancesco has been the lead driver in the team this season, but this was one of them. DeFrancesco qualified 15th and finished on the lead lap in 16th. It's by no means a breakthrough weekend, but he should take encouragement from the fact that he seemed to have the upper edge on his teammates.
No.45 - Louis Foster - C
Foster's weekend was difficult from the get-go after running limited laps in opening practice as he required an engine change will also gave him a nine-place grid drop. Foster therefore started last and could only finish 17th - a lap down from the lead. That said, he still extended his lead in the Rookie of the Year battle - so certainly not a disastrous weekend all things considered.
Meyer Shank Racing
No.60 - Felix Rosenqvist - D-
It was a disastrous weekend for Rosenqvist, who similarly to 2024 has endured a late-season slump in form. He crashed in qualifying and seemed to struggle for pace on race day as the Swede could only finish 22nd, two laps down.
No.66 - Marcus Armstrong - B
I think we're all still trying to compute what Meyer Shank Racing's strategy was on Lap 152 when Armstrong led the field to green on 40 lap old tyres. That strategy did not work out as Armstrong plummeted down the order in the blink of an eye. That said, out of seemingly nowhere, Armstrong still recovered to 10th, his ninth top 10 in 10 races since the Indianapolis 500. His contract renewals for 2026 looks more and more justified.
Ed Carpenter Racing
No.20 - Alexander Rossi - A-
After a difficult mid-season run for Rossi, he now has two top five finishes in the last two races on completely different types of circuit. Rossi qualified 13th but was the first to pit in the opening phase, with the strong undercut suddenly elevating him to a top five position. Rossi would run just outside those places for the majority of the race, and cycled into fourth after putting on fresh tyres during the phantom rain caution. It wasn't quote the heroics of his teammate but another sensational performance nevertheless.
No.21 - Christian Rasmussen - A
Rasmussen's maiden victory could not have been claimed in a more Rasmussen way. Bold moves, high risk decisions and absolute box office entertainment. Rasmussen qualified 10th and ran inside the top 10 for the majority of the race, despite being sent to the back of the field on Lap 119 for a pit speed violation. When Rasmussen pitted for new tyres during the final caution, we all fancied his chances at moving through the order but we could never have imagined the events that did unfold. Although many others couldn't, Rasmussen switched on his new tyres and was making overtakes in the same fearless way that he always does. Even if his spotter was telling him to be smooth, Rasmussen was never going to be and claimed the unlikeliest of victories in one of the most feel-good stories of recent memory. Yes, this result would not have come if it weren't for the rain, but Rasmussen made the most of the opportunity he had.
AJ Foyt Racing
No.4 - David Malukas - A
It feels as if Malukas has been denied oval victory in almost every possible way this season, but it was another performance to be proud of in Milwaukee. Malukas had looked set for a first career pole before Palou's heroics and exchanged positions with the Spaniard in the opening phases. However, a wheel gun failure on his second stop and the proceeding caution left Malukas agonisingly a lap down. To Malukas' credit, he recovered excellently to eighth - a first victory remains a case of when, not if.
No.14 - Santino Ferrucci - D+
After all the expectation Ferrucci weighed on himself pre-season as well as the mid-season form that the American found himself in, it has been an awful stretch of races for the No.14 stand. After crashing into the stationary DeFrancesco in practice, Ferrucci qualified 23rd, 21 places behind his teammate and made little progress on Sunday. He was lapped multiple times and did not gain places in his usual box office fashion. He finished 14th when all was said and done.
Juncos Hollinger Racing
No.76 - Conor Daly - B+
There's been no secret that ovals have been Daly's strong suit this season, although results keep falling by the wayside. Daly qualified ninth and as he always does, made superb progress in the opening stint. However, strategy would be the nemesis for the No.76 stand and he would fall to an unlucky 13th. He will have another excellent chance to make amends at Nashville next time out though.
No.77 - Sting Ray Robb - D+
Robb qualified in 19th in one of his better qualifying showings this season just hours before he crashed in final practice. That incident proved costly as Robb could not progress on Sunday, finishing 23rd - two laps down.
Dale Coyne Racing
No.18 - Rinus VeeKay - B-
Not masses to report from VeeKay's weekend. The Dutchman qualified well in 12th and finished 15th. Not spectacular, but that would have been deemed a good day for the team in 2024 which shows the progress the team has made under VeeKay.
No.50 - Jacob Abel - C-
Nothing much on Abel's side either as he qualified 24th and finished 21st - the first of those two laps down. Abel did suffer misfortune on a strategical side but still needs to show more in the way of pace.
PREMA Racing
No.83 - Robert Shwartzman - C-
For somebody who has bizarrely starred on ovals this season, this is more of what we expected on ovals out of Shwartzman and PREMA. Shwartzman qualified 21st and finished 18th in what was a fairly anonymous weekend.
No.90 - Callum Ilott - D+
It was an all-round difficult weekend for PREMA. Ilott struggled greatly in qualifying and was last of those who did not have a major incident. His race day came to an abrupt end after 138 laps after he suffered a dramatic failure. A shame after a really encouraging run of races.
