IndyCar Preview: Milwaukee 250s
- Dan Jones
- 2 hours ago
- 9 min read
The 2026 IndyCar season may be over in just over a week's time, but there is still plenty to play for, with three races still to take place over two weekends. The first of those two stops is at the Milwaukee Mile in West Allis, Wisconsin which plays host to the only double-header weekend of the season. With a champion still to be crowned, battles for Rookie of the Year and the Leaders' Circle still being hotly contested and drivers still fighting for the futures, there is plenty to look out for on oldest operating race track in the world. It is time for the busiest weekend of the IndyCar calendar as the Milwaukee Mile hosts Rounds 16 and 17 of 18 of the 2026 season.
What happened in Washington?
The Milwaukee double-header marks the fourth and fifth races in a stretch of six races in five weeks, with the series only just recovering from a once-in-a-generation event on the Streets of Washington, D.C.
For the first time ever, a motor race was held in the grounds of the National Mall, overlooked by the US Capitol Building as IndyCar celebrated America's 250th birthday in the grandest of fashions. In a race overseen by President Trump, Kyle Kirkwood dominated the 250 miles to claim his second victory of 2026, signifying an American victory in the race celebrating America's independence.
There was no catching Kirkwood, but Christian Lundgaard crossed the line as his closest competitor earning his sixth podium finish of the season whilst Will Power earned his third consecutive third place finish, and fifth third-place finish of 2026, rounding out an Andretti 1-3.
Scott McLaughlin crashed out whilst fighting for victory in the closing stages, as his winless drought reaches two seasons this weekend, whilst there were career-best days for Nolan Siegel and Caio Collet in sixth and ninth respectively.
Given the significance of the event, there was a huge promotional effort from IndyCar, FOX and the White House to promote IndyCar's marquee road/street race of the year, which reaped the rewards they were looking for. FOX Sports averaged 3.282 million viewers, the highest non-Indy 500 figure since re-unification with approximately 9 million viewers tuning in at some point during the race. It marked a 279% increase on last year's viewership figure of non-Indy 500 Sunday races and brings FOX's average viewership figure this year to 1.875 million.
You can read the full race report here, the DIVEBOMB IndyCar Podcast's race review here and my gradebook here.
Kirkwood's victory kept his minute championship hopes alive as polesitter and championship leader Álex Palou suffered a disastrous Sunday after he ran over equipment during his first pit stop, before having a slow second stop and crashing towards the end of the race.
Although a 42 point gain was significant, a 91 point gap with three races to go is unlikely to make Palou sweat, with the Spaniard highly likely to claim a fifth series championship this weekend. The full top 10 in points are as follows:
Palou - 553
Kirkwood - 462
Lundgaard - 443
Malukas - 411
O'Ward - 399
Newgarden - 376
Ericsson - 361
Rosenqvist - 355
McLaughlin - 354
Power - 328
All you need to know about Milwaukee
IndyCar makes its second trip to Wisconsin this weekend, as they head to to the Milwaukee suburb of West Allis, the home of the 1.015 mile (1.633 km) Milwaukee Mile. The circuit dates back to 1903 with its IndyCar history dating back to 1937. The circuit returned to the IndyCar schedule in 2024 after being absent for nine seasons.
The circuit will remain on the IndyCar schedule for at least another five years after the promoters announced a new contract extension with IndyCar prior to on-track action getting underway this weekend.
This weekend will also see the circuit return to hosting two races, as was the case when it returned to the calendar in 2024. It hosted a single race in 2025 but to fulfil a 17 race calendar in 2026 (prior to the announcement of the Freedom 250), the series added a second race.
Milwaukee may be a relatively simple oval, being just over a mile long, with relatively low banking of 9.25 degrees in the corners and 2.5 degrees on the straights, but it separates the great oval drivers from the good, with traffic management, strategy and utilising the high line all features that come into play in Milwaukee races.
It is therefore no surprise to see both Power and Scott Dixon on the Milwaukee roll of honour, with the multi-time IndyCar champions claiming victories prior to the circuit's return in 2014 and 2009 respectively.
Since the return to the schedule, the circuit has seen three different winners from three different teams with Pato O'Ward and McLaughlin both victorious in 2024 before Christian Rasmussen put on a masterclass in short oval racing last year to claim his maiden IndyCar victory.
Both races will take place over 250 laps, with 14 sets of tyres available for teams throughout the weekend. Unlike seen at the last oval race at Nashville, this weekend will not see the use of an alternate tyre.
Qualifying will see drivers complete two laps, with their first lap dictating the starting order for Race 1 and their second lap dictating the starting order for Race 2.
In significant career milestones, Kyffin Simpson will make his 50th IndyCar start this weekend.
What to look out for in Milwaukee
Throughout the weekend, all eyes will be on the mathematical calculations regarding the championship. A 54-point lead for Palou exiting Milwaukee will see him crowned as a five-time IndyCar champion on paper, with a 49-point lead exiting the race simply requiring Palou to turn up to Laguna Seca to become champion.
It requires Kirkwood to gain an average of 19 points per race with Christian Lundgaard having to gain an average of 28 points per race should the title fight be carried over into Laguna Seca. In reality, that is highly unlikely, with a top four finish in both races effectively enough to crown Palou champion (with bonus points not taken into account).
Kirkwood's best Milwaukee finish stands at just eighth, whilst Lundgaard's stands at sixth, with both drivers realistically needing one of the best weekends of their careers (and a Palou catastrophe) to just mathematically take the title battle into the season finale.
What makes things even trickier was how impressive Palou was at Milwaukee last year. The Spaniard had a dominant pole run and had led 199 laps until Rasmussen's late charge left Palou helpless in fighting for victory. That said, Kirkwood impressed at the mile oval at Phoenix earlier this year, as he finished runner-up to Josef Newgarden.
Speaking of Newgarden and Team Penske, they likely come into the weekend as the team to beat given their oval form. Newgarden won both short oval races earlier this year at Phoenix and Gateway and the team finished 2-3-4 behind Palou at the last oval race at Nashville Superspeedway.
It has been a difficult stretch of races for David Malukas, who crashed out at Washington last weekend. However, there is no doubting his credentials on ovals, with Malukas having earned three podiums on such track type this year, including after starting in last place at Nashville. Malukas continues to hunt for a first career victory in his first season with Penske.
The spotlight will also certainly be on Scott McLaughlin though who heads into this weekend two years without a win, with his last coming at the second Milwaukee race in 2024. McLaughlin's form has been slightly improved in recent races but he has generally lacked behind his teammates pace-wise on ovals this season. All of those doubts could be quashed should he return to Victory Lane this weekend.
But you can't have a short oval race without keeping your eyes on Rasmussen. The Dane had his true breakout performance at Milwaukee last year where he starred with his on-the-edge racing and proved that his aggressive, bold approach can pay dividends as he romped home to Victory Lane after a late race charge. Rasmussen impressed at Phoenix earlier this year before a late-race collision with Power saw his day come to an early end, although he did bounce back with a podium at Gateway earlier this year.
Rasmussen is also in need of a strong weekend considering his position in the Leaders' Circle - the prize pool given to the top 22 entrants. Rasmussen is tied on 180 points with rookie Caio Collet, and just 10 points ahead of Mick Schumacher. A finish outside the top 22 places can cost up to $1 million in prize money, therefore it is vital that Rasmussen has another strong short oval performance should he want to head to Laguna Seca comfortably within those positions.
Other drivers to watch this weekend include Dixon, who's 21-year race winning streak looks in serious threat unless he can find victory in this final three races. Rinus VeeKay was highly impressive at the previous oval races at Gateway and Nashville, with his Juncos Hollinger Racing team earning only their only ever podium at Milwaukee two years ago with Conor Daly.
O'Ward has had a tough run of races and still only has one podium to his name in 2026, but has found success at Milwaukee in the past, even if McLaren have struggled with oval form this year. Also watch out for Andretti Global pair Power and Marcus Ericsson who have both shown well alongside Kirkwood on ovals this season, the team having claimed second-place finishes at both Phoenix and Gateway.
It also marks an important weekend in the Rookie of the Year battle. Schumacher was a surprise standout at Nashville, where he earned a career-best eighth-place finish whilst Collet was fighting within the top five at Gateway before he had a mechanical failure. However, it is Dennis Hauger who leads that championship with a 24-point gap to Collet and 34-point gap to Schumacher. It is a comfortable margin but certainly not one Hauger can rely on, especially given his oval form so far this year.
Indy NXT Preview
Whilst the IndyCar championship is near a foregone conclusion, the Indy NXT championship is very much still in play, with three drivers still in contention with just three races to go. Indy NXT have just a singular race in Milwaukee before a double-header in Laguna Seca will decide the champion as well as who earns the crucial bonus funding to help their dreams of reaching IndyCar.
The series has had three weeks off whilst IndyCar visited Markham and Washington, with their most recent race taking place at Portland International Raceway in a race that Alessandro de Tullio led from start to finish, with Andretti Global pair Lochie Hughes and Max Taylor rounding out the podium.
Behind them though, the incredibly close fight for the championship got even closer. A seventh-place finish for Enzo Fittipaldi moved him one point ahead of Nikita Johnson, who finished directly behind Fittipaldi on the road. Tymek Kucharczyk, who was the furthest back of the three, crossed the line in fourth, as he gained valuable points on his two championship contenders as he narrowed his deficit to 18.
Here's how the full points picture looks within the top 10 (drivers with an R are eligible for Rookie of the Year):
Fittipaldi (R) - 476
Johnson (R) - 475
Kucharczyk (R) - 458
Taylor - 396
Hughes - 386
de Tullio - 378
Rowe - 344
Beeton - 316
Nannini - 307
Correa - 299
Whilst the three championship contenders have been incredibly close on road courses and more often than not, the ones competing for podiums and victories, the previous ovals at Gateway and Nashville have been a very different story.
Johnson has been the best of the trio, having taken a runner-up finish in Nashville, with an average oval finish of 4.5 so far this season. For Fittipaldi and Kucharczyk, the reading is much more difficult, with averages of 12th and 14th respectively - with both drivers having suffered significant issues in at least one of the previous oval races.
What is better reading for Fittipaldi though is the full-field test results from June, where the Brazilian topped the timing sheets, with Kucharczyk down in 10th and Johnson 13th.
Salvador de Alba is the defending winner at Milwaukee and returns to the No.17 HMD Motorsports entry this weekend after having to sit out the previous race at Portland, as well as the next race at Laguna Seca due to budget issues. Briton Bart Harrison made his debut at Portland and will return for the season-finale double-header next week too.
Other active drivers to have stood on the Indy NXT podium at Milwaukee include Lochie Hughes, who finished third last year and Jacob Abel, who finished second in 2024. Abel returns to the No.48 entry that he piloted at Portland after Jordan Missig's season ended early due to budget issues.
The No.76 Juncos Hollinger Racing car will be absent this weekend, as it was at Nashville, with Nolan Allaer set to return next weekend at Laguna Seca.
Indy NXT's race will take place over 90 laps, with three sets of tyres available to each entry.
Timings
IndyCar Practice: 17:00 CT (23:00 BST) Friday
Indy NXT Practice: 08:00 CT (14:00 BST) Saturday
IndyCar Qualifying: 10:05 CT (16:05 BST) Saturday
Indy NXT Qualifying: 11:35 CT (17:35 BST) Saturday
IndyCar Race 1: 13:45 CT (19:45 BST) Saturday
IndyCar Warmup: 09:15 CT (15:15 BST) Sunday
Indy NXT Race: 10:06 CT (16:06 BST) Sunday
IndyCar Race 2: 12:20 CT (18:20 BST) Sunday
Will Palou be crowned an IndyCar champion for the fifth time this weekend? Can Kirkwood and co keep the battle at least mathematically going to Laguna Seca? Can the likes of Rasmussen star again? Can Malukas earn a first victory or will McLaughlin break his winless drought? How will the Leaders' Circle and Rookie of the Year battle shape up throughout the weekend? Can FOX continue their positive Washington momentum?
DIVEBOMB will bring you all the news and updates throughout the weekend as well as post-race analysis for the only double-header race of 2026.
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