Part two of IndyCar’s return to the Milwaukee Mile started with Josef Newgarden on pole, hoping to improve from his DNF yesterday. Championship contenders Álex Palou and Will Power started tenth and fourth respectively, with the former looking to gain 12 points on Power to secure his second Astor Cup in succession and third in total.
But before the field went green it was Palou who had an issue and was stranded on the inside on of turn 1. This meant that the race started under yellow, giving the championship leader an immediate disadvantage of several laps, as the safety crew is unable to start the Honda engine in the back of Palou’s car. Back at his team the bodywork goes off the car, as the Chip Ganassi Racing crew also cannot start the car properly.
In lap 6 the field goes to green, and Rookie-of-the-Year contender Linus Lundqvist immediately goes into the back of team mate Marcus Armstrong, who gets pushed into Newgarden, who in turn gets spun into the wall. The pole sitter is out and Armstrong is on pit road for repairs, as yesterday’s winner Pato O’Ward has all the luck in the world hitting Armstrong’s car just slightly, rather than fully torpedoing it.
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing team mates Christian Lundgaard and Graham Rahal decide to make their first stops, as Palou’s car gives up the ghost for a second time, prompting the Catalan to sprint back to the stand and subsequently the garage. Replays in the meantime show that the start was abandoned, something which apparently was not told soon enough to Lundqvist.
Lap 17 the race goes underway properly, with Colton Herta making the most progress in the opening sequence, as does, of course, Santino Ferrucci. Lundqvist is penalised with a drive-through penalty for his part in the start crash, as Nolan Siegel is also in the pits with mechanical issues.
Palou’s car is repaired and he rejoins the race ‘just’ 29 laps down, as Siegel’s issue looks to be terminal with the rookie out of his car. Armstrong is also out, meaning there are still 24 cars left in competition.
Leader Scott McLaughlin has some issues in traffic, meaning Power can close up on his team mate. In lap 44 the Ozzy manages to pass, giving him the lead both in the race and (vitually) in the championship.
Alexander Rossi is the first to make a regular pit stop in lap 53, trying an undercut on the people in front. Marcus Ericsson and David Malukas follow duly, another lap later followed by almost all the drivers at the front of the race. This puts Katherine Legg eat the front, albeit for a brief moment. Rossi gained a place on McLaughlin, making his undercut attempt a success.
As Conor Daly is in the pits with issues, it is David Malukas who gets an issue on track and brings out the third caution of the day, just as everyone has pitted. The American from Latvian descend eventually is helped back to the pits, where the crew removes his bodywork for further inspection.
The field is released again in lap 72, and McLaughlin overtakes Rossi for second. A bit further back Ferrucci overtakes O’Ward, promoting the A.J. Foyt driver to fourth. All the chaos until now means there are only 13 cars still in the lead lap, meaning the backmarkers are scattered all throughout the field. Which is highlighted by Ericsson and Lundgaard almost coming together, with the latter one being a lap down.
Pato O’Ward is the next in line with a mechanical issue, as he is also heading to pit lane to have his bodywork removed for inspection. Given that both Malukas also hasn’t returned, this doesn’t bode well for the Mexican driver, and indeed after a few moments the steering wheel is removed, making the issue a terminal one.
The remaining Arrow McLaren of Rossi is the first one to stop for the next round of stops, prompting Power and McLaughlin to follow straight away. The rest of the field follows, and after everything has shuffled through it is the same order up front, with Power leading from McLaughlin and Rossi.
Slightly before the halfway point it is Sting Ray Robb who cruises to a halt on track after spinning out of turn 2, bringing out another yellow. The car is restarted by the safety crew, sending young American back on his way. Most drivers decide to make yet another pit stop, despite the last one being less than 20 laps ago. This puts Rossi in the lead of the race, form Scott Dixon and McLaughlin, who passed Power on pit road.
The restart is initially called off, but when Rossi leads the field to green it is Christian Rasmussen who tags Rahal and sends the veteran driver in the wall, prompting him to gesture that the rookie is a bit crazy in his driving. Rasmussen eventually receives a drive-through penalty for the incident.
The field goes back to green in lap 132, but the old adage of ‘cautions breed cautions’ again proves to be right, as Power spins at the moment he steps on the throttle, dropping him back to 11th. He immediately stops for used Firestones, but comes in again the next lap to change the front wing, dropping him back to 14th and a lap down.
Ferrucci and Herta battle for fifth, which becomes fourth as both pass Ericsson on the front stretch, with Ferrucci eventually coming out on top. Further back it is Power who crawls back up to 12th with 100 laps to go.
The front-runners hit the backmarkers and McLaughlin doesn’t hesitate and immediately passes Dixon, which also results in Herta and Ferrucci passing the six-time champion. Dixon stops a little later and is followed by Rossi a lap later.
McLaughlin also responds, putting him ahead of Rossi and Dixon. This means Herta leads from Ferrucci and Rinus VeeKay, with Ferrucci also stopping quite soon after McLaughlin. This also means Power is again in the same lap as the virtual leaders, running in 11th in the meantime. He stops with 75 laps to go, hoping to make it to the finish on his last set of new tyres.
Cycling through the stops of Herta, VeeKay and Romain Grosjean there are just seven drivers left on the lead lap, with McLaughlin leading from Rossi and Ferrucci.
Ferrucci is the first one too blink regarding the final stop, entering pit lane just shy of 50 laps to go. Rossi and McLaughlin stop a lap and two laps later respectively. This puts Herta back in the lead as the race enters the final stage.
With a little over 35 laps to go McLaughlin caught up with Herta, and the Penske driver tries to overtake into turn 3 and 4, but Herta refused to back down and retakes the position. A few laps later the Kiwi makes the move stick, as Lundqvist leaves a tyre mark on the SAFER barrier after being passed by Felix Rosenqvist. He returns to the pits, but has to give up eventually.
As for the championship, Palou is currently 20th 30 laps down, and Power is 10 places further up the road, one lap down on the leaders. This means the points gap between the two is 30 in favour of the reigning champion.
Sting Ray Robb causes another caution with 22 laps to go, as he gets too high in turn 1 and clobbers the wall. As soon as the pit lane is opened all drivers on the lead lap make another stop, with Herta having a slow stop, dropping him to fourth. Power and the rest of the drivers a lap down follow a lap later, and the early race leader gains a spot from Kyle Kirkwood.
The backmarkers are dropped to the back as the field is released with 11 laps to go. Dixon powers through to second, followed by Herta, dropping Rossi to fourth. Ferrucci passes Rossi a few laps later as McLauglin seems to be out of range for Dixon. A few places back Ericsson passes VeeKay for sixth
McLaughlin holds off Dixon for a Kiwi-double as Herta completes the podium. Ferrucci matches his fourth place from yesterday, from Ericsson, Rossi and VeeKay. Kirkwood is eighth from Grosjean and Power. Palou finishes 19th in the end, taking the championship battle to Nashville in two weeks time.
