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Hy-Vee Milwaukee Mile 250s - Race 1
West Allis, Wisconsin
August 31, 2024

JOSEF NEWGARDEN No. 2 PPG CHEVROLET

START: 11TH  
FINISH: 26TH  
POINTS: 7TH (-131)
 

RACE RUNDOWN: Josef Newgarden's roller coaster 2024 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season continued on Saturday afternoon with a 26th-place finish in the first Hy-Vee Milwaukee Mile 250 of the weekend. A winner two races ago in St. Louis, Newgarden was involved in an incident with the No. 28 of Marcus Ericsson that ended his day on Lap 147. Newgarden qualified in the second position on Saturday afternoon, but after the team elected to change engines prior to the race, they were docked nine starting positions and took the green flag from 11th. After working his way well inside the top 10 by the first pit stop of the day, Newgarden had a big moment in Turn 2 just after making his pit stop, resulting in slight contact with the outside wall and a ruined set of Firestone Firehawk tires. After dropping back through the field and becoming mired in heavy traffic, the No. 2 timing stand made the call to undercut their third stop of the day, coming to pit lane at Lap 131 and cycling to the second position. Unfortunately, just after the pit stops had cycled through, Ericsson drove to the inside of Newgarden in the second corner before the two came together in the incident that saw them both retire early. 

NEWGARDEN'S THOUGHTS: "I think (Marcus Ericsson) got in a little hot. I gave him the inside, because it's really tough to hold the inside, and looks like he just kind of washed up a little bit on the entry to middle. The next thing I know I'm getting hit and we run into the wall. It's tough. Man, I hate getting into a wreck, but it happens. It's INDYCAR. Sometimes it goes your way, sometimes it doesn't."

SCOTT MCLAUGHLIN No. 3 ODYSSEY BATTERY CHEVROLET

START: 1ST  
FINISH: 8TH  
POINTS: 4TH (-92)

RACE RUNDOWN: Scott McLaughlin and the No. 3 Odyssey Battery Chevrolet team started from the pole position - McLaughlin's league-leading fifth NTT P1 Award of the season - before finishing eighth in the first Hy-Vee Milwaukee Mile 250 of the weekend on Saturday evening. McLaughlin's pole-winning run was the 696th pole position in Team Penske history and gives the New Zealander 69 top qualifying spots in his Team Penske history, the most all time. After leading the first 48 laps of the event, McLaughlin dropped to the second position and remained there through the first half of the race. As the handling began to deteriorate on the No. 3 Chevy, McLaughlin also lost a handful of positions on the third pit cycle of the night as a caution flag flew before the cycle had completed. McLaughlin continued to battle the tough Milwaukee surface as he looked to continue his strong showings on ovals in 2024 but would ultimately cross the finish line in the eighth position. 

MCLAUGHLIN'S THOUGHTS: "Tough day for the Odyssey Battery Chevy. We weren't fast in traffic. Unfortunate because I thought when we were out in clear air and running out in the front, we were good. Just need to get our car better in traffic and we'll be okay."

WILL POWER No. 12 VERIZON CHEVROLET

START: 5TH 
FINISH: 2ND 
POINTS: 2ND (-43)
 

RACE RUNDOWN: Will Power and the No. 12 Verizon Chevrolet team know what is in front of them in their chase for another NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship, and their push begins with finishing ahead of leader Alex Palou in each of the final three races of the season. Even though it was a small gain to start, Power's second-place finish in Saturday's Hy-Vee Milwaukee Mile 250 accomplished just that by shaving 11 points off the 54-point lead Palou held entering the series' return to the historic Milwaukee Mile. After qualifying in the sixth position during the Saturday time trials, Power moved up one spot at the drop of the green flag due to teammate Josef Newgarden's grid penalty. He maintained a strong position inside the top 10 throughout the first stint before losing several positions on the pit cycle after electing to overcut the field. After battling back from the lost track position, Power and the Verizon Chevy team received good fortune by electing to try the overcut again on their final pit stop of the night, as they benefited from a timely caution that allowed them to hit pit lane for service and restart from the third position. With 28 laps to go, Power made the pass on second place running Santino Ferrucci and began to run down race leader Pato O'Ward as he dealt with lapped traffic. Power was able to make it to the rear wing of O'Ward but ran out of laps before he could mount a pass for the lead. 

POWER'S THOUGHTS: "Stoked to get on the podium with the Verizon Chevy. One more was what we needed. Pato (O'Ward) was super good and strong, and got through that traffic really well. Alex (Palou) is forever consistent, so it's hard to drop that points gap but we're doing everything we need to at the moment. We're executing good starts and strategies. Keep digging, man. Keep digging and try and keep the fight to the end."

Coverage of the second race of the Hy-Vee Milwaukee Mile 250s race weekend begins tomorrow at 2:30 pm ET on USA Network, Peacock and the INDYCAR Radio Network.