IndyCar Results and Highlights From the First Race at the Milwaukee Mile

This weekend is the final oval race(s) of the 2026 IndyCar Season. Not only is it a track where our typical oval winners, like Josef Newgarden, face challenges – it is a double-header race weekend. This is the first race of two... kind of. This race began yesterday (Saturday), but was red-flagged at lap 90.

Due to the IndyCar officiating rulebook, the race must be run to at least half distance in order for it to count, and with a championship on the line, it must count. Earlier today, Pato O'Ward won Race 2 at the Milwaukee Mile, with Kirkwood and Palou only separated by one position. There was an outside chance that Palou would not clinch this race and the championship would go to Laguna Seca.

That being said, that didn't happen. Alex Palou is officially a five-time IndyCar Champion with only one race remaining in the 2026 season at Laguna Seca.

Alex Palou Chip Ganassi Racing — Mar 29, 2026; Birmingham, Alabama, USA; Chip Ganassi Racing Alex Palou (10), of Spain, celebrates after winning at Barber Motorsports Park. Mandatory Credit: Butch Dill-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

As for this race, the news is just as interesting. Pato O'Ward has won two races in one day, an important sweep for Arrow McLaren on their last oval weekend of the year.

The Biggest Winners of a Double Race Day

Naturally, Alex Palou is the big winner of the day. He is now third on the all-time IndyCar Championship list behind his long-time teammate, Scott Dixon, and A.J. Foyt himself. This marks the fourth consecutive title for Alex Palou, done most recently by Sebastian Bourdais in 2004-2007.

Our actual race winners, Pato O'Ward and Arrow McLaren, have also had an exciting weekend... and perhaps one of their most memorable. With a win in Race 2 followed by a win in Race 1, O'Ward takes home a unique title – the second IndyCar driver to win 2 IndyCar races in one day.

Rinus VeeKay Juncos Hollinger Racing Milwaukee Mile | Penske Entertainment, James Black

Also, excitingly, Rinus VeeKay finished third in the race. This is not only his first podium this year, but also his first podium with Juncos Holinger Racing. Their only other podium came from the driver who VeeKay replaced last year, Conor Daly, at this exact race last year.

Christian Lundgaard also finished in a Top 10 position in P6 – he finished P3 earlier in Race 2. Lundgaard is not known for his oval performance, but once that was publicly aired as a primary reason he had been replaced at Arrow McLaren, Lundgaard did everything to prove them wrong. With the results of this race, he has moved into P2 in the Championship ahead of Kirkwood.

IndyCar Milwaukee Mile Race 1 Results

Position	Driver / Team	Time Diff from Lead [s]
1.	Pato O'Ward / McLaren	-
2.	Malukas / Penske	+1.754
3.	VeeKay / Juncos	+2.864
4.	McLaughlin / Penske	+5.223
5.	Rasmussen / ECR	+7.211
6.	Lundgaard / McLaren	+7.728
7.	Newgarden / Penske	+8.827
8.	Ericsson / Andretti	+9.844
9.	Armstrong / Meyer Shank	+15.215
10.	Palou / Chip Ganassi	+15.903
11.	Foster / RLL	+16.087
12.	Schumacher / RLL	+17.049
13.	Siegel / McLaren	+17.602
14.	Rossi / ECR	+18.125
15.	Kirkwood / Andretti	+20.822
16.	Simpson / Chip Ganassi	+22.551
17.	Rosenqvist / Meyer Shank	+24.600
18.	Dixon / Chip Ganassi	+1 Lap
19.	Grosjean / Dale Coyne	+1 Lap
20.	Ferrucci / AJ Foyt	+1 Lap
21.	Hauger / Dale Coyne	+1 Lap
22.	Robb / Juncos	+1 Lap
23.	Rahal / RLL	+3 Laps
24.	Collet / AJ Foyt	DNF
25.	Power / Andretti	DNF

The final race of the 2026 IndyCar Season will occur next weekend at the historic Laguna Seca track in Monterey, California. The race will air on Fox at 2:30 PM ET on Sunday, September 6th.

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