WEST ALLIS, Wis. (Friday, Aug. 30, 2024) – The NTT INDYCAR SERIES hasn’t raced at the Milwaukee Mile since 2015, but a recent trend of oval racing in the series continued Friday during the opening practice for the Hy-Vee Milwaukee Mile 250s.

Two-time series champion Josef Newgarden led at 158.762 mph in the No. 2 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet on the 1.015-mile oval. Team Penske has won all four previous oval races this season, and two-time and reigning Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge winner Newgarden has triumphed in 10 of the last 15 circle-track races in the series.

The practice was divided into two groups of 15 minutes each to work in the lower groove on the historic track, and then the circuit opened for all cars for 90 minutes. Newgarden said the challenge was interpreting how the Firestone Firehawk tires adapted to the lower and higher lines on the track.

“I think you definitely have your hands full midway through to the end of the (tire) stint,” Newgarden said. “I liked our car a lot. It was tricky in the beginning. We had two different tires we were working with. The low-line running had like one balance by itself, and then it completely flipped when we went to this weekend’s tire.

“There was some tuning that went on there. I felt like we got into a good spot. The PPG car was really comfy at the end. Everyone is going to make their own decisions on how they view the tire usage and the mileage. It’s been really interesting the last couple of ovals on how people have strategized it.”

Up next is NTT P1 Award qualifying for both races this weekend at 2:15 p.m. ET Saturday. The first 250-lap race follows later that afternoon at 5:40 p.m., with Peacock and the INDYCAR Radio Network providing exclusive live coverage of qualifying and the race. Race 2 starts at 2:30 p.m. ET Sunday (USA Network, Peacock, INDYCAR Radio Network).

Six-time series champion Scott Dixon was second in practice at 158.080 in the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. Pato O’Ward was third at 157.750 in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet.

Felix Rosenqvist ended up fourth at 157.628 in the No. 60 AutoNation/SiriusXM Honda of Meyer Shank Racing, and Scott McLaughlin put two Team Penske cars in the top five with his best lap of 157.581 in the No. 3 Odyssey Battery Team Penske Chevrolet.

Series leader and reigning series champion Alex Palou was ninth overall at 156.793 in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. His closest pursuer, two-time series champion Will Power, was 11th at 156.539 in the No. 12 Verizon Business Team Penske Chevrolet.

Palou leads Power by 54 points – a gap of exactly one race’s worth of points – with three races remaining this season as the Spaniard seeks to earn his third title in the last four seasons and become the first repeat champion since Dario Franchitti pulled off the feat for the Ganassi team in 2010-11. Franchitti also won the title in 2009, pulling off a three-peat by 2011.

Colton Herta, third in points and 67 behind Palou, was 10th at 156.647 in the No. 26 Gainbridge Honda of Andretti Global with Curb-Agajanian, as the top three drivers in the standings were sandwiched together from ninth through 11th on the speed chart.

The long session was incident-free until eight minutes remained, when rookie Christian Rasmussen crashed. 2023 INDY NXT by Firestone champion Rasmussen drifted above the racing line in Turn 2, lost grip and hit the SAFER Barrier with the right side of his No. 20 GuyCare Chevrolet of Ed Carpenter Racing. He was unhurt.

CHEVROLET IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES
HY-VEE MILWAUKEE MILE 250
MILWAUKEE MILE
WEST ALLIS, WISCONSIN
TEAM CHEVY PRACTICE REPORT
AUGUST 30, 2024

JOSEF NEWGARDEN AND TEAM PENSKE LED NTT INDYCAR SERIES PRACTICE AT THE MILWAUKEE MILE

• Josef Newgarden, driver of the No. 2 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet, led both the field and Team Chevy with his fastest lap of 158.762 mph after a 90-minute opening practice session for the Hy-Vee Milwaukee Mile 250 doubleheader weekend.
• Team Chevy finished with three in the top 10, including Newgarden, Pato O’Ward, driver of the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet (third), and Scott McLaughlin, driver of the No. 3 Team Penske Chevrolet (fifth).
• Saturday sees qualifying for the doubleheader events at Milwaukee, followed by the Hy-Vee Milwaukee Mile 250 Race 1 at 5:40 p.m. ET live on Peacock. Sunday’s Hy-Vee Milwaukee Mile 250 Race 2 airs on USA Network with the green flag dropping at 2:30 p.m. ET. Additional coverage of the twin 250-lap, 253.75-mile races broadcast via Peacock, INDYCAR Radio, and SiriusXM Channel 218.

TEAM CHEVY TOP-10 PRACTICE RESULT:
Pos. Driver
1st Josef Newgarden (158.762 mph)
3rd Pato O’Ward (157.750 mph)
5th Scott McLaughlin (157.581 mph)

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING (QUOTES):

Pato O’Ward, No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet:

“It is a pretty quick turnaround going into qualifying and the first race of the weekend tomorrow. But, I’m feeling quite content with what we’re heading into qualifying with. I would say there is a bit more of a question mark for the race, but this will be new for a lot of people so we’ll just have to see what it has in store for us.”

Nolan Siegel, No. 6 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet:

“It was a solid Practice 1. We started out with an issue at the beginning, which we worked through. I’m proud of the way the team handled it, and we ended up closer toward where we want to be. I think we will have a strong qualifying car. I think we’re where we need to be, it just took a little while to get there as we worked through things and I learned the track. We’ll look forward to qualifying and look to put the No. 6 Big Machine Music City GP Arrow McLaren Chevrolet up at the front.”

Alexander Rossi, No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet:

“There was a lot to do in 90 minutes, but I think we have a pretty decent direction. It will be important to qualify well tomorrow, and then we’ll have to group up again and determine our best path forward for the race.”

Gavin Ward, Team Principal, Arrow McLaren:

“We’re battling near the front against a couple of teams that have had some extra testing miles around here. With a limited practice window, we tried to make every run count today. I’m pleased to see Pato (O’Ward) up there in the mix, and I think Alexander (Rossi) and Nolan (Siegel) are not far off either, and can learn from him, too. We’re going to try to put our best foot forward in a very important qualifying session and go from there.”

JOSEF NEWGARDEN, No. 2 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet – Practice Press Conference:

THE MODERATOR: Wrapping up practice, we are joined by Josef Newgarden.

Josef, P1 in the practice session. What does that mean for the rest of the weekend?

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: It’s always tough these days. It’s a full grid, right? What do we have, 27 cars? A lot of people on track.

I’m sure there’s individuals that didn’t get a super clear lap, and there’s probably more to be seen from everybody. You just account for that. I think we’ve accounted for that at other ovals. You’ll see the same thing here.

It’s encouraging. Think our car was really good. I was happy. Took some tuning. The tire was very different on the low line tire that we ran, then we went to the current tire and it took a lot of work to get it where it needed to be.

When we got through the first 30 minutes, I was super happy with the car. The team did a great job feeling comfy and comfortable. Yeah, I think Team Chevy did a good job, too, at least from what I’ve seen preliminarily.

Two opportunities for us to have a nice result to end the year.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Does it feel different, similar? Any of the old feel come become or does it feel like a completely new track?

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: From previous years?

Q. Yes.

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: It feels similar. It’s different compared to 2015 when we left. We had a huge aero kit, big downforce. You were pretty much just flat. Very different from 2015.

Q. (No microphone.)

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Exactly. We’re way heavier. From that standpoint, it’s completely different.

But I think it’s still Milwaukee. Like, sort of the general traits of this track are very much there underneath the surface. It’s just a different car. A lot less downforce. It’s heavier, requires a different setup, different finesse. You got to look after things differently than you did 10 years ago.

It’s the same Milwaukee. There’s a preferred line. There’s kind of an alternate line that’s not great but usable. Yeah, it’s a very interesting track. I think if we get some dropoff, there’s going to be good racing, which I think everybody wants to see.

Q. What should we expect in race one tomorrow?

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yeah, I mean, he’s right. You don’t know with these sessions. Sometimes you sort of get an inkling on what you think is going to happen, then things just kind of shift as you get through the race.

I think Gateway was a very surprising result. I was super surprised the way it raced. So I don’t know. I mean, until we get through the first one, it’s really tough to predict.

I know you want an answer, you think we have more of an idea. We get through the first round, we’ll know exactly how is going to race, you know what you’re getting for race two.

Right now, it’s going to be interesting to see who is strong. I think you’ll have big separation is one thing that I will say. I think you’ll have cars that are really not good, like really not good, and you’ll have some cars that are really good, so…

That’s one thing I’d predict.

Q. Josef, Will was telling us earlier today you told him at Portland that you’d be willing to swap positions with him for points if it came down to the end?

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Look, what I told him, I said it’s too early now. If it comes down to the finale, I’ve had great support from him in the past. Thinking about my first championship, 2017, he shadowed me the whole race. When it comes down to the very end and we’re still in position…

You got to be really careful, though. This is not me being cagey, it’s just the truth. If you start trying to orchestrate too much, you put yourself into a mess. I’m not going to do that. I don’t think as a team we’re going to try to do that.

Logically, you come down to the finale, we’re in Nashville, we have a car that can seal the championship, I’m not in it, I’m going to have his back all the way, 100%. But we’re not in Nashville yet. There’s a long way to go. If we try and get too clever about the way we run our team, I think you put yourself in a bad situation.

We need to go out and do the job we always do. We’re going to race each other hard, but we need to take care of each other, right? I don’t want to be crashing my teammates.

When it comes down to the very end, hopefully we’re in a position to seal the championship, we all want to see that happen, especially me. I’ll make sure that we get the job done then.

Q. As strong as Penske has been on the short ovals, is there more emphasis for all three of you to help Will knowing you can put gap on Palou? If he wins, that helps him a little bit more?

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yeah, kind of the same answer. It applies to that question, too. Me running in a normal condition is helping Will. If he’s off a little bit, I’m good today, he’s going to know exactly why I was good today. There’s nothing hidden there.

We’ll go back and have a conversation like we always do. If there’s something that he’s benefitting from this, then he will. We got to run our normal program, try to win these races. Obviously our team wants to be in a position to win the championship.

It’s not easy, though. Yeah, Palou could have an issue on one race, it closes right up, or he could just have two great races, like he normally does.

I don’t think anything’s a slam-dunk or simple. Just got to run our races and try to do a great job. Hopefully we’re in position by the time we get to Nashville to close the deal.

Q. Josef, how do you like the Josef Newgarden restart zone?

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Didn’t change. They’re just painting it. There’s no difference. If you read the fine print, there’s no rule change.

I love it when it was brought up. That’s a great point. Just to make it non-subjective. We get a gray-out zone, it’s a little subjective of where it starts and where it finishes, right? It’s a pretty big zone. You put a line, there’s no subjectiveness. That’s great.

I don’t think the restart procedure needs to change. They’ve made some good changes this year, which were provoked by last year, the jumpiness that we’ve had this. We’ve had this for 24 months, this jumpiness on restarts.

This probably should have been done in the beginning. I just think it’s a clarification more than anything, which is good for everybody.

Q. One of the things that was discussed (in the media bullpen) is NASCAR got a race in Mexico City ahead of INDYCAR. Pato is extremely disappointed in that. That spawned a conversation about where some places that INDYCAR could race. This guy would probably say Down Under. Where would you want to go race if you had a wide-open map?

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yeah, I mean, you don’t want to ask me. My dream tracks would be in, like, Japan. I’d be going to Japan. I love the country. I was sad I missed that era when they were running there. That would be on my list.

Going to Spa, old school tracks like that. Brands Hatch GP. The list would go on and on. There’s a lot of legendary tracks.

I think there’s some great stuff in the pipeline. I honestly do. We have a lot of momentum. I’m excited about FOX coming onboard next year. NBC has done a great job for us, but we’re going to be turning the page and having a new chapter next year. I think we should all be excited about that. There’s more stuff to piggyback on with that deal.

I’m excited about 2025. We need to finish this year off right, but I think we got great momentum that can happen next year.

Q. (No microphone.)

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I’ve always wanted to race there. That’s where I watched some of my very first INDYCAR races, Nashville Superspeedway.

Q. (No microphone.)

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Nashville Superspeedway? Yeah, I do. I’ll respect their name. Not scared to do it.

About Chevrolet

Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands. Chevrolet models include electric and fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.

WEST ALLIS, Wis. (Friday, Aug. 30, 2024) – Louis Foster sent a clear message to the rest of the INDY NXT by Firestone field during practice Friday at the Milwaukee Mile: He wants the season championship now.

Championship leader Foster dominated with a best lap of 148.410 in the No. 26 Copart/Novara Technologies entry of Andretti Global early in the 45-minute session on the 1.015-mile oval. Foster only needs to finish fifth or better to secure the title in the penultimate race of the season and the first race at this historic track since 2015 for the INDYCAR development series.

“I think it’s good to be back here,” Foster said. “Now, we’ll go to work on the car for qualifying and also the race car. It’s going to be a tricky car to set up, so we’re going to work on that tonight and try figure it out.

“Obviously, it’s a good way to start the weekend. I’m happy with the car; we just need to fine-tune it here.”

Qualifying is next at 1 p.m. ET Saturday (INDYCAR LIVE, INDYCAR Radio Network), followed by the 90-lap INDY NXT by Firestone at the Milwaukee Mile race at 3:50 p.m. Saturday (Peacock, INDYCAR Radio Network).

Rookie Callum Hedge was second fastest in practice at 147.348 – more than 1 mph behind Foster – in the No. 17 HMD Motorsports car. Jacob Abel, who won last Sunday at Portland International Raceway to keep his faint title hopes alive, was third at 147.252 in the No. 51 Abel Construction machine of Abel Motorsports. Abel is the only driver mathematically eligible to challenge Foster for the title, 79 points behind the leader.

Another rookie, Salvador de Alba Jr., was fourth at 147.093 in the No. 2 Grupo Indi car fielded by Andretti Cape INDY NXT. De Alba scored his only podium finish of 2024 at the season’s first oval by placing third July 13 at Iowa Speedway.

Jamie Chadwick rounded out the top five at 147.067 in the No. 28 VEXT car of Andretti Global.

Two yellow flags for contact interrupted practice.

Rookie Taylor Ferns did a quarter-spin exiting Turn 2 in the No. 55 Abel Motorsports car and backed into the SAFER Barrier eight minutes into the session. Nine minutes later, Reece Gold also clipped the wall in Turn 2 with the right side of his No. 10 HMD Motorsports car. Ferns and Gold were unhurt.

Austin, Texas (Friday, August 29, 2024) – Forte Racing is proud to announce their new multi-year partnership with BLogic Systems, a payment technology solutions company based in Northern California. BLogic Systems became the exclusive payment technology partner for the Southern California based Forte Racing team and is supporting their IMSA GTD and Lamborghini Super Trofeo programs.

BLogic Systems’ innovative payment technology allows Forte Racing to use multiple payment options to optimize all of their revenue streams on a single platform. The company’s goal is to provide an innovative, user-friendly point-of-sale (POS) solution to businesses of all sizes with top-notch customer service.

Erick Tu, President of BLogic Systems, is excited to enter the motorsport arena as a partner of Forte Racing. He looks forward to bringing the company that was built on a foundation of listening to the needs of every individual business owner to the world of sports car racing and the businesses that support those race teams.

“We are thrilled to partner with Forte Racing to bring people-first, customized payment technology solutions to the fast-paced world of motorsports,” Tu said. “BLogic Systems is dedicated to ensuring seamless transactions with unmatched flexibility, reliability, and efficiency at the track and beyond.”

Forte Racing Team Principal Shane Seneviratne is delighted to be the racing partner for a tech company that is unique in their capability to offer flexible and customized payment solutions based on the individual customer’s needs. Unlike other processors, BLogic takes a tailored approach to helping merchants save as much as possible.

“I’m extremely excited to have BLogic as our team’s payment solutions partner,” Seneviratne said. “The fact that they were able to tailor their product to our specific needs was a big incentive for our team to enter into the partnership. Erick (Tu) and his team have been exceptionally easy to work with and we’re looking forward to continuing our partnership for years to come.”

Click here for more information on how BLogic Systems can help your business and be sure to follow the team at Forte Racing.

About Forte Racing (Formerly known as US RaceTronics)

Forte Racing is a Los-Angeles based Motorsport team supported by Lamborghini Squadra Corse and competing in the IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship, the IMSA VP Racing Sportscar Challenge and the Lamborghini Super Trofeo series.

Founded in 2023 and operated by US RaceTronics, the Italian-American team’s GT Daytona title contender is a Lamborghini Huracan EVO2 GT3 driven by Pro driver Loris Spinelli and Misha Goikhberg. The ream finished the 2023 season with four top-five finishes in the last five races of the season and included a 2nd-place finish at Indianapolis and a win at the season-finale Petit LeMans. The team finished an impressive rookie season fifth in the IMSA WeatherTech GTD Championship.

The team line-up for the 2024 IMSA WeatherTech GTD Championship includes the team’s 2023 Petit LeMans winning driver Goikhberg and Spinelli along with NTT INDYCAR SERIES driver Devlin DeFrancesco for the five IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup races.

US RaceTronics (USRT) was founded by Shane Seneviratne in 2005 to compete in the Atlantic Championship, a formula race car series. The team finished 5th in points its first year and continued its success during the succeeding years, ultimately amassing a total of 21 podiums, 7 poles, 5 race wins and finishing 3rd in the 2009 Atlantic Championship. USRT was put on hold after series officials announced the Atlantic Series was put on hiatus.

Seneviratne fully returned to racing in 2015 after receiving an invitation to manage the O’Gara Motorsport entries in the Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo North American (LBSTNA) Series. The team won the Team Championship, Dealership Championship, Pro Championship and Amateur Championship that season.

The success of 2015 reignited Seneviratne’s passion for racing and he relaunched US RaceTronics to compete in the 2016 LBSTNA Series. The team has won multiple North American and World Championships and expects to add to their success as they enter their eighth season in the Lamborghini Super Trofeo North American Series. The team also competed in 2023 with one car each in the IMSA WeatherTech GTD Championship and the IMSA VP Challenge and will be expanding their entries in 2024.

For more information on how to become a driver with US RaceTronics, learn more about the Series, or attend a race, visit www.usracetronics.com.

About O’Gara Motorsport

O’Gara Motorsport was founded in 2014 by owner Tom O’Gara and celebrated winning the 2015 North American Lamborghini Super Trofeo driver and team Championships. The team goal is to achieve victories in the Series as well as showcasing the brands of their sponsors both on and off the track. With a vertically integrated platform that starts at the dealership and accelerates to the top levels of professional sports car racing, everyone at O’Gara is dedicated to providing a comprehensive program for anyone, from the casually curious to the dedicated racer.

About Change Racing

Founded by Lamborghini Charlotte CEO and long time real estate developer, John E. Littlefield, Change Racing is the premier championship winning team. Claiming 18 titles in various classes; Change Racing has competed in the Lamborghini Super Trofeo Series since its inception in 2013.

Most recently claiming the 2021 Amateur World Championship in Misano, Italy. Change Racing also claimed all SIX 2020 North American Championships, including the Pro, Pro-Am, Am and LB Cup class championships as well as the Team and Owner championships.