Round 16 of the 2026 IndyCar season has been completed at Race 2 of the Milwaukee Mile, view the full race report here.
With Race 1 postponed due to rain, Race 2 maintained its 1:00pm EST starting time on Sunday.
Championship leader Alex Palou started on pole position ahead of Pato O’Ward and Josef Newgarden. Kyle Kirkwood, currently P2 in the championship, started the race from the back of the grid in P25.
Green flag for IndyCar Milwaukee Race 2
Palou maintained his lead off the line, with Newgarden overtaking O’Ward for P2. Mick Schumacher, who scored his best qualifying position, maintained P4.
Dale-Coyne Racing’s Romain Grosjean had a strong start, getting up to P10 with aggressive overtakes on Scott Dixon and Christian Lundgaard. Kirkwood began to cut his way through the field, aiming to reduce his points-gap to Palou.
By Lap 15, Palou gained a four-second lead over Newgarden before reaching the backmarkers.
Newgarden catches Palou
By Lap 30, Newgarden cut the gap down to Palou by less than one second, as Palou got stuck behind the lapped traffic of Nolan Siegel. Newgarden took the high line, attempting to overtake the race leader on Lap 31, but was unsuccessful.
O’Ward entered the battle for the lead, with the top three drivers separated by less than one second. Newgarden overtook Palou for the race lead on Lap 35.
Grosjean spins
On Lap 35, the yellow flag is out at the IndyCar Milwaukee Mile Race 2. Romain Grosjean spun his car, losing it on the power. He kept it out of the wall, able to continue the race.
The pit lane opened on Lap 38. Almost everyone pit under the caution. There was a near-miss in the pits between Newgarden and Siegel. Unfortunately, O’Ward had a slow pit stop, losing positions.
Kirkwood gained positions up to the top ten through the pit cycle.
Green flag fies
The green flag is out on Lap 46. Palou led off of the line ahead of Newgarden. Going three-wide, VeeKay got up to P4 ahead of Foster and Schumacher. The Dutch driver continued chasing down McLaughlin for P3.
The No. 3 Team Penske driver struggled with his exits, getting overtaken by Lundgaard and Foster. McLaughlin and Kirkwood banged wheels, fighting for P6.
Newgarden appeared to start struggling as VeeKay caught up to the back of the No. 2 Team Penske car. On Lap 78, VeeKay got past Newgarden for P2. Lundgaard soon followed suit, getting past Newgarden for P3.
Palou continued to struggle at the lead in Race 2 of the IndyCar Milwaukee Mile, unable to overtake Siegel’s No. 7 Arrow McLaren.
Pit cycles begin
On Lap 85, Newgarden took a gamble and pit early for fresh tyres.
Most drivers chose to pit on Lap 88. Lundgaard had a slow pit stop, while VeeKay had a strong stop. Both cycled out behind Newgarden, showcasing the benefit of the undercut.
Palou chose to pit on Lap 90, exiting ahead of Newgarden and maintaining his lead.
VeeKay retook P2 from the No. 2 Team Penske car on Lap 94.
VeeKay takes the lead of IndyCar Milwaukee Race 2
On Lap 100, VeeKay swept around the outside, taking the race lead from Palou.
Kirkwood continued to fly through the field, overtaking Lundgaard and Newgarden for P3 on Lap 108. He began to chase down his championship rival for P2.
Siegel continued to defend against the race leaders, but VeeKay got through him on Lap 116.
Team Penske continued to struggle on-track. Will Power caught up to the back of Newgarden and overtook him on Lap 122, with Lundgaard shortly following suit.
Palou retakes the lead and pit stops continue
The pit stop cycles commence again, with Marcus Ericsson, Power, Newgarden, Malukas, and Rasmussen entering the pits. Power had a strong pit stop.
At the same time, Palou retook the lead from VeeKay on Lap 125 of IndyCar Milwaukee Race 2.
Kirkwood and Lundgaard pit one lap later, losing positions to the early stoppers.
Palou and VeeKay pit together on Lap 127. Palou maintained his lead ahead of VeeKay, and exited the pits into the race lead ahead of Power, Newgarden, and McLaughlin.
David Malukas entered the fight, overtaking teammate McLaughlin for P4. The No. 12 Team Penske driver continued to go after his teammates, getting past Newgarden for P3 on Lap 137. He soon overtook Power for P2, chasing down Palou for the race lead.
Newgarden spins out
On Lap 142, Newgarden spun on track and hit the barriers, affected by the marbles on track. A full-course yellow is called. The team repaired Newgarden’s car, able to send him back out into the race.
The pits re-opened on Lap 147, while McLaughlin and Dixon chose to stay out. Power exited the pits ahead of Palou and Malukas, gaining two positions.
Grosjean in the wall during IndyCar Milwaukee Race 2
The race restarted on Lap 158, however it soon went under caution again. Grosjean spun on the restart and crashed into the barriers.
The race restarted on Lap 169, with McLaughlin maintaining his lead and Power taking P2 from Dixon. Lundgaard got past Palou, and Rasmussen started to make moves, now up to P6.
Unfortunately, Kirkwood had a poor start and dropped to P10.
On Lap 175, Power took the lead of the race from McLaughlin, making it the sixth consecutive race where he has led race laps. Lundgaard made his way up to P2, overtaking McLaughlin.
Power gets a penalty
Pit cycles began on Lap 194. Unfortunately, Lundgaard had a slow stop and Power received a penalty for speeding in the pits.
O’Ward took the lead of the race ahead of McLaughlin, Lundgaard, Palou, and Malukas.
With 33 laps to go, Palou was told he needs to make his tyres last for the remainder of the race. Malukas soon overtook the championship leader for P4.
Dixon chose to pit on Lap 128. At the same time, O’Ward in the lead got to the back of Power’s car, who fell down the order due to his penalty. This allowed McLaughlin to catch up to the back of him.
The Arrow McLaren driver got past Power on Lap 134, with McLaughlin and Lundgaard following suit.
Pato O’Ward wins the IndyCar Milwaukee Race 2
Arrow McLaren driver Pato O’Ward drives home to win the Milkwaukee Mile Race 2 ahead of Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin and teammate Christian Lundgaard.
The race marks Lundgaard’s first podium finish on an oval track.
Kirkwood finishes the race P6 behind Palou in P5, keeping the championship fight open.
