Josef Newgarden started the race weekend at the Milwaukee Mile strongly by posting the fastest time in the only practice session. The Team Penske driver set his lap time midway through the session, and no one was able to surpass it. Scott Dixon recorded the second-fastest time, with Pato O’Ward in third place. Rinus VeeKay ended the day in seventeenth.

Alex Palou led early in the session, but when new tires were fitted to the cars midway through, Josef Newgarden moved into first place. He held onto that position until the end of the practice.

There was some uncertainty about whether the session could be completed, as dark clouds gathered around the circuit. Fortunately, the rain clouds stayed far enough away from the track, and the yellow flag did not need to be waved for precipitation.

Many drivers used the practice session to run long stints, simulating race conditions. It was evident that overtaking would not be easy, although this seemed to improve as the tires wore out. A stint appears to last up to sixty laps, meaning that Sunday’s race will likely require at least four pit stops per driver!

Aside from a brief neutralization for track inspection, the practice session seemed to be running smoothly until Christian Rasmussen came to a halt with damage with ten minutes remaining. The Ed Carpenter replacement had taken too high a line through Turns 1 and 2, getting onto the marbles and sliding into the wall.

After the AMR Safety Team quickly cleared the track, the practice session resumed with just a minute left on the clock. Despite the limited time, a large portion of the IndyCar field went back out on track, but no further lap times were improved.

Full results of the 1st free practice session on Milwaukee Mile