Pato O’Ward completed the ‘double’ at the Milwaukee Mile by also winning the postponed Saturday race at the Milwaukee Mile. The Arrow McLaren driver passed race leader David Malukas at the final restart and never relinquished the lead. Malukas finished second, ahead of Rinus VeeKay, who scored his first podium finish for Juncos Hollinger Racing. With a tenth-place finish, Alex Palou clinched his fifth IndyCar Series championship.

Restart from Lap 90

The race restarted from Lap 90, with Pato O’Ward leading the field ahead of Felix Rosenqvist and Alexander Rossi. The top 13 had made their pit stops around Lap 50, while the drivers from 14th place onward were on an alternate pit strategy after making an extra pit stop when the caution came out on Lap 65. As a result, they had tires that were 10 to 15 laps fresher. David Malukas led the drivers on the alternate strategy, ahead of Alex Palou and Scott Dixon.

Around the time the green flag was scheduled to fly, rain drops began falling again. As a result, the restart was delayed by several laps, but eventually the green flag flew after more than 24 hours of delays. O’Ward retained the lead ahead of Rosenqvist, while Lundgaard passed Rossi for third.

Most of the drivers on the alternate pit strategy opted to play it safe during the first round of regular pit stops and returned to the standard strategy. Only Malukas and Marcus Armstrong continued on the alternate strategy.

The first incident of the race occurred on Lap 152, when Mick Schumacher spun on the exit of Turn 4 after making contact with Romain Grosjean. Schumacher managed to keep his car out of the wall, but the race still had to be neutralized.

Malukas moves into the lead thanks to alternate strategy

Almost all drivers took advantage of the caution to make their penultimate pit stop, except Malukas, who had made his penultimate stop 10 laps earlier. As a result, Malukas moved into the lead ahead of O’Ward and Lundgaard. Armstrong also switched back to the standard strategy during the caution, leaving Malukas as the only remaining driver on the alternate strategy.

The caution also had an immediate impact on the championship battle, as Kirkwood entered pit lane just as the caution came out. To avoid making a pit stop under a closed pit lane, Kirkwood drove through without stopping. As a result, the American dropped deep into the field.

Despite running on older tires, Malukas was able to build a gap over O’Ward. After making his final pit stop at the same time as his rivals, the Penske driver retained the lead after the final round of stops.

Late cautions bring the field back together

Not long after the final round of pit stops, the race was neutralized again after Will Power ran wide in Turn 3 and hit the Turn 4 wall after driving through the marbles. It would not be long after that caution before the yellow flag waved again, this time after Caio Collet crashed in Turn 4 following contact with Newgarden.

The race was then restarted with 24 laps remaining. O’Ward immediately launched an attack for the lead and passed Malukas before the first corner to take the top spot.

Malukas was unable to match O’Ward’s pace and had to settle for second after 250 laps. McLaughlin appeared to be on course for third, but two laps from the finish he got caught up behind lapped car Scott Dixon and was passed by Rinus VeeKay, who secured his first podium finish for Juncos Hollinger Racing.

Full results of the race on Milwaukee Mile