Winners and losers for IndyCar Milwaukee doubleheader qualifying

One qualifying session determined the starting grid for both of Milwaukee’s doubleheader races — with the first one kicking this evening.

Expectations were high for Team Penske, and the Chevy outfit delivered in spades, but the news wasn’t as bright for the Chip Ganassi Racing drivers fighting for the championship.

Winners and losers for IndyCar Milwaukee doubleheader qualifying

Winner: Team Penske

It’s no secret that Team Penske thrives on ovals, or that short ovals are the particular specialty of Scott McLaughlin and Josef Newgarden. Both men were expected to perform well, and they delivered.

McLaughlin took pole for the first of Milwaukee’s two races, while Newgarden will lead the field to the start of the second event. It’s a promising start, especially since Newgarden will have to take a nine-place grid penalty for Race 1 thanks to an unapproved engine change.

Loser: Alex Palou

No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing driver Alex Palou is still leading the IndyCar championship heading into Milwaukee, but he’ll be hard-pressed to maintain that lead if his race pace is anything like his qualifying pace.

Despite two championships, Palou has yet to win on an oval track. That record could change at any time considering how quickly the Spanish driver has adapted to IndyCar racing — but he’ll have an uphill battle in front of him staring from 13th in Race 1 and 10th in Race 2.

Winner: Marcus Armstrong

Chip Ganassi Racing driver Marcus Armstrong may be in his second season of IndyCar, but 2024 is his first year with ovals — and it’s been a mixed bag.

A 30th-place at the Indy 500 marked Armstrong’s challenging oval debut, but a 10th place in the first race at Iowa and an eighth at Gateway mean the New Zealander has shown ample promise. He’ll start sixth in the first race at Iowa and an impressive third in the second — lining him up for a truly impressive result.

Loser: Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing looked promising in qualifying for Portland and managed to secure a fairly decent finish during the race itself — but the team’s short oval pace has left so much to be desired.

All three drivers — Graham Rahal, Christian Lundgaard, and Pietro Fittipaldi — qualified at the rear of the grid in both events. The latter two RLL drivers have grid penalties for Race 1, but with them starting in the back anyway, the penalties won’t really matter.

Understanding IndyCar at Milwaukee:

👉 Explained: IndyCar’s unique qualifying format for doubleheader races on oval tracks

👉 IndyCar returns to the oldest operating race track in the world: What to know about the Milwaukee Mile

Winner: Meyer Shank Racing

Meyer Shank Racing started out the 2024 IndyCar season strong but hit a little bit of a slump after the Indianapolis 500. However, it seems as if the team has earned a shot of life again as we lead into these final few events.

The more experienced of the MSR teammates, Felix Rosenqvist, will start from 10th seventh, respectively. David Malukas joined the team partway through 2024 but has become a strong contender right out of the gate; he’ll start from third and ninth, respectively.

Loser: Christian Rasmussen

Team owner Ed Carpenter has finally stepped back from oval competition, which means rookie Christian Rasmussen is facing a trial by fire in an effort to secure the No. 20 machine a slot in the Leaders’ Circle — a revenue-sharing program that provides the top 22 full-time entries with $1 million.

It must have been a tough choice for the experienced Carpenter to step back, but it’s also turning out to be tough for Rasmussen to live up to expectations. During practice at Milwaukee, he crashed his car.

Qualifying wasn’t much better; before penalties, Rasmussen will start the first race from 16th place and the second from 23rd due to a slight loss of control on his second qualifying lap.

Winner: Linus Lundqvist

Another impressive Chip Ganassi Racing driver, Linus Lundqvist has been shaping up into an impressive oval racer this year; he finished on the podium at Gateway earlier this month and also led a race lap — a high point in a season that has been certifiably just OK (aside from an additional podium at Barber Motorsports Park).

Milwaukee is a short oval that’s only somewhat similar to Gateway, but Lundqvist has already been quick out of the gate. He’ll start fourth in the first race and fifth in the second.

Loser: Andretti Autosport

Milwaukee will be an exercise in damage control for the Andretti Autosport team, which simply couldn’t come to grips with their cars heading into this race.

No. 28 driver Marcus Ericsson will start from ninth and 16th. No. 26 driver Colton Herta will start from 12th and 18th. Kyle Kirkwood in the No. 27 will start from 19th in both races.

Read next: How to follow an oval race: An IndyCar and NASCAR guide for F1 fans