IndyCar Milwaukee conclusions: Championship leaders Palou and Power crack under pressure

The historic Milwaukee Mile has returned to the IndyCar calendar, and its 2024 doubleheader event made for some frankly compelling racing as the title fight cools down.

These are the big takeaways from our Milwaukee return.

Conclusions from IndyCar Milwaukee doubleheader

Pato O’Ward deserves respect from IndyCar

The Milwaukee weekend kicked off with the announcement that NASCAR had beat IndyCar to the punch in arranging a race in Mexico City — and with Penske Entertainment boss Mark Miles claiming that IndyCar couldn’t count on a Mexican race being a success because Pato O’Ward simply isn’t popular enough.

Miles’ statement is the definition of finding excuses for the series’ own failures — after all, IndyCar has allegedly been “in talks” to host a race in Mexico long before O’Ward joined the field and padded the fanbase with new demographics.

O’Ward’s definitive win in Race 1, though, sent a message loud and clear: The Mexican driver deserves far more respect than he’s been getting from IndyCar management.

The Mexican driver initiated a pass on championship leader Alex Palou that proved to be the race-winning move, and he held that lead despite ample pressure from Will Power. It also means O’Ward joins elite company as being one of three drivers to secure three wins this year — with the other two being Will Power and Alex Palou.

His consistency may not have resulted in a fight for the championship this year, but O’Ward’s success is impressive.

Alex Palou doesn’t need to master ovals to win this title…

Spanish racer Alex Palou has led the IndyCar championship for several races, but his dominance was expected to wither in the final swing of the season; four of the last five races on the calendar were set to take place on ovals — and ovals simply aren’t Palou’s strength.

Well… they didn’t seem that way, at least. Palou still hasn’t taken his inaugural oval victory, but his frankly impressive consistency on the unfamiliar tracks has proven that he’s no slouch, and that he can still take his third IndyCar title without ever needing to stand on the top step of an oval track’s podium.

Just look at his results: Fifth place at the Indy 500, second in Race 2 at Iowa, fourth at Gateway. His worst oval result this year came when he accidentally spun himself out in the first Iowa race, leaving him ranked 23rd.

Unfortunately, Palou’s Race 2 wasn’t anywhere near as promising as his Race 1. Coming to the green flag, his No. 10 Honda stalled, and he fell back multiple laps as the team changed his battery. The car fired back up, and he hit the track again 28 laps down to preserve his championship lead by only the narrowest of margins.

More from IndyCar at Milwaukee:

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

👉 Opinion: IndyCar management’s outdated ideas of growth and popularity will destroy the series

… But Will Power isn’t going to give up the title that easily

Race 2 disaster for Alex Palou turned out to be a massive boon for Team Penske’s Will Power, who cruised into a comfortable lead at Milwaukee.

That lead, sadly, didn’t last; Power lost control of his car on his own accord and clipped the wall after a pit cycle. Thankfully for him — and for the close championship — Power managed to bring his car to the pits and repair the damage.

Like Palou, he managed to get back onto the track. Unlike Palou, Power only lost one lap in the process.

Now, heading into the final race of the season, the championship will likely depend on which driver finishes highest on the track.

Palou still defends the lead of the chase with a 33-point lead over Power, but with 54 points up for grabs in Nashville, it’s still anyone’s game.

Conor Daly singlehandedly turned the tides for Juncos Hollinger Racing

Things were looking grim for both Conor Daly and for the No. 78 Juncos Hollinger Racing machine heading into Milwaukee. Daly, who hasn’t had a full-time IndyCar ride in years, was pegged as the most reliable unemployed driver to power the JHR Chevy into the top 22 in points — and therefore into the $1 million offered as Leaders’ Circle prize money — but his results had left much to be desired.

After taking over from Agustin Canapino in Iowa, Daly’s highest finishing position was 13th — not anywhere near impressive enough to secure the No. 78’s position in the Leaders’ Circle.

Race 1 at Milwaukee, though, was a much different story. Daly was one of the only drivers to have mastered the top lane, and he used it to impressive advantage, passing upwards of 10 cars in the first laps of the race. From that point forward, Daly kept carving through the field, eventually coming home third for his first podium position since 2016.

That was also the first podium for JHR in its brief IndyCar history, and it launched the No. 78 firmly into the Leaders’ Circle. Before the race, the car sat in 23rd, just outside of the top-22 qualifying positions. After the race, it rocketed up to 20th.

Now, that doesn’t guarantee any continued success for the car, but it certainly does place JHR in a much better position than it’s been in since it joined the IndyCar series.

IndyCar has a pressing reliability problem

While Race 1 at Milwaukee went off without much of a hitch, Race 2 was absolutely disastrous in terms of reliability. The Arrow McLaren teammates of Pato O’Ward and Nolan Siegel both retired from the race with gearbox issues, while Palou’s championship hopes went up in flames courtesy of a dead battery.

Further, Honda has faced ample issues with its powertrains this season, both before and after the introduction of the hybrid system. The complexion of the championship has been changed as a result of reliability problems — a massive frustration in a series that has been running the same cars for over a decade.

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