Team Penske Dominates Practice at Milwaukee Mile: Newgarden Leads the Way with Snap-On Livery
The NTT IndyCar Series hit the iconic Milwaukee Mile for a practice session on Saturday morning. Josef Newgarden, sporting a special Snap-On livery, topped the time sheets with the fastest lap of the morning. Team Penske showed strong performance overall, with all three drivers posting competitive times in the top eight.
Newgarden clocked a quick lap time of 22.6864 seconds, reaching an average speed of 161.066 MPH on the flat oval. Alex Palou, the series' newest four-time champion, followed closely in second place, while Conor Daly secured the third-best time during the practice session.
Drivers approached the practice session cautiously to avoid any damage to their cars before qualifying. With only a two-hour gap between practice and qualifying, any necessary repairs could have resulted in missing out on the qualifying session entirely. Despite some instances of oversteer, the drivers managed to keep the session incident-free, except for a brief interruption for track inspection.
The track inspection was conducted to ensure the safety of the track surface, especially after recent flooding rains in the Milwaukee area. Fortunately, the track was deemed safe for racing this weekend, allowing the drivers to focus on their performance without any concerns about track conditions.
Louis Foster faced engine issues during the practice session, requiring a new Honda engine for his #45 entry. As a result, Foster will incur a grid penalty for Sunday's race after the RLL team swiftly diagnosed the engine problem and began working on the car.
Qualifying is scheduled for 1:00 PM central time, where drivers will have two timed laps to determine the starting order for Sunday's race. With the competitive practice session setting the stage, fans can expect an exciting qualifying session and a thrilling race on Sunday.