IndyCar News: Newgarden tops Milwaukee Mile practice

Josef Newgarden turned a lap of 23.0156s or 158.762mph to top IndyCar practice Friday for this weekend’s Hy-Vee Milwaukee 250s doubleheader in his #2 Penske Chevy.

Ganassi veteran Scott Dixon was 2nd quickest in his #9 PNC Honda, just 0.0993s behind Newgarden.

Pato O’Ward put his Arrow McLaren Chevy third on the timesheets, 0.1477s behind Newgarden.

Felix Rosenqvist was 4th fastest in his #60 Meyer Shank Racing Honda, 0.1656s behind.

Scott McLaughlin rounded out the top-5 in his #3 Penske Chevy, 0.1725s behind his teammate Newgarden.

The session had two yellow flags, one for Christian Rasmussen, who lost control of his #20 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevy late in the session and the other for track inspection.

The media meet with Newgarden and Dixon, the two fastest drivers in today’s practice. The two veteran drivers were asked what they thought about the current state of the track compared to the last time they raced here.

Newgarden, who won the pole in 2015, said, “It’s different compared to 2015 when we left.  We had a huge aero kit, big downforce. You were pretty much just flat. Today was very different from 2015.”

“It’s just a different car. A lot less downforce. It’s heavier, requires a different setup, different finesse. You got to look after things differently than you did ten years ago.”

“It’s the same Milwaukee. There’s a preferred line. There’s kind of an alternate line that’s not great but usable. Yeah, it’s a very interesting track. I think if we get some drop-off, there’s going to be good racing, which I think everybody wants to see.”

Dixon, who won here in 2009, had little to add to Newgarden’s comments but agreed that the car is much heavier than it was nine years ago.

The two fastest drivers today also have teammates running closely for the championship.  Both were asked if there would be any team orders to give their teammate a better chance of winning this season’s title.

Newgarden’s teammate is Will Power.  The Aussie has had two championships and is currently second in the points.

Newgarden answered, “We need to go out and do the job we always do. We’re going to race each other hard, but we need to take care of each other, right? I don’t want to be crashing my teammates.”

“You got to be really careful, though. This is not me being cagey, it’s just the truth. If you start trying to orchestrate too much, you put yourself into a mess. I’m not going to do that. I don’t think as a team we’re going to try to do that.”

“When it comes down to the very end, hopefully we’re in a position to seal the championship, we all want to see that happen, especially me. I’ll make sure that we get the job done in Nashville.”

Dixon added his take on his teammate, Alex Palou, leading the points for what would be his third championship.  “I think when it makes sense, it makes sense. Otherwise, you have to focus on your own thing. You always give your own teammates more room. You race them differently than you maybe do some other competitors in some situations.”

“Does it emphasize when it’s for a championship? Yeah, a little bit.”

“You just always hope that a team car isn’t going to play a part in how that goes. If it’s with the inner team stuff, then so be it.”

Friday Practice Hy-Vee Milwaukee 250 Results

Lucille Dust reporting live from the Milwaukee Mile