By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio

Newly-minted/repeat INDYCAR champion Alex Palou is stating his case as an oval-track ace.

Alex Palou – Snap-On Milwaukee Mile 250 – Photo by Chris Owens

Palou claimed the NTT P1 Award Saturday for today’s Snap-on Milwaukee Mile 250 on the final attempt of the qualifying session, turning a two-lap average speed of 162.971 mph in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. Palou, who clinched his fourth NTT IndyCar Series championship on Aug. 10 at Portland (Ore.) International Raceway, earned his sixth pole this season.

SEE: Qualifying Results

“I knew I had a good car,” said Palou, a 28-year-old native of Spain. “I just wanted to get everything out of it, so I just fired as much speed as I think it could handle and a little bit more, and it sticks. It feels amazing to get a pole here.”

Alex Palou – Snap-On Milwaukee Mile 250 – Photo by Paul Hurley

Palou is in the midst of a magical season capped by his third consecutive championship. Alex has won eight races, tied for the third-most in one season in INDYCAR history, including his first oval victory in the 109th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge in May.

This is Palou’s second oval NTT P1 Award of the season, as he won from P1 in July in the second race of the Iowa Speedway double-header. This was his 12th career pole overall and third on an oval, as he captured the top spot for the 2023 Indianapolis 500.

Alex Palou – Snap-On Milwaukee Mile 250 – Photo by Chris Owens

Palou and the No. 10 team are two victories away from tying INDYCAR’s all-time single-season wins record of 10, a mark that hasn’t been reached in 55 years. That record is shared by Houston native A.J. Foyt Jr. _ aka “Super-Tex” (1964) _ and Al Unser (1970).

Live broadcast coverage of Round 16 of the series is set for 2 p.m. (EDT), on FOX, FOX One, FOX Sports app and the INDYCAR Radio Network.

Palou dramatically seized the pole from rising star David Malukas, who was on the verge of winning his first career NTT P1 Award after turning an average of 162.256 mph in the No. 4 Clarience Technologies Chevrolet of Waller, Texas-based A.J. Foyt Racing as the 18th car on the 1.015-mile oval in the 27-car field.

David Malukas – Snap-On Milwaukee Mile 250 – Photo by Chris Owens

Still, Malukas will start on the front row after tying his career-best qualifying performance.

“Before he (Palou) went out, I told the guys, ‘He looked fast in Practice 1; he’s going to be the one to beat,’^” said Malukas, a 23-year-old native of Chicago in his first season with Foyt’s organization. “As soon as I saw that first lap, saw him come out of (Turn) 4, I was like, ‘All right, that one looked pretty good.’ We’re going to be starting on that front row here in Milwaukee. We can still do a lot from up there.”

The contrast in strategy between Palou and Malukas on their respective warmup laps reflected the different choices made by the field as they prepared to take the green. Malukas warmed-up at 159.264 mph, while Palou cruised past the flag stand at 151.187 on his warm-up, saving wear on his Firestone Firehawk tires before stomping on the throttle for his two-lap dash.

Pato O’Ward – Snap-On Milwaukee Mile 250 – Photo by Joe Skibinski

Championship runnerup Pato O’Ward qualified third at 162.078 mph in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. “I feel like I missed a little bit in Turn 1, but this is a great starting position and much better than where we started last year,” said O’Ward, a 26-year-old native of Mexico with family ties to San Antonio, Texas. “We’re going to try and double-up and fight for a win. I’m really excited to go for it.”

O’Ward will be joined in Row 2 by 2024 Milwaukee race-winner Scott McLaughlin, the native New Zealander who qualified fourth at 161.758 mph in the No. 3 Sonsio Vehicle Protection Chevrolet of Team Penske.

Scott Dixon – Snap-On Milwaukee Mile 250 – Photo by Paul Hurley

Six-time series champion Scott Dixon qualified fifth at 160.951 mph in the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. But the native New Zealander will move back nine spots on the grid as a penalty for an unscheduled engine change beyond the season’s allotment.

Impending free-agent Will Power of Australia qualified sixth at 160.819 mph in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet. That run capped a strong day for Roger S. Penske’s crew. Josef Newgarden qualified eighth at 160.330 mph in the No. 2 Snap-on Team Penske Chevrolet as the legendary organization will try to earn its first oval victory of the season.

Foyt Racing’s Santino Ferrucci struggled in practice and again in qualifying. The Dallas resident will start 21st in the No. 14 Phoenix Investors Chevrolet after posting a two-lap average of 156.862 mph.

Santino Ferrucci – Snap-On Milwaukee Mile 250 – Photo by Chris Owens

There was one incident involving contact and another near-miss during qualifying. Sweden’s Felix Rosenqvist did a quarter-spin in the No. 60 SiriusXM Honda of Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb-Agajanian on his first qualifying lap, backing into the SAFER Barrier in Turn 4. The rear of the car suffered moderate damage; Rosenqvist was uninjured.

That incident occurred just minutes after Colton Herta slid his No. 26 Gainbridge Honda fielded by Andretti Global through Turn 2 and did a half-spin to the left exiting that corner. Herta exhibited incredible car control, walking the tightrope between throttle and wheel-input to keep the car off the walls.

Dennis Hauger’s grip on the 2025 INDY NXT by Firestone championship trophy got a bit tighter after a record-setting qualifying performance Saturday at The Milwaukee Mile.

Dennis Hauger – INDY NXT by Firestone at the Milwaukee Mile – Photo by Chris Jones

Hauger won the pole for the INDY NXT by Firestone at The Milwaukee Mile with a two-lap average speed of 152.639 mph in the No. 28 Nammo car of Andretti Global. That’s the track record for a two-lap average in INDYCAR’s developmental series, breaking the mark of 151.180 mph set by Louis Foster of Great Britain last season.

SEE: Qualifying Results

“Qualifying, we’re there,” said Hauger, a 22-year-old native of Norway. “Feels really good. We still have stuff to work on for the race. Hopefully we will figure that out. I’m super-happy. A great step forward for tomorrow’s championship clinch. That’s the goal, so we’ll keep pushing.”

Series rookie Hauger leads Caio Collet of Brazil by 54 points _ exactly the maximum that can be scored in one race _ entering this event with two to go this season. Hauger will earn a bonus point for pole and only needs to finish ahead of Collet today (11:30 a.m. EDT, FS1, FOX One, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network) to seal the championship. Collet is starting seventh in the No. 76 HMD Motorsports machine.

This was the seventh pole this season for Hauger, who also has won six of 12 races.

Salvador de Alba qualified a career-best second at 151.739 mph in the No. 27 Grupo Indi car, as Andretti Global drivers locked-out the front row. De Alba appeared to be headed toward a pole run after his opening lap of 153.773, breaking the one-lap track record of 151.952 set by Mark Hotchkis in 1996. But de Alba slowed to 149.758 on his second trip around the 1.015-mile oval.

“I’m not 100 percent sure what happened on Lap 2,” said de Alba, a 25-year-old native of Mexico. “The car was on rails on Lap 1. But Lap 2 wasn’t the same.”

Callum Hedge of New Zealand qualified third _ tying his season-best _ at 151.336 mph in the No. 17 Abel Motorsports machine. Australian Lochie Hughes was the third Andretti Global driver in the top-four qualifying spots, stopping the clocks at 150.869 mph in the No. 26 McGinley Clinic/USF Pro Championship car.

Myles Rowe, winner of the most-recent oval race at Iowa Speedway, qualified fifth at 150.857 mph in the No. 99 Abel/Force Indy car. He will be joined in Row 3 by Bryce Aron, who qualified sixth at 150.852 mph in the No. 9 Chip Ganassi Racing entry.

Meyer Shank Racing has confirmed that Marcus Armstrong will return to the team and drive the No. 66 Honda during the 2026 NTT IndyCar Series season.

The 25-year-old New Zealander has recorded 10 top-10 finishes so far this season, highlighted by a podium at Iowa Speedway _ the second of his INDYCAR career.

“I’m very pleased and grateful to be back with Meyer Shank Racing and my crew for 2026,” Armstrong said. “The professionalism and attention to detail is a benchmark throughout the field and we have certainly improved with time together, which has been great. We’ll look to build on our momentum and work hard to climb the points standings.”

Armstrong also has impressed in qualifying, matching his career-best starting position of third (Streets of Toronto), and earning a second-row start with a fourth-place effort to kick off the season in St. Petersburg, Fla.

“We’re thrilled to have Marcus back for 2026,” said Mike Shank, co-owner of Ohio-based MSR. “He’s really grown a lot this season and we’re seeing that in his results as the season has gone on. His performance this year has shown that he has all the tools to fight at the front. We’re excited to continue building on this progress together.”

NTT IndyCar Series Point Standings _ 1, Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing, 626*; 2, Pato O’Ward, Arrow McLaren, 475; 3, Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing, 411; 4, Christian Lundgaard, Arrow McLaren, 398; 5, Kyle Kirkwood, Andretti Global, 387; 6, Will Power, Team Penske, 342; 7, Felix Rosenqvist, Meyer Shank Racing, 337; 8, Colton Herta, Andretti Global, 333; 9, Marcus Armstrong, Meyer Shank Racing, 331; 10, David Malukas, A.J. Foyt Racing, 287;

11, Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske, 285; 12, Rinus VeeKay, Dale Coyne Racing, 272; 13, Christian Rasmussen, Ed Carpenter Racing, 257; 14, Santino Ferrucci, A.J. Foyt Racing, 253; 15, Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, 246; 16, Alexander Rossi, Ed Carpenter Racing, 244; 17, Kyffin Simpson, Chip Ganassi Racing, 240; 18, Josef Newgarden, Team Penske, 239; 19, Conor Daly, Juncos Hollinger Racing, 220; 20, Marcus Ericsson, Andretti Global, 208;

21, Nolan Siegel, Arrow McLaren, 195; 22, Callum Ilott, PREMA Racing, 191; 23, Louis Foster, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, 189; 24, Robert Shwartzman, PREMA Racing, 183; 25, Sting Ray Robb, Juncos Hollinger Racing, 160; 26, Devlin DeFrancesco, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, 145; 27, Jacob Abel, Dale Coyne Racing, 107; 28, Takuma Sato, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, 36; 29, Helio Castroneves, Meyer Shank Racing, 20; 30, Ed Carpenter, Ed Carpenter Racing, 16;

31, Jack Harvey, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing/Cusick Motorsports, 12; 32, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing/Cusick Motorsports, 10; 33, Kyle Larson, Arrow McLaren with Henrick Motorsports, 6; 34, Marco Andretti, Andretti Herta with Marco & Curb-Agajanian, 5.

_ *Clinched 2025 Driver’s Championship

FOX SPORTS’ 2025 NTT INDYCAR SERIES BROADCAST COVERAGE SCHEDULE

Sunday, March 2 _ Streets of St. Petersburg, Fla. (Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing)

Sunday, March 23 _The Thermal Club, Thermal, Calif.  (Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing)

Sunday, April 13 _ Streets of Long Beach, Calif. (Kyle Kirkwood, Andretti Global)

Sunday, May 4 _ Barber Motorsports Park, Birmingham, Ala. (Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing)

Saturday, May 10 _ Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road-Course (Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing)

Sunday, May 25 _ Indianapolis Motor Speedway Oval (Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing)

Sunday, June 1 _ Streets of Detroit (Kyle Kirkwood, Andretti Global)

Sunday, June 15 _ World Wide Technology Raceway, Madison, Ill. (Kyle Kirkwood, Andretti Global)

Sunday, June 22 _ Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wis. (Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing)

Sunday, July 6 _ Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington (Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing)

Saturday, July 12 _ Iowa Speedway, Newton, Race 1 (Pato O’Ward, Arrow McLaren)

Sunday, July 13 _ Iowa Speedway, Newton, Race 2 (Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing)

Sunday, July 20 _ Streets of Toronto, Canada (Pato O’Ward, Arrow McLaren)

Sunday, July 27 _ WeatherTech Raceway, Laguna Seca, Monterey, Calif. (Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing)

Sunday, Aug. 10 _ Portland (Ore.) International Raceway (Will Power, Team Penske)

Sunday, Aug. 24 _ The Milwaukee Mile, West Allis, Wis. (FOX, 2 p.m.)

Sunday, Aug. 31 _ Nashville Superspeedway, Lebanon, Tenn. (2:30 p.m.)

NOTE _ All times Eastern. Dates and times subject to change.