Rain forced NTT INDYCAR SERIES officials to halt Race 1 of the Snap-on INDYCAR double-header weekend race and reschedule the event for Sunday at The Milwaukee Mile. Photo courtesy of the NTT IndyCar Series

By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio

A revised and likely relentless 507.5-miles of back-to-back NTT IndyCar Series racing has been rescheduled for Sunday at The Milwaukee Mile, where rain Saturday afternoon forced a halt to Race 1 of the Snap-on INDYCAR Weekend double-header.

The red flag for rain flew over the historic 1.015-mile oval in West Allis, Wis., after 90 of the scheduled 250 laps of the Snap-on Makers and Fixers 250, with Pato O’Ward leading the 25-car field in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. The race is booked to resume at 9 a.m. (EDT) today and run the full 250-lap distance _ or until 10:25 a.m., whichever comes first.

FS1, FOX One and the INDYCAR Radio Network will provide live coverage starting at 9 a.m.

O’Ward was credited with leading 54 laps and set the fastest lap thus far at 159.455 mph at time of the stoppage.

“Let’s just hope that the rain doesn’t get in the way again,” said O’Ward, a 27-year-old native of Mexico with family ties to San Antonio, Texas. “If we’re going to be able to complete the whole thing, there will be two strategies going on but it’s hard to say. On the final 50 laps or so we were thinking about getting in, I wasn’t planning on pitting, save some fuel perhaps and stretch it. It’s what it is, and we’ll come back and keep digging from there.”

Live coverage of Race 2 of the only double-header on the 2026 schedule _ the Snap-on Milwaukee Mile 250 _ is booked to start as originally scheduled at 1 p.m. (EDT) on FOX, FOX One and the INDYCAR Radio Network. Alex Palou, the four-time/reigning series champion and point-leader, will start on-pole for that 250-lapper in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda.

Palou leads Kyle Kirkwood of Andretti Global by 91 points and must lead by 108 after either the Snap-on Makers and Fixers 250/253.75-miler or 54 after the Snap-on Milwaukee Mile 250 to hoist the Astor Challenge Cup.

Recall that Palou was among a handful of drivers slapped with a nine-spot penalty on the starting grid of Saturday’s race for an unapproved engine change after last Sunday’s Freedom 250 Grand Prix in Washington, D.C. That historic street race was won by Kirkwood in dominating fashion.

Palou is looking to rebound this weekend from a miserable Sunday in D.C., where he finished 20^th _ three laps down to Kirkwood. Palou soldiered through an uncommon string of mistakes including hitting a rival’s tire during a pit stop and incurring a drive-through penalty; a slow pit stop due to a loose left front wheel and finally a crash in Turn 4 on Lap 123 due to a broken toe link from earlier wall-contact.

“You are never, ever comfortable until it is done, right?” said Palou, a 29-year-old native of Barcelona, Spain. “I think the good amount of points that we had is great for a day like we had in Washington, D.C., just so we can now focus on Milwaukee and try to win.”

Palou admittedly is a fan of the oval located at the Wisconsin State Fair Park. “It’s fun, it’s always fun. Lots of tire deg,” Palou said. “It has different lanes and you are able to pass. Like, whenever we have an oval that we’re able to pass without risking our entire car and our entire race, it’s fun.”

Palou is on a mission to become the only driver in series history to sit on five championships. Houston native A.J. Foyt Jr. (seven championships) and native New Zealander Scott Dixon (six) are ahead of Palou, who is bidding to tie Frenchman Sebastien Bourdais’ record of four consecutive open-wheel titles (2004-07). Should Palou win that fourth consecutive title _ and fifth in sixth years _ he’d sit alone in the record books ranked third overall with five INDYCAR championships.

Five drivers remain mathematically eligible for the 2026 championship _ Palou, Kirkwood, O’Ward, Christian Lundgaard of Denmark and Arrow McLaren and David Malukas of Team Penske. Any driver who trails Palou by 108 points or more following Race 1 will be eliminated from contention.

While the rain that prompted the red flag ended Saturday afternoon, INDYCAR and track officials determined there was not enough daylight remaining to completely dry the oval, pit lane and access lanes for competition.

With the start of the 2026 NFL regular-season schedule looming on Wednesday, Sept. 9, the 2026 NTT IndyCar Series season will conclude with the INDYCAR Grand Prix of Monterey on Sunday, Sept. 6, at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, Calif.

On a day of agony for two of three INDY NXT by Firestone title-contenders, Josh Pierson earned his first career pole in INDYCAR’s developmental series Saturday at The Milwaukee Mile.

Pierson, who is competing in his third full INDY NXT season and fourth overall, produced the series’ fastest two-lap average qualifying speed around the historic 1.015-mile oval at 153.434 mph in the No. 29 Starchive Andretti car of Andretti Global. That two-lap average qualifying speed broke the mark of 152.639 mph set last year by Dennis Hauger, a native of Norway who is now a regular in the NTT IndyCar Series with Dale Coyne Racing.

SEE: Qualifying Results

Pierson recorded his breakthrough pole in his 52nd career series start after he was a disappointing 11th in Saturday morning’s practice. His previous best qualifying spot was third, recorded five times, including in May for Race 2 of the double-header on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road-Course.

“Finally. It’s such a relief,” said Pierson, a 20-year-old native of Portland, Ore. “For me, I feel like it’s just always been a little bit…I’m always just lacking something. And to finally break through means the world to me. I owe it all to this crew, everyone on this No. 29 car.

“In practice, we kind of struggled. We really had to shake things up and try something with the car, and I’m really happy where things turned out.”

The 90-lap/91.35-mile race is scheduled to start at 11 a.m. (EDT) today with broadcast coverage on FS1, FOX One and INDYCAR Radio powered by OnlyBulls.

Rookie Tymek Kucharczyk of Poland was the only one of three title contenders to find speed in qualifying, securing second at 153.382 mph in the No. 71 HMD Motorsports car. Kucharczyk is third in the standings, 18 points behind leader Enzo Fittipaldi and 17 behind second-place Nikita Johnson with three races remaining this season.

Fittipaldi qualified seventh at 152.336 mph in the No. 67 HMD Motorsports machine. Fellow-Floridian Johnson struggled even more, qualifying a season-worst 15th at 151.350 mph in the No. 21 Cape Motorsports Powered by ECR car.

Rookie Jack Beeton of Australia backed up the speed that helped him lead practice Saturday morning by qualifying third at 153.280 mph in the No. 45 HMD Motorsports car, tying his career-best starting spot. Niels Koolen of the Netherlands continued his second-half upswing by qualifying a career-best fourth at 153.094 mph in the No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing car.

However, INDYCAR Officiating announced a post-qualifying penalty for Koolen’s No. 10 CGR entry. The garage police determined during post-qualifying inspection that the No. 10 car did not pass the minimum Underwing Height check required by Rule 14.7.1.

INDYCAR Officiating considers this a Level 1 infraction based upon the published penalty guidelines, and the No. 10 entry will lose nine starting positions on the grid for today’s 90-lapper. Koolen will move back to 13th on the starting grid.

Members may contest the imposition of penalties detailed in the review and appeal procedures of the INDY NXT by Firestone Rulebook.

J.M. Correa qualified fifth at 152.852 mph in the No. 68 Cusick Morgan Motorsports entry, while Max Taylor took the sixth spot at 152.747 mph in the No. 28 Susan G. Komen car of Andretti Global.

Two drivers made wall contact during qualifying. James Roe of Ireland did a half-spin exiting Turn 2 and hit the SAFER Barrier with the left side of the No. 8 Chip Ganassi Racing car. Alessandro de Tullio slapped the right side of his No. 14 A.J. Foyt Racing entry in Turn 2 on his second lap, ending that run. Neither driver was injured while both cars incurred moderate damage.

It was a case of “what if?” for de Tullio, the Miami resident seeking to tie the series record with his ninth pole of the season. His first lap of 154.231 mph was quicker than Californian Mark Hotchkis’ 30-year-old track record for one lap in INDY NXT and appeared to set the table for a record-tying pole _ before his car slammed the wall on his second lap.

NTT IndyCar Series Point Standings _ 1, Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing, 553; 2, Kyle Kirkwood, Andretti Global, 462; 3, Christian Lundgaard, Arrow McLaren, 443; 4, David Malukas, Team Penske, 411; 5, Pato O’Ward, Arrow McLaren, 399; 6, Josef Newgarden, Team Penske, 376; 7, Marcus Ericsson, Andretti Global, 361; 8, Felix Rosenqvist, Meyer Shank Racing, 355; 9, Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske, 354; 10, Will Power, Andretti Global, 328;

11, Rinus VeeKay, Juncos Hollinger Racing, 302; 12, Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing, 290; 13, Kyffin Simpson, Chip Ganassi Racing, 282; 14, Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, 276; 15, Marcus Armstrong, Meyer Shank Racing, 257; 16, Alexander Rossi, Ed Carpenter Racing, 236; 17, Santino Ferrucci, A.J. Foyt Racing, 234; 18, Romain Grosjean, Dale Coyne Racing, 229; 19, Nolan Siegel, Arrow McLaren, 223; 20, Louis Foster, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, 212;

21, Dennis Hauger, Dale Coyne Racing, 204; 22, Christian Rasmussen, Ed Carpenter Racing, 180; 23, Caio Collet, A.J. Foyt Racing, 180; 24, Mick Schumacher, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, 170; 25, Sting Ray Robb, Juncos Hollinger Racing, 155; 26, Derek Daly, Dryer & Reinbold Racing, 24; 27, Takuma Sato, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, 20; 28, Jack Harvey, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, 8; 29, Jacob Abel, Abel Motorsports, 6; 30, Helio Castroneves, Meyer Shank Racing with Curb Agajanian, 5;

31, Ed Carpenter, Ed Carpenter Racing, 5; 32, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Arrow McLaren, 5; 33, Katherine Legge, HMD Motorsports with A.J. Foyt Racing, 5.

FOX SPORTS’ 2026 NTT INDYCAR SERIES BROADCAST SCHEDULE/(RACE WINNER)

Note _ All times Eastern

Sunday, March 1 _ Streets of St. Petersburg, Fla., (Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing)

Saturday, March 7 _ Phoenix Raceway, Avondale, Ariz., (Josef Newgarden, Team Penske)

Sunday, March 15 _ Streets of Arlington, Texas, (Kyle Kirkwood, Andretti Global)

Sunday, March 29 _ Barber Motorsports Park, Birmingham, Ala., (Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing)

Sunday, April 19 _ Streets of Long Beach, Calif., (Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing)

Saturday, May 9 _ Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road-Course, (Christian Lundgaard, Arrow McLaren)

Sunday, May 24 _ 110^th Indianapolis 500, Indianapolis Motor Speedway Oval, (Felix Rosenqvist, Meyer Shank Racing with Curb Agajanian)

Sunday, May 31 _ Streets of Downtown Detroit, (Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing)

Sunday, June 7 _ World Wide Technology Raceway, Madison, Ill., (Josef Newgarden, Team Penske)

Sunday, June 21 _ Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wis., 2 p.m., (Christian Lundgaard, Arrow McLaren)

Sunday, July 5 _ Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington, (Pato O’Ward, Arrow McLaren)

Monday, July 20 _ Nashville Superspeedway, Lebanon, Tenn., (Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing)

Sunday, Aug. 9 _ Portland (Ore.) International Raceway, (Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing)

Sunday, Aug. 16 _ Streets of Markham, Canada, (Marcus Ericsson, Andretti Global)

Sunday, Aug. 23 _ Freedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington, D.C., (Kyle Kirkwood, Andretti Global)

Sunday, Aug. 30 _ The Milwaukee Mile Race 1, West Allis, Wis., 9 a.m.

Sunday, Aug. 30 _ The Milwaukee Mile Race 2, West Allis, Wis., 1 p.m.

Sunday, Sept. 6 _ WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, Monterey, Calif., 2:30 p.m.

Note _ Dates and times subject to change.

2026 INDYCAR NXT BY FIRESTONE SCHEDULE/(RACE-WINNER)

Sunday, March 1 _ Streets of St. Petersburg, Fla., (Nikita Johnson, Cape Motorsports Powered by ECR)

Sunday, March 15 _ Streets of Arlington, Texas, (Max Taylor, Andretti Global)

Saturday, March 28 _ Barber Motorsports Park, Birmingham, Ala., (Nikita Johnson, Cape Motorsports Powered by ECR)

Sunday, March 29 _ Barber Motorsports Park, Birmingham, Ala., (Alessandro de Tullio, A.J. Foyt Racing)

Friday, May 8 _ Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road-Course Race 1, (Enzo Fittipaldi, HMD Motorsports)

Saturday, May 9 _ Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road-Course Race 2, (Tymek Kucharczyk, HMD Motorsports)

Sunday, May 31 _ Streets of Downtown Detroit, (Enzo Fittipaldi, HMD Motorsports)

Sunday, June 7 _ World Wide Technology Raceway, Madison, Ill., (Myles Rowe, Abel Motorsports)

Saturday, June 20 _ Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wis., Race 1, (Lochie Hughes, Andretti Global)

Sunday, June 21 _ Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wis., Race 2, (Matteo Nannini, Cape Motorsports powered by ECR)   

Saturday, July 4 _ Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington, Ohio, Race 1, (Enzo Fittipaldi, HMD Motorsports)

Sunday, July 5 _ Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington, Ohio, Race 2, (Enzo Fittipaldi, HMD Motorsports)

Sunday, July 19 _ Nashville Superspeedway, Lebanon, Tenn., (Matteo Nannini, Cape Motorsports Powered by ECR)

Sunday, Aug. 9 _ Portland (Ore.) International Raceway, (Alessandro de Tullio, A.J. Foyt Racing)

Sunday, Aug. 30 _ The Milwaukee Mile, West Allis, Wis.

Saturday, Sept. 5 _ Weather Tech Raceway Laguna Seca, Monterey, Calif., Race 1

Sunday, Sept. 6 _ Weather Tech Raceway Laguna Seca, Monterey, Calif., Race 2