Pato O’Ward Wins in Milwaukee for His Second IndyCar Victory of the Season

Pato O’Ward won in Milwaukee for the second time in his career, taking the first of two IndyCar races scheduled at the oval and earning his second victory of the season.

Álex Palou finished fifth after starting from pole position. He protected his championship lead against Kyle Kirkwood and Christian Lundgaard, the only drivers still described as having realistic chances of catching him.

Palou began the race 97 points ahead of Kirkwood. Because a race offers a maximum of 54 points, he could clinch his fifth IndyCar championship, and fourth in succession, if he retains a lead of at least 54 points after the second event.

Rain disrupted the weekend schedule. The first race began late on Saturday and stopped after 90 of its planned 250 laps, with O’Ward leading and Palou in 14th. Attempts to resume it on Sunday morning failed because of further rain and the difficulty of drying the Milwaukee Mile oval. Organizers kept the originally scheduled second race at noon and postponed the completion of Saturday’s interrupted race until 5 p.m. local time.