{"id":1437,"date":"2026-08-31T16:50:12","date_gmt":"2026-08-31T19:50:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/?p=1437"},"modified":"2026-08-31T16:50:13","modified_gmt":"2026-08-31T19:50:13","slug":"5-things-we-learned-from-the-milwaukee-doubleheader-rounds-16-and-17-of-the-2026-indycar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/indy\/5-things-we-learned-from-the-milwaukee-doubleheader-rounds-16-and-17-of-the-2026-indycar\/","title":{"rendered":"5 things we learned from the Milwaukee doubleheader: Rounds 16 and 17 of the 2026 IndyCar"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Key takeaways<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Historical Sunday sweep:<\/strong> <strong>Pato O&#8217;Ward became the first IndyCar driver since 1981 to win two races on the same day<\/strong>, sweeping both Milwaukee encounters.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Palou&#8217;s fifth crown:<\/strong> <strong>\u00c1lex Palou played the points matrix to seal his fifth title<\/strong>, taking a risk-free 10th-place finish in Race 1.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Foyt\u2013Collet strain:<\/strong> <strong>A.J. Foyt Racing&#8217;s decision not to swap Caio Collet&#8217;s failing engine<\/strong> virtually ended his Leader&#8217;s Circle and Rookie of the Year chances.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The <strong>Milwaukee Mile<\/strong> delivered absolute drama as unpredictable weather forced IndyCar to stage both races on Sunday, creating an extraordinary backdrop for the title run-in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While <strong>Pato O&#8217;Ward<\/strong> delivered a historic double triumph and <strong>\u00c1lex Palou<\/strong> locked up his fifth series championship, the weekend offered crucial insights for the future of the sport. Here are 5 key takeaways from Milwaukee:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">1. Foyt&#8217;s mismanagement pushes Collet toward the exit door<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Caio Collet&#8217;s<\/strong> weekend ended in the wall during Race 1, concluding a painful event where his car lacked pace from Friday practice. Despite obvious engine issues, <strong>A.J. Foyt Racing<\/strong> failed to execute an engine swap before the races. While the team cited schedule chaos, the decision severely harmed Collet&#8217;s Leader&#8217;s Circle campaign, dropping him <strong>31 points behind Dennis Hauger<\/strong>. Combined with financial rumors surrounding driver market alternatives, Collet&#8217;s tenure with Foyt appears to be nearing its end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">2. O&#8217;Ward puts on a historic clinic<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">By sweeping both Sunday events, <strong>Pato O&#8217;Ward<\/strong> joined an elite group of racing icons\u2014including Al Unser, Mario Andretti, and Rick Mears\u2014to win two IndyCar races in a single day. O&#8217;Ward showcased ferocious racecraft in Race 2 before leveraging a clean late restart against <strong>David Malukas<\/strong> to seal Race 1, cementing his elite standing in the paddock.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">3. Palou manages the rulebook to perfection<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Despite Chip Ganassi Racing lacking outright pace on the Milwaukee oval, <strong>\u00c1lex Palou<\/strong> drove with surgical precision. Rather than forcing dangerous overtakes, the Spaniard executed a calm, calculated drive to finish 10th in Race 1\u2014doing exactly what was needed to lock up his <strong>fifth title in six seasons<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">4. Lundgaard&#8217;s oval progress bodes well for Ganassi<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Christian Lundgaard<\/strong> enjoyed his strongest career weekend on an oval, taking 6th and 3rd across the two races. While Arrow McLaren celebrated his maiden oval podium, <strong>Chip Ganassi Racing<\/strong>\u2014where Lundgaard is set to move for 2027\u2014has reason to smile as the Dane fills a key void in his skill set.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">5. Team Penske falls short when it matters<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Despite entering the weekend as traditional oval favorites, <strong>Team Penske<\/strong> left empty-handed. A rare mistake saw <strong>Josef Newgarden<\/strong> spin out of Race 2, while late-race mechanical hiccups hampered Malukas and Scott McLaughlin, leaving the team unable to stop O&#8217;Ward&#8217;s charge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This historic weekend follows major developments across the paddock, including <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/indy\/alex-palou-finishes-10th-to-claim-fifth-indycar-title-pato-oward-sweeps-milwaukee-doubleheader\/\">\u00c1lex Palou finishing 10th to claim his fifth IndyCar title as Pato O&#8217;Ward swept Milwaukee<\/a> and <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/indy\/ganassi-surpasses-penske-to-become-the-most-successful-team-in-indycar-history\/\">Chip Ganassi Racing surpassing Team Penske as the most successful team in IndyCar history<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The <strong>2026 IndyCar Series<\/strong> season concludes next weekend, <strong>September 4\u20136<\/strong>, at <strong>WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca<\/strong>. <strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/\">GRANDE PR\u00caMIO<\/a><\/strong> will provide complete live coverage across every session. Follow all updates on our <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/indy\/\">news page<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Milwaukee Doubleheader Summary<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><thead><tr><td><strong>Feature<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Race 1 Result<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Race 2 Result<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td><strong>Winner<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Pato O&#8217;Ward<\/strong> (Arrow McLaren)<\/td><td><strong>Pato O&#8217;Ward<\/strong> (Arrow McLaren)<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Runner-Up<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>David Malukas<\/strong> (Team Penske)<\/td><td><strong>Christian Rasmussen<\/strong> (Ed Carpenter)<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Third Place<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Rinus VeeKay<\/strong> (Juncos Hollinger)<\/td><td><strong>Christian Lundgaard<\/strong> (Arrow McLaren)<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Championship Outcome<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>\u00c1lex Palou<\/strong> (Secured 5th Title)<\/td><td>Palou extended points cushion<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Frequently asked questions (FAQ)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>1. Who won both races of the 2026 Milwaukee doubleheader?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Pato O&#8217;Ward<\/strong> won both Race 1 and Race 2 on Sunday for Arrow McLaren, completing a rare single-day sweep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>2. Did \u00c1lex Palou secure the championship at Milwaukee?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Yes, \u00c1lex Palou finished 10th in Race 1, securing enough points to mathematically lock up his <strong>fifth IndyCar Series championship<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>3. When is the final race of the 2026 IndyCar Series season?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The season finale takes place from <strong>September 4\u20136, 2026<\/strong>, at <strong>WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca<\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Pato O&#8217;Ward made history with a twin-victory Sunday sweep, \u00c1lex Palou sealed his fifth championship, and A.J. Foyt Racing added strain to Caio Collet&#8217;s future in a wild, rain-disrupted weekend.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1020313405,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"42wp_featured_image_caption":"A.J. Foyt Racing's decision not to swap Caio Collet's failing engine virtually ended his Leader's Circle","42wp_featured_image_credits":"IndyCar","42wp_featured_video":"","42wp_ai_content_disclaimer":"","42wp_is_ai_content":false,"42wp_featured_image_hidden":false,"42wp_authors_list":[],"footnotes":"","42wp_hide_from_automatic":false,"42wp_breaking_news":false},"categories":[6],"tags":[27,43,110],"42wp_author":[14],"class_list":["post-1437","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-indy","tag-alex-palou","tag-caio-collet","tag-pato-oward","42wp_author-daniel-balsa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1437","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1437"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1437\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1438,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1437\/revisions\/1438"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1020313405"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1437"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1437"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1437"},{"taxonomy":"42wp_author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/42wp_author?post=1437"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}