The INDY NXT by Firestone at the Milwaukee Mile on Saturday marks the penultimate race of the 2024 season. Only the season finale Sept. 15 at Nashville Superspeedway remains after this weekend.
The historic track hosted an Open Test for all teams June 12, providing track time since no one has raced on the 1.015-mile oval before the Aug. 30-Sept. 1 race weekend. This is the first race at the Milwaukee Mile for the INDYCAR development series since 2015.
SEE: Race Details
Championship leader Louis Foster paced the day at 149.525 mph in the No. 26 Copart/Novara Technologies entry of Andretti Global with Jacob Abel – second in points – second fastest in the No. 51 Abel Construction car of Abel Motorsports at 149.338.
Here are some storylines for Saturday’s 90-lap race airing at 3:50 p.m. ET on Peacock and INDYCAR Radio Network.
Foster vs. Abel
Abel kept his championship aspirations alive by scoring his third victory of the season last Sunday at Portland International Raceway.
Foster and Abel are the only drivers mathematically eligible for the title. Trailing Foster by 79 points, Abel needs to outscore Foster by at least 26 points Saturday to stay in the championship race. That’s a tall task.
If Foster has a 54-point lead at the checkered flag, he will clinch his first INDY NXT by Firestone championship and the sixth for Andretti Global.
Foster clinches the championship if he finishes fifth or higher. He also clinches if he finishes sixth and earns any bonus point or finishes seventh and earns three or more bonus points.
Foster hasn’t finished worse than second since May 10 when he crossed the Yard of Bricks seventh for the opening race of the doubleheader weekend on Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s 2.439-mile, 14-turn road course. That’s the only time in his last 13 starts, dating to last season, that Foster hasn’t finished in the top five.
Foster is also 2-for-2 on ovals this season with a victory July 13 at Iowa Speedway and Aug. 17 at World Wide Technology Raceway, and he was quickest in oval testing at Milwaukee and Nashville Superspeedway.
Abel isn’t going away quietly, though. He has three top three-finishes in his last four starts this season.
Brooks Bright Light for HMD
Christian Brooks was thrust into deep waters at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. He was inserted as the replacement driver at HMD Motorsports for Nolan Siegel, who signed a contract with Arrow McLaren to drive the No. 6 Chevrolet for the remainder of the season in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES.
In the six races that Brooks has competed in the No. 39 entry, he finished eighth, seventh, fifth, fifth, seventh and fifth, respectively. Consider that a win for a driver without any INDY NXT by Firestone experience before the announcement.
There is curiosity about how Brooks will handle Saturday’s race since most of the drivers competing were on hand for the Open Test at Milwaukee. Brooks was not. Will that be a detriment, or can Brooks score his sixth top-10 finish in as many races?
Reigning series champion Christian Rasmussen, now driving for Ed Carpenter Racing in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, tested the car June 12 at Milwaukee.
Hedge, de Alba On Verge of Victory
With Foster points racing and Abel swinging for the fences to catch him, does that set up a potential breakout winner Saturday? A pair of rookie drivers could strike gold at Milwaukee with HMD Motorsports first-year driver Callum Hedge and Andretti Cape INDY NXT competitor Salvador de Alba primed to take advantage of their speed.
Hedge has five top-six finishes in his last eight starts of the season, including oval finishes of fourth and fifth, respectively.
De Alba has three top-five finishes in the last five races, with oval results of third and fourth, respectively.
Chadwick, Collet, Rowe Looking for Turnaround
Andretti Global sophomore driver Jamie Chadwick scored her maiden INDY NXT by Firestone win on June 9 at Road America. She hasn’t finished better than sixth in the six following races.
HMD Motorsports rookie driver Caio Collet won July 7 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. He then entered a slump, with two of his last three finishes being 14th or worse.
Collet’s HMD Motorsports rookie teammate Myles Rowe lost his footing after a career-best fourth-place finish June 2 on the streets of Detroit. His sixth-place finish in the opening race of the WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca doubleheader and seventh at PIR last Sunday are his only top-10 results in the last seven rounds.
Rowe and Collet also crashed in both oval races, at Iowa Speedway (July 13) and World Wide Technology Raceway (Aug. 17).
Track Specs: 1.015-mile oval
Qualifying Record (One Lap): Mark Hotchkis, 23.692 (151.952 mph), June 2, 1996
Qualifying Record (Two Laps): Spencer Pigot, 48.4397 (150.868 mph), July 11, 2015