Milwaukee Qualifying
Qualifying for both races for the Hy-Vee 250s has now been set. For once, I was right in predicting that Team Penske would be strong at Milwaukee. Team Penske has locked up the front row in both races. Scott McLaughlin will start from the pole in Race One, with teammate Josef Newgarden alongside on the front row. For Sunday’s Race Two, the positions will be swapped as Newgarden will be on the pole, with McLaughlin in the second spot.
Teammate Will Power will start sixth this afternoon and fourth tomorrow. For a while, it looked as if Meyer Shank Racing’s David Malukas may be on the pole for Race One – but he was eventually bumped back to third by Newgarden and then McLaughlin. Still, he has a great opportunity to make some noise in Race One late this afternoon. Tomorrow, he will start ninth.
Although this is his first year to drive on the ovals, Chip Ganassi Racing’s Marcus Armstrong had a strong qualifying effort. He will start seventh in this afternoon’s Race One , and third on Sunday. Not too shabby for an oval rookie.
Another driver that had a strong consistent run was Alexander Rossi. Today he will roll off fourth, and tomorrow he will start sixth. His Arrow McLaren teammate Pato O’Ward was also very consistent, starting eighth today and seventh tomorrow. No one was as consistently good as Chip Ganassi Racing’s Linus Lundqvist. The talented rookie will start fifth in both races. With his future fairly uncertain, he has really needed some results at this point in the season, and he has responded.
Last week’s first-time pole winner, Santino Ferrucci, did not fare as well today. He had a bobble on his first lap and will start twenty-second in Race One. He improved some on Lap Two and will start twelfth on Sunday.
No one was more disappointed than all of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. Their cars were among the slowest in qualifying. In fact, the three slowest cars for Race Two are the three Rahal cars. In Race One, Kyffin Simpson inserted himself in between Graham Rahal and Christian Lundgaard. That is all that kept them from starting in the last three spots in both races. Pietro Fittipaldi will start last in both races.
I will close with some of the photos that Susan took during qualifying. Race One starts in less that two hours. I will be back after the race with a quick wrap-up, then back here again tomorrow morning.
Please check back after this afternoon’s race.
George Phillips
Oilpressure 
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