IndyCar moved up Saturday’s Snap-on Makers and Fixers 250 at the Milwaukee Mile, chasing rain that threatens to swamp the season’s only doubleheader.
Green flag was supposed to drop at 2:41 p.m. ET instead of 2:50, a nine-minute shift that still leaves officials watching radar as showers close in on West Allis, Wisconsin. But that start time quickly went by the boards.
IndyCar made the rain delay official at 2:38 p.m.
“Okay everybody with the rain picking up here we are on an indefinite hold. Stand by for further instructions,” IndyCar announced at the track, as quoted by IndyCar reporter Christopher DeHarde.
UPDATE at 3:04 p.m.: “INDYCAR is re-gridding the cars. “We’ve got a window here, we’re going to use it,” racing journalist Bob Pockrass. “INDYCAR has told the drivers to come to the grid. They are making progress getting it dry although still some drizzle,” Pockrass added five minutes later.
IndyCar announced that the race would now start with engines firing at 3:30 p.m., a delay of 49 minutes, if the rain does not start again.
“Next (weather) cell potential 40-75 minutes away. Could give race even more of a sense of urgency if racing to halfway. Race scheduled for 250 laps here in Milwaukee,” per Pockrass.
At 2:34 p.m., Pockrass reported, “INDYCAR says they lost the track and moving cars back to the paddock. …In order to dry pit road they need the cars off pit road is the reason to send cars back to the paddock.”
DeHarde reported that ran was “sprinkling steadily enough to be an annoyance. Enough to wet the track, but not a true storm.”
At 2:47 p.m., the IndyCar Weatherman account wrote, “There is a decent dry gap that’ll work into the area in next 30-40 minutes … but it might only get you 50-60 min dry time before that final area arrives, so not sure if it’s useful but it’s there.”
He also noted that the Milwaukee Mile has no artificial lights for racing after dark. The 7:32 sundown time Milwaukee, then, puts a hard deadline on when the race could start. At about 2:48, seven minutes after what had been a pushed-up green flag time, Pockrass reported “a break in the rain here,” giving some hope that the delay could be a short one.
But just before 2:55, five minutes after the originally scheduled start time, Pockrass wrote that he was “not sure how long it will take to dry the track here in Milwaukee. They appear to have three jet driers here — one from Iowa, one from Indy and one from Pocono.”
Fox’s broadcast window stayed put at 2:30 p.m. ET.
The original plan called for a 2:50 p.m. ET start, a window published across Fox Sports and other outlets earlier in the week. Sky Sports F1’s UK coverage shifted along with it, with engines firing at 7:36 p.m. local time and the green flag about 7:41 p.m., according to a post from broadcaster Tom Gaymor.
A shower during or shortly after the start could trigger a red flag and a drying period, scrambling pit strategy and caution timing for everyone chasing points. The National Weather Service puts Saturday afternoon’s shower chance at 80 percent, with a high near 78 degrees and a south wind around 10 mph, according to the latest Milwaukee-area forecast. Sunday looks friendlier, with storm chances dropping to 30 percent and a high near 85.
If the heaviest cells hold off past 5 p.m. local, Milwaukee gets a full 250. If not, IndyCar’s title fight gets even messier.
| NTT INDYCAR SERIES — OFFICIAL STARTING LINEUP | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SNAP-ON Makers and Fixers 250 • Race 1 • Round 16 | ||||
| Milwaukee Mile • 1.015 mile(s) • August 29, 2026 • All Dallara chassis • C=Chevy, H=Honda • F=Firestone | ||||
| SP | Car | Driver | C/E/T | Note |
| 1 | 5 | Pato O’Ward | D/C/F | |
| 2 | 2 | Josef Newgarden | D/C/F | |
| 3 | 26 | Will Power | D/H/F | ▼ P |
| 4 | 19 | Dennis Hauger (R) | D/H/F | |
| 5 | 60 | Felix Rosenqvist | D/H/F | |
| 6 | 45 | Louis Foster | D/H/F | |
| 7 | 7 | Christian Lundgaard | D/C/F | |
| 8 | 20 | Alexander Rossi | D/C/F | |
| 9 | 18 | Romain Grosjean | D/H/F | |
| 10 | 3 | Scott McLaughlin | D/C/F | ▼ P |
| 11 | 10 | Alex Palou | D/H/F | |
| 12 | 12 | David Malukas | D/C/F | ▼ P |
| 13 | 47 | Mick Schumacher (R) | D/H/F | |
| 14 | 28 | Marcus Ericsson | D/H/F | |
| 15 | 9 | Scott Dixon | D/H/F | |
| 16 | 66 | Marcus Armstrong | D/H/F | |
| 17 | 8 | Kyffin Simpson | D/H/F | |
| 18 | 21 | Christian Rasmussen | D/C/F | |
| 19 | 15 | Graham Rahal | D/H/F | |
| 20 | 4 | Caio Collet (R) | D/C/F | |
| 21 | 27 | Kyle Kirkwood | D/H/F | |
| 22 | 14 | Santino Ferrucci | D/C/F | |
| 23 | 6 | Nolan Siegel | D/C/F | |
| 24 | 76 | Rinus VeeKay | D/C/F | ▼ P |
| 25 | 77 | Sting Ray Robb | D/C/F | ▼ P |
| ▼ P = Penalized nine grid positions per Rule 16.1.6.1.2 (Cars 3, 10, 12, 76, 77). (R) = Rookie. D=Dallara | C=Chevy, H=Honda | F=Firestone. | ||||
Milwaukee Mile Race Time Shifts Amid Rain Threat
Saturday’s Snap-on Makers and Fixers 250 is 250 laps around the 1.015-mile Milwaukee Mile at Wisconsin State Fair Park. The historic oval carries just nine degrees of banking, so drivers can’t run flat through the corners the way they might on a steeper track. It’s the series’ last oval date before the Laguna Seca finale closes out the year.
Christian Rasmussen defends after passing Alex Palou with 16 laps left to win here in 2025. Scott McLaughlin topped the opening qualifying session at 165.536 mph, with Palou second, David Malukas third and Pato O’Ward fourth, according to Motorsport.com’s qualifying recap. None of those speeds will matter much for Saturday’s grid, though.
Championship Stakes Loom Over a Soggy Milwaukee
Palou, McLaughlin, Malukas, Rinus VeeKay and Sting Ray Robb each drew nine-place grid penalties for unapproved engine changes traced back to last Sunday’s race in Washington, D.C., RACER reported Friday. That promotes O’Ward to Saturday’s pole alongside Josef Newgarden, while Palou starts deep in the field despite the second-fastest Race 1 lap. He still owns Sunday’s pole outright, edging O’Ward by roughly three ten-thousandths of a second.
Kirkwood’s path is rougher. He qualified only 22nd for Race 1 after tangling with Christian Rasmussen in Friday practice, according to a qualifying-results report from RacingNews. Palou carries a 91-point championship lead over Kirkwood, 553-462, with Christian Lundgaard a distant third. A clean weekend hands Palou his fifth title before the cars ever reach Monterey.
Newgarden inherits the front row alongside O’Ward after Friday’s penalties, with Will Power starting third. Penske’s cars have historically run well on the Mile’s flat, grip-dependent surface when the track stays green, though a wet-to-dry restart would only add risk for drivers up front with the most to lose. O’Ward, fifth in points at 399, gets a rare shot at clean air if Saturday holds together.
Why is IndyCar Milwaukee Delayed Today? When Will Race Start?