Andretti INDYCAR Milwaukee Mile Race 2 Report

Race 2 Notes

The NTT INDYCAR SERIES finished up the Milwaukee Mile doubleheader weekend with the second of two 250-lap races on the one-mile oval track. In an exciting end to the highly anticipated return to Milwaukee, all three Andretti INDYCAR drivers found themselves in the top eight with Colton Herta securing a third-place finish and his first career podium on an oval. 

Fighting his way up the field from his starting position in the ninth row, Colton Herta stayed aggressive in his five-stop strategy. By lap 164, Herta had taken control of the race before a shuffle of drivers during a yellow flag pit stop within the final 20 laps of the race pushed the Gainbridge back to fourth. With only 10 laps to go, Herta made an impressive pass into third to take his fifth podium of the season.

After race-ending contact in Race 1 yesterday, Marcus Ericsson took the green flag this afternoon determined to go after a strong result in the second race of doubleheader weekend. The Delaware Life Honda maintained a steady pace and was able to stay solidly in the top 10 for the majority of the race. In the final stretch, Ericsson made a pivotal pass that broke him into the top five, marking the Swede’s sixth top-five finish on an oval.

Starting today’s race near the back of the field, Kyle Kirkwood took on Milwaukee for the second time this weekend. Following the 15-lap yellow flag at the start of the race, the No. 27 AutoNation Honda driver moved his way up the field breaking into the top 10 as early as Lap 63 when the No. 66 car ahead made contact with the wall on the front straight and dropped from the race. Kirkwood stayed clean the rest of the race, making a total of 37 passes and moving up 11 positions to capture his 12th top-10 finish of the season as the checkered flag waved.

After four consecutive races in three weeks, INDYCAR will take a week break before the season finale at Nashville Superspeedway on September 15.

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Race Results

Colton Herta No. 26 Gainbridge Honda

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“I knew that the way we ran our strategy, we were going to get on the podium today. We made a really fast race car. The guys did an incredible job in the pits. Between great strategy and the Gainbridge Honda being fast, that’s all I can ask for as a driver. I had a lot of fun, and I’m really happy about going from 18th to third.”

Kyle Kirkwood No. 27 AutoNation Honda

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“I’m reasonably happy with today. Finishing eighth from 19th is not a bad way to end the weekend. We needed a little more pace, and I think if we had new tires at the end, that would have been mega, but we didn’t. Obviously, congrats to Colton on the third-place finish. It was a much better day for Andretti Global as a whole. We had three cars in the top 10, so that’s good by any team’s means. So, reasonable day here in Milwaukee to finish up the penultimate race.”

Marcus Ericsson No. 28 Delaware Life Honda

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“First of all, I think the No. 28 crew and the entire Andretti team deserves a big applause for rebuilding the car after yesterday. It was not the biggest of crashes, but it was quite a lot of damage, and we had to rebuild three out of four corners of the car. No practice today, just an install lap in the morning, then headed straight out to the race. It’s really tough to get everything right, but the team did a tremendous job and the car felt really good. It was a fun race with a lot of action and a lot of close battles. I think coming away with a top five is a great success for us. We should have also had a top five or better yesterday with the run we were having, but this is a great end to the weekend and a great result for the No. 28 Delaware Life crew.”

Rob Edwards Chief Operating Officer

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