QUALIFYING REPORT: Snap-on Milwaukee Mile 250

• Making his third qualifying attempt on the Milwaukee oval, Colton Herta came into today’s session determined to secure a strong position for his 43rd oval start.
• Herta had a big moment on the first lap of his two-lap run that saw the Gainbridge Honda spin in Turn 4. In an impressive save, Herta was able to keep the Gainbridge Honda off the wall and continue for a second lap to finish his run.
• Starting tomorrow’s race in 26th, Herta will look to replicate last year’s Race 2 results at The Milwaukee Mile that saw him charge through the field from the ninth row to a podium finish. 

“It’s unfortunate. We weren’t super confident after practice, so we took a little bit of a swing at it, but it looks like we were loose right from the beginning. As soon as we touched that lower patch, the car just went. My teammate Marcus had a better line than me in practice, so I went on his line there for qualifying, since we’re on very similar cars, but unfortunately, the car just didn’t like that patch. It’s frustrating to have a weekend like this. Luckily, the setup that we’ll go to for the race is very different than qualifying, so we can find what we need to tonight to move up tomorrow. I’m glad that we’re back here at The Milwaukee Mile, but this place is really difficult as well.”

• Back in the Siemens colors that he represented in his first career oval victory at World Wide Technology Raceway earlier this season, Kyle Kirkwood was the last of the Andretti INDYCAR lineup to make his qualifying attempt on The Milwaukee Mile.
• Kirkwood led the team’s qualifying efforts, scoring his best start at The Milwaukee Mile in seventh. 
• Today’s result marks Kirkwood’s best qualifying performance at The Milwaukee Mile and positions him as the second-highest starting Honda driver for tomorrow’s race.

“We found the grip we needed, and I was actually pretty happy with how the car felt in Practice 1, even though we never got a clean lap in. That gave me confidence going into qualifying, and it showed with P7. Compared to last year, it’s a big step forward. This race always delivers a lot of action because of the different strategies. The first 10 laps of each stint are always wild, and that’s where you can really make moves.”

• Making his debut in the Browning Chapman Honda, Marcus Ericsson was the first Andretti driver to qualify this afternoon after securing a top-five finish in the weekend’s opening practice.
• Ericsson had a clean run in his two-lap qualifying attempt, but he was unable to transfer the No. 28’s quick practice pace from the morning to a spot on tomorrow’s grid. The Browning Chapman Honda will take tomorrow’s start 14th.  

“We didn’t quite hit the mark today in qualifying. However, I think we still had a solid run, and it’s a long race ahead of us. We’ll use the final practice to fine-tune the car in traffic, and I’m confident the Browning Chapman crew be strong in the race tomorrow.”

“It was a mixed bag across all three cars in qualifying. Great job by Kyle and the 27 crew on starting seventh tomorrow. Marcus had to run early, which was less than ideal, but we know he has a strong car. With the 26, it was obviously disappointing, but thankful Colton kept it out of the wall. We’ve left ourselves a lot to do in the race tomorrow, but we’ll be digging deep and looking for opportunities in the race.”