Even though he locked up the NTT IndyCar Series championship at Portland International Raceway, Alex Palou is still inevitable and hasn’t slowed down at all.
Palou won his 12th career pole and sixth of the 2025 season in his Chip Ganassi Racing No. 10 Honda as the final qualifier of the 27-car field with a blistering 162.971-mph two-lap average at the Milwaukee Mile on Saturday (Aug. 23). It’s his second ever oval pole, the former earned for Race 2 at Iowa Speedway.
“I knew I had a good car,” Palou told Frontstretch. “I just wanted to get everything out of it. I just fired as much speed as I thought it would handle and a little bit more, and it sticked. It feels amazing to get the pole here.”
It looked like David Malukas was in the catbird seat for his first career IndyCar pole before the Spaniard dashed the A. J. Foyt Enterprises driver’s hopes at the last minute. He was on pins and needles watching Pato O’Ward come very close to beating his time in the second-to-last attempt, but Malukas ultimately fell short to Palou with an average of 162.256 mph. However, he will make a runner-up start for the second year in a row at Milwaukee.
O’Ward was the only other driver to break 162 mph, clocking in at 162.078 mph for third. Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin will join the Mexican on the second row in fourth.
Scott Dixon qualified fifth but will serve a nine-place grid penalty that will bump him to 14th. Instead, Will Power and Kyle Kirkwood will line up in row three.
Josef Newgarden, Conor Daly and Christian Rasmussen rounded out the top 10.
Colton Herta spun his car out of turn two on his first lap but saved it without hitting the wall and completed his run. He will start 24th on Sunday.
Felix Rosenqvist wasn’t as lucky, as the driver who entered today with the best average qualifying position on ovals crashed into the turn four wall on lap one. He will start 25th.
CGR’s Kyffin Simpson joins Dixon with a nine-place grid penalty for unscheduled engine changes from testing at Nashville Superspeedway. Simpson will roll off 26th.
Louis Foster‘s No. 45 Rahal Letterman Lanigan team had to change his engine during practice after mechanical issues arose and will also take on a nine-place grid penalty, starting last of the 27 drivers.
2025 IndyCar Milwaukee Mile Starting Lineup
The green flag for IndyCar’s penultimate race of the season flies on Sunday, Aug. 24, at 2 p.m. ET with coverage provided by FOX.
Wyatt Watson has followed motorsports closely since 2007. He joined Frontstretch as a journalist in February 2023 after serving in the United States Navy for five years as an Electronic Technician Navigation working on submarines. Wyatt is one of Frontstretch's primary IndyCar correspondents, providing exclusive video content on site. He hosts Frontstretch's Through the Gears podcast and occasionally The Pit Straight.You can find Wyatt's written work in columns such as Friday Faceoff and 2-Headed Monsteras well as exclusive IndyCar features. Wyatt also contributes to Frontstretch's social media team, posting unique and engaging content for Frontstretch.
Wyatt Watson can be found on X @WyattWRacing