With the championship officially in Alex Palou’s hands, the penultimate race of the IndyCar Series season may look on the surface to be anticlimactic. There are still several things up for grabs, however. The Rookie of the Year battle is a tight race, second place has yet to be settled, and the Leader’s Circle could see the final spot change hands over the next two weekends.
If Alex Palou is still interested in winning races, winning the final two events for a 10 win season would place him in rarefied air, equaling season win totals of A.J. Foyt in 1964 and Al Unser in 1970.
Milwaukee will host its 118th IndyCar style race on Sunday. It is a track which few drivers have mastered and dominated. I wrote about the top winners at the track earlier this week.
To be fair, the track had two races a year back then, and this weekend is the third race since 2015. If IndyCar stays here for a long time, one of today’s younger drivers may have a crack at the victory mark.
Rookie Battle
Louis Foster leads Robert Shwartzman by just six points after Portland. Each driver has won a pole, and Foster has made regular appearances in the second round and beyond in qualifying during the second half of the season.
Shwartzman has had flashes of quickness and has two top 10 finishes. Shwartzman holds the tie breaker based on higher finishing position right now.
This battle will continue into Nashville.
Leaders’ Circle
Louis Foster holds the final cash paying spot in the Leaders’ Circle, worth a cool $1 million to the team, Foster and the number 45 have a 29 point lead over Sting Ray Robb in the 77. Robb leads Devlin DeFrancesco in car 30 by just 15 points.
With the final two races run on ovals, mistakes are magnified and point standing can flip rapidly. Like the Rookie baqttle, I think Foster will maintain his edge.
Second Place
Pato O’Ward now holds second 64 points over Scott Dixon. O’Ward won Race 1 at The Mile last year. The three drivers behind O’Ward are locked in a tight fight for third place, and the driver who comes out on top among the three could find themself in second should Pato have a couple of bad result the next two Sundays.
Dixon holds a13 point edge over Christian Lundgaard, and as of now holds the tie breaker with a win. Kyle Kirkwood trails Lundgaard by just 11 points. Kirkwood wins a tie with O’Ward, Dixon, or Lundgaard with his three victories this season. O’Ward has two wins, which gives him an edge for second over Dixon. Kirkwood will have a difficult time reaching second with an 88 point gap, but third is within reach.
I think O’Ward holds on to second, and the real free-for-all is for third. Lundgaard has been coming on strong the second half of 2025, Kirkwood has struggled since win at Gateway, and Dixon has been inconsistent since winning at Mid Ohio.
Right now, Lundgaard is position for third place. The picture may not be much clearer after Sunday afternoon.
Winner Number 6?
Milwaukee and Nashville look like good spots to see the sixth winner of the year, and possibly a first time winner at that. My pick for this week is David Malukas, although I would not count out any of the Team Penske drivers on a track which seems to favor Chevt power.
The Pit Window by Mike Silver 