There was nothing of significance to play for last Sunday at the Milwaukee Mile. Alex Palou sewed up the championship two weeks prior in Portland and in theory, it was a meaningless race – the 16th of 17 on the calendar – but we were reminded of how something special can develop when no expectations are held.
With nothing to fight for in the bigger championship picture, we got to see a kid named Christian Rasmussen use the Snap-on 250 to put his name in lights while producing a thrilling finish that ranks among the best of the season. And here at Nashville Superspeedway, the same opportunity to turn 225 laps of limited consequence into an unforgettable show is in the hands of the 27 drivers.
Polesitter Pato O’Ward is locked into second place; he can’t be overtaken, but with a win on Sunday, he’d set a new career high with four victories in a season. He’s also never won from pole position, so he’s got two achievements to chase.
Behind O’Ward, there’s a fun pocket of opportunists from Scott Dixon in third place to Christian Lundgaard in fourth to Kyle Kirkwood in fifth. All three have the ability to swap championship positions, with Dixon obviously being keen to retain third while Lundgaard (seven points back) and Kirkwood (21 down to Lundgaard and 28 to Dixon) want to wrest third from the six-time champion.
They’re clear of the next cluster led by Kirkwood’s teammate Colton Herta in sixth, who’s tied on points with Marcus Armstrong in seventh, has Will Power in eighth (five points shy) and Felix Rosenqvist in ninth (six points away from equaling Herta/Armstrong). Scott McLaughlin in 10th is also capable of vaulting to take sixth but he’s got more work to do than the rest (32 points away).
With the same maximum points haul of 54 available to any one driver, Kirkwood has more than enough on offer to capture and go from fifth to third, just as McLaughlin can turn that 32-point deficit to sixth into a positive championship gain if he’s able to finish up front while those he’s pursuing have underwhelming afternoons in Tennessee.
An afternoon of opportunity for the likes of Malukas. Chris Owens/IMS
After 10th place, it’s a bunch of personal bests or moral victories to be pursued. David Malukas is 11th and has the potential to jump as high as sixth (40 points behind Herta/Armstrong) along with Rasmussen in 12th (44 back), but it’s a tall task for both of the young chargers.
In the Rookie of the Year contest, Louis Foster (203) has a light lead on Robert Shwartzman (195), and with these two, there’s no telling who will have a better day. For those who are searching for a battle with consequence in Nashville, this might be the only one to follow.
In the fight to earn one of Penske Entertainment’s coveted Leaders Circle contracts that are awarded to the top 22 in IndyCar’s entrants’ standings (who possess one of the 25 charters issued late last year, which excludes PREMA), there are no significant fights to find.
Arrow McLaren’s No. 6 Chevy driven by Nolan Siegel is 22nd in the entrants’ championship, and the closest challenger, Sting Ray Robb’s No. 77 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevy, is 33 points arrears in 23rd. An early exit by Siegel and a strong result by Robb could see Siegel’s No. 6 demoted and Arrow McLaren lose out on the final $1 million contract, but if both finish in the same general positions where they commonly find themselves, the Leaders Circle roster for 2026 will be set.
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