For just the second time in the last two decades, an IndyCar race is set to be contested with the champion having already been crowned, as Alex Palou, who clinched the 2023 championship with one race to go, clinched this year's title with two races remaining at Portland International Raceway two weekends ago.
Palou and Arrow McLaren's Pato O'Ward, however, are still battling for this year's oval championship heading into the final two races, both oval races, of the season, with O'Ward owning a one-point lead over the four-time and three-time reigning series champion.
Qualifying for Sunday's 250-lap Snap-On Milwaukee Mile 250 around the four-turn, 1.015-mile (1.633-kilometer) West Allis, Wisconsin oval is set to utilize the traditional non-Indy 500 IndyCar oval qualifying format. Each driver is set to make a single two-lap qualifying attempt, with the order set by the reverse order of the entrant standings.
Because this weekend's event is not a doubleheader like we saw at Iowa Speedway last month and at Milwaukee last year, the average speeds determine the full 27-car lineup.
O'Ward and Team Penske's Scott McLaughlin found victory lane at Milwaukee a year ago. McLaughlin and teammate Josef Newgarden were the two polesitters, though McLaughlin's win did not come in the race he started from pole.
Follow along with our qualifying updates from Milwaukee.
Full IndyCar starting lineup at the Milwaukee Mile
1st - Alex Palou - No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda - 162.971
2nd - David Malukas - No. 4 A.J. Foyt Enterprises Chevrolet - 162.256
3rd - Pato O'Ward - No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet - 162.078
4th - Scott McLaughlin - No. 3 Team Penske Chevrolet - 161.758
5th - Scott Dixon - No. 9 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda - 160.951
6th - Will Power - No. 12 Team Penske Chevrolet - 160.819
7th - Kyle Kirkwood - No. 27 Andretti Global Honda - 160.353
8th - Josef Newgarden - No. 2 Team Penske Chevrolet - 160.33
9th - Conor Daly - No. 76 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet - 160.181
10th - Christian Rasmussen - No. 21 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet - 160.158
11th - Graham Rahal - No. 15 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda - 159.995
12th - Rinus VeeKay - No. 18 Dale Coyne Racing Honda - 159.514
13th - Alexander Rossi - No. 20 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet - 159.378
14th - Marcus Ericsson - No. 28 Andretti Global Honda - 159.087
15th - Devlin DeFrancesco - No. 30 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda - 159.047
16th - Marcus Armstrong - No. 66 Meyer Shank Racing Honda - 159.018
17th - Christian Lundgaard - No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet - 158.801
18th - Nolan Siegel - No. 6 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet - 158.331
19th - Sting Ray Robb - No. 77 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet - 158.153
20th - Kyffin Simpson - No. 8 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda - 158.132
21st - Robert Shwartzman - No. 83 Prema Racing Chevrolet - 158.01
22nd - Louis Foster - No. 45 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda - 157.529
23rd - Santino Ferrucci - No. 14 A.J. Foyt Enterprises Chevrolet - 156.862
24th - Jacob Abel - No. 50 Dale Coyne Racing Honda - 156.599
25th - Callum Ilott - No. 90 Prema Racing Chevrolet - 156.46
26th - Colton Herta - No. 26 Andretti Global with Curb-Agajanian Honda - 112.717
27th - Felix Rosenqvist - No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing Honda - 0
*Dixon and Simpson are both set to drop nine spots due to engine penalties.
Fox is set to provide live coverage of the Snap-On Milwaukee Mile 250 from the Milwaukee Mile beginning at 2:00 p.m. ET this Sunday, August 24. If you have not yet had a chance to begin a free trial of FuboTV, do so now and don't miss any of the action!