Milwaukee, WI

‘There’s a learning curve’: IndyCar hybrid system brings new challenges to the Milwaukee Mile

Published

5 months ago

June 11, 2024

‘There’s a learning curve’: IndyCar hybrid system brings new challenges to the Milwaukee Mile

WEST ALLIS – The first full-field test of IndyCar’s new energy recovery system at the Milwaukee Mile included several categories of drivers:

Those who had competed at the Mile, which hasn’t had an IndyCar race since 2015 but will host a pair on Labor Day weekend.
Those who had done some testing with the hybrid system, which allows drivers to recapture energy during off-throttle times and then use it much for an extra kick of power as they do the push-to-pass system they already have on road and street circuits.
And those who had done little or none of either.

It turns out their opinions on the system were even more varied than their experience levels with it or the track.

“You’ll get more used to it with time, that’s for sure,” said Graham Rahal, a veteran of seven Milwaukee races who finished third last time. “Even for me today, in my car, they changed basically my entire steering wheel from two days ago to today to add the buttons and change things around.

“There was a lot in my brain today as far as to figure out in a short period of time. … It will get better.”

Milwaukee Mile, back on the IndyCar schedule, ‘is going to race fantastic’

The Mile opened in 1903, eight years before the first Indianapolis 500, and has been the site of 113 Indy-style championship races, but in recent decades various promoters were unable to run a profitable IndyCar event.

The return this year, with two 250-lap races sponsored by the Hy-Vee, is being promoted by State Fair Park, which owns the facility, with the help of IndyCar. Nearly $3 million in state and private money has been spent on revitalizing the track.

“I love it,” said Pato O’Ward, one of the drivers who hadn’t driven on the Mile before Tuesday.

“I think this is going to race fantastic. It’s very enjoyable. It really is. It reminds me of Iowa, but just obviously less banking. It’s a bit old-school like that.”

Marcus Ericsson, the 2022 Indianapolis 500 winner, also was turning his first laps at the track he described as rough and “slidey.” He enjoyed the challenge.

Deploy of the hybrid affects handling

And as for the hybrid?

“You can feel it deploying; it depends when you deploy,” Ericsson said.

“If you deploy in the middle of the corner, you’re definitely going to put yourself in some trouble, or potential trouble. You need to be precise in when you deploy and be smart about it. Same with the ‘regen.’ That does things for the handling of the car. Whether it’s in the corner or wherever you want to regen.

“So it’s definitely a tool, from team to team, track to track, manufacturer to manufacturer, will have techniques on when you want to use it. It’s what I like about it. It’s something you can do different to your competitors.”

That’s the best case scenario. But O’Ward hadn’t seen much of it by the time he spoke with reporters after the first few hours.

“Right now, we’re all working within certain limits that we can work in and it’s just … it doesn’t really change the wave, if that explains it,” O’Ward said. “A lot of the guys are probably not even using it. I wasn’t really touching it.

“I would like it to be a bit more of a shift in terms of performance, in terms of just what we get to feel.”

IndyCar hybrid debuts in July 7 race at Mid-Ohio

The hybrid system is scheduled to debut two races from now on the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on the July 5-7 weekend.

After that, six of the final eight races of the NTT IndyCar Series are scheduled for oval tracks, including a doubleheader July 13-14 on the seven-eighths-mile Iowa Speedway and Aug. 30 and Sept. 1 at the Mile.

“On the simulated restarts we were doing, when you utilize it, it’s a clear boost,” Rahal said. “I would also say in traffic when you get really bogged down, it was nice to be able to pull the deploy and really feel a lot of gain.

“That can make racing quite interesting, I think. As challenging as it is to remind yourself of it all the time, I think the net effect is going to be positive.”

Over the course of further testing at Iowa, Nashville Superspeedway, Worldwide Technology Raceway and elsewhere, teams will continue to gain an understanding of the best ways to use the system on various types of tracks.

“There’s definitely optionality with it,” said Josef Newgarden, who won the pole the last time the series was at the Mile. “There’s a learning curve. There’s a strategy to it.

“How do you utilize it? It’s not just a set thing for everybody and it’s there. You can use it a lot of different ways. There’s definitely going to be a learning curve and I think optionality for people to use it differently.”

Milwaukee Mile hybrid test runs smoothly

Tuesday’s test was delayed by nearly an hour for inspection and work on several areas on the catch fence. Then teams spent the morning working on their own. In the afternoon they simulated racing conditions, complete with restarts and pit stops, in groups of 10.

They combined to complete 3,563 laps with a half-hour break for a sprinkle but otherwise without incident.

Team Penske Chevrolet driver Will Power, who has seven races’ experience at the track including a victory in 2014, turned the most (188) and posted the fastest lap (22.6001 seconds, 161.521 mph). Power also drove in the hybrid’s first test at the Mile last fall.

“It’s the same system,” Power said, when asked about the evolution. “Just we’re not having issues with it. We’ve got to a point where I think it’s working well.”

Newgarden was second-fastest and Scott McLaughlin third as Team Penske matched its 1-2-3 finish Sunday at Road America in Elkhart Lake. Colton Herta of Andretti Global had the best lap among Honda drivers, fourth. O’Ward was fifth.

Handling is still a key at Milwaukee

Speeds were down almost 10 mph from the Newgarden’s qualifying run from 2015, due largely to the cars having considerably less downforce. Then drivers barely lifted off the throttle in the long, flat turns. Now they do, and that’s an opportunity to recapture energy with the hybrid unit.

The gap should close some by August, but the hybrid unit isn’t going to make up all the difference.

“The gains that it gives you aren’t big enough in order for you to shift focus on trying to use it in the most efficient way possible vs. just trying to make a perfect lap with a good setup and everything,” O’Ward said.

“Right now, there is more lap time in making sure your car and your setup is good and perfecting how you get through a corner, vs. ‘Oh, I need to engage it here.’”

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Milwaukee, WI

'This is a critical decision for MPS'; Community members provide input on superintendent search

Published

4 mins ago

November 22, 2024

Press Room

'This is a critical decision for MPS'; Community members provide input on superintendent search

MILWUAKEE — The Milwaukee Public School Board heard some encouraging news Thursday night. Board members found out that there are currently twenty-six applicants in the mix as they search for the next superintendent.

“This is a critical decision for MPS and for Milwaukee,” associate with Hazard Young Attea Associates, Pat Neudecker said.

TMJ4

Hazard Young Attea Associates is the firm Milwaukee Public Schools hired to help with the superintendent search after Keith Posley resigned back in early June amid a financial crisis in the district. Eduardo Galvan stepped in as Interim at the end of July.

Watch: Community members provide input on MPS superintendent search

‘This is a critical decision for MPS’: Community members provide input on superintendent search

“Know that we are going to bring the best candidate,” Neudecker said.

Neudecker said she met with Mayor Cavalier Johnson, County Executive David Crowley, Governor Tony Evers, students, and parents in the last six weeks. She also got to meet with other community leaders for input.

“We asked everyone the same. What’s great about MPS, what are the challenges, and what do you look for in a new superintendent,” Neudecker said.

The firm got about 850 responses in the survey that was conducted.

“Which is low for the size of your community. But again, good responses,” Neudecker explained.

One of the qualities many are hoping the candidates can bring to the district is transparency.

“I think a lot of the issues we had in the past could have been avoided through transparency,” Rufus King Senior, Manuel Ishag said.

Ishag is a leader on the Superintendent Student Advisory Council. He is passionate about the district and what a new leader could bring to the table.

“I like to see tangible progress. I’m a numbers guy. So, I’d like to see maybe a little more focus on academics and test scores,” Ishag explained.

TMJ4’s Megan Lee asked Ishag if he wants a thriving school district. He said, “Oh I would love that, I’m already proud of my district.”

The district plans to name a new superintendent in late February.

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Milwaukee, WI

Judge sentences Milwaukee rapper to 40 years in crash that killed pregnant Shorewood woman

Published

10 hours ago

November 21, 2024

Press Room

Judge sentences Milwaukee rapper to 40 years in crash that killed pregnant Shorewood woman

A Milwaukee rapper is going to prison for 40 years in connection with a crash last year that killed a pregnant Shorewood woman.

Frank Mosley Jr.’s mother fainted in the courtroom as Circuit Court Judge David Swanson handed down the sentence against him on Thursday afternoon.

Mosley, 21, of Milwaukee, was convicted in September of multiple felonies in the Nov. 2, 2023, crash in Milwaukee that took the lives of Erin Mogensen and her unborn child.

Mogensen was two months pregnant at the time of the crash, which occurred on the day of her fourth wedding anniversary.

“All her dreams were about to come true until she crossed paths with evil,” her father Mark Hagen said, calling Mosley “an extreme danger to society.” “Her killer should have been in jail. He was the one who was in the wrong place at the wrong time, not Erin.”

Prosecutors said Mosley, a rapper known locally as Lil Frank, led police on a chase that began in Wauwatosa for not having a license plate. The fleeing vehicle at one point hit speeds of 116 mph before police called off the pursuit.

Moments later, the officer came upon a crash scene between the BMW and a Toyota at Capitol and North 100th Street in Milwaukee. Mogensen, 32, was at the wheel of the Toyota.

In court, Mosley apologized to Mogensen’s family, and took responsibility for the crash, but asserted it was an accident. Swanson said although Mosley didn’t intend to hit anyone, he made the choice to drive a car “at an absurdly high speed.”

“If you didn’t hit Mrs. Mogensen, you could have hit someone else,” the judge said.

Mosley also was ordered to serve 10 years of extended supervision when he is released from prison.

This is a developing story. Stay with jsonline.com for updates.

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Milwaukee, WI

What are the road conditions in and around Milwaukee Thursday morning?

Published

18 hours ago

November 21, 2024

Press Room

What are the road conditions in and around Milwaukee Thursday morning?

As Milwaukee sees its first snowfall of the season Thursday morning, you should brace for some tricky road conditions on your morning commute.

Two to four inches of wet, heavy snow is possible in the Milwaukee area, making for a “messy morning commute,” the National Weather Service Milwaukee wrote on X. Motorists should drive slowly and with caution throughout the morning, NWS said.

Here’s what to plan ahead for if you’re commuting in Milwaukee on Thursday.

What are the road conditions in and around Milwaukee this morning?

As of 8:15 a.m. Thursday, all of Milwaukee and its surrounding areas — including Interstates 41, 43 and 94 — were seeing “slippery stretches,” according to 511 Wisconsin. Several highways are also seeing one or more lanes blocked due to crashes or stalled vehicles.

If you’re traveling on I-94 this morning, NWS wrote on X that conditions south of the I-94 corridor, especially between Milwaukee and Madison, would “quickly deteriorate” as snow continues.

In affected areas, drivers should plan for slushy snow accumulation and low visibility on the roads, NWS said.

Accidents reported in Milwaukee on Thursday morning

As of 8:15 a.m. Thursday, several crashes or incidents have been reported in Milwaukee that could affect traffic, 511 Wisconsin reported:

7:49 a.m. – I-794 West 1.3 miles beyond the ramp from Carferry Road. The center lane is blocked due to a crash.
7:44 a.m. – I-43 South at ramp from Wisconsin Avenue. The left shoulder is blocked due to a crash.
7:50 a.m. – Ramp from I-94 East to I-43/94 South. Shoulders are closed due to a disabled vehicle.
7:51 a.m. – I-794 West at Michigan Street. The right shoulder is blocked due to a disabled vehicle.
7:52 a.m. – I-43 South at I-794 East. The center lane is blocked due to a crash.
7:57 a.m. – I-43/94 North at Ramp from 6th and Mineral Street. The center lane is blocked due to a disabled vehicle.

Accidents reported in Milwaukee suburbs on Thursday morning

7:15 a.m. – Disabled vehicle on ramp from Burleigh Street to I-41/US 45 North.
7:22 a.m. – I-94 West 1.3 miles beyond the ramp from Highway 100. The right shoulder is blocked due to a crash.
7:23 a.m. – I-43 North at Hampton Avenue East. The left shoulder is blocked due to a crash.
7:37 a.m. – I-94 West at ramp from Moreland Boulevard East. The right shoulder is blocked due to a crash.
7:42 a.m. – Highway 38 South at Air Cargo Way (by the Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport). The right lane is closed due to a crash.
7:52 a.m. – I-41/894 South 0.3 miles beyond the ramp from National Avenue. The right shoulder is blocked due to a disabled vehicle.
7:54 a.m. – Ramp from I-94 West to I-41/US 45 North. The right shoulder is blocked due to a disabled vehicle.
8:05 a.m. – I-41/US 45 North at North Avenue. The 3 right lanes are blocked due to a disabled vehicle.