Sebastian Bourdais ,. of France, wears a cheese head hat and gets the winners trophy after the IndyCar Series race at the Milwaukee Mile in West Allis, Wis., Sunday, July 12, 2015.

Sebastien Bourdais (11) competes at the IndyCar Series auto race at the Milwaukee Mile in West Allis, Wis., Sunday, July 12, 2015. Bourdais won the race.

THUMBS UP

Sebastien Bourdais and KVSH: Give this group credit for sticking together. Jimmy Vasser won a series championship (CART in 1996), and he knows what he has in the Frenchman who won Champ Car titles from 2004-07. Now they have three wins together, including one in Toronto last year and the second Detroit race in May. The Indianapolis-based team also now has two oval-track wins. The other is fairly memorable: the 2013 Indianapolis 500 with Tony Kanaan at the wheel. That seems like ages ago, but Vasser and co-owner Kevin Kalkhoven tabbed Bourdais, now 36, to lead the latest era, and he’s delivered. This arguably was his best drive since returning to IndyCar from a short Formula One stint. He said he doesn’t “think I’ve ever been better.”

Sebastien Bourdais wins ABC Supply Wisconsin 250 at Milwaukee Mile

Josef Newgarden and CFH Racing: Because of this event’s rare packaging of qualifying and the race in the same afternoon, the pole won by the No. 67 car was overshadowed. But as with Bourdais’ situation, this group is having a dream season, and it’s not over yet. Newgarden won the Barber Motorsports Park road race in April and last month’s street show in Toronto. Now he has a pole in his 63rd IndyCar start. Newgarden will be a free agent at season’s end – unless he re-signs with the team in the meantime – and it will be interesting to see if Chip Ganassi calls. Roger Penske probably won’t with the lineup he has, but Newgarden will have to list to Ganassi. Newgarden will also have to listen closely to Ed Carpenter, Wink Hartman and Sarah Fisher because they’ve handed him a golden opportunity to show his skills. And he’s doing just that.

Cavin: Does IndyCar have a new star in Josef Newgarden?

Ryan Briscoe’s strong weekend: Yes, he lost control of the Schmidt Peterson Motorsports car on Lap 131 and crashed, but the air flow changed as drivers surrounded him in the congested restart. Yes, that sounds like a copout and maybe he deserves blame for what happened. But Briscoe also has been swinging a big bat since replacing the injured (and now recovering) James Hinchcliffe. Briscoe ran with the leaders in the Indianapolis 500 and again at Texas Motor Speedway. He was on his A-game at Auto Club Speedway before Ryan Hunter-Reay spun in front in his path, and he qualified second here and gave Newgarden his best battle for the lead before the car’s air jack briefly failed during the first pit stop. That bobble cost Briscoe 18 seconds to the leader and dropped him to 18th place, and yet he still managed to fight back to fifth, which is where he was when he spun.

Everyone involved with the IndyFest: Michael Andretti, who owns the promotion company hosting this event, concedes another event is in question, but Andretti got about everything he could hope for Sunday. The weather was warmer than expected, but there was no threat of rain. The entertainment around the actual race was festive, and the ticket buyers seemed to respond. The racing was good, too. This is a bottom-line business. If the numbers add up, Milwaukee will be on IndyCar’s 2016 schedule (and it doesn’t matter what happens with nearby Road America). If they don’t, it’s been a heck of a run for the Mile.

THUMBS DOWN

Team Penske’s weekend: The finishes of Helio Castroneves (second) and Juan Pablo Montoya (fourth) don’t really reflect how much of a struggle these two days were. When Montoya got flagged for speeding on pit road, only one of Roger Penske’s cars was running in the top 10 (that was Will Power in ninth). Power later was collected in the spin of Briscoe, forcing him into a 22nd-place finish (of 24 cars) and knocked him severely back in the championship chase. He’s 70 points behind Montoya, with Scott Dixon, Castroneves and Graham Rahal between them. Simon Pagenaud didn’t show much either day, qualifying 17th and finishing ninth. Also, Team Penske should never be forced to start at the back because its car wasn’t in the qualifying line on time.

Roger Penske: Team ‘committed’ to four IndyCar drivers

This format: Some have pushed for a one-day IndyCar event, but as Bourdais pointed out, the schedule of a 24-hour show puts a strain on the teams if something happens. Not just crashing but an engine failure in qualifying or even a car that doesn’t start before the race. It can happen. Also, there were only three hours to honor and promote Newgarden winning his first career pole. True two-day shows are better, and it would be nice to have qualifying on the first day to allow for a news peg.

Follow Star reporter Curt Cavin on Facebook and on Twitter: @curtcavin.