WEST ALLIS, Wis. – Marco Andretti joked that a victory in the Milwaukee IndyFest would be a better Father’s Day present than any card he could present.

His father and team owner, Michael, agreed.

“I couldn't ask for a better present,” he said. “It would be great for him for his championship (chase) to get those points, but also it would be another special family moment at Milwaukee if that were to happen.”

Michael Andretti earned five Indy car victories as a driver and has four as a team owner at The Milwaukee Mile. Andretti Sports marketing, an arm of Andretti Autosport, is the promoter of the event this weekend.

“So many special things have happened (at The Milwaukee Mile) with me,” he continued. “It's the only all family podium that we had back in 1991 where myself, my dad (Mario) and my cousin (John) on there.”

Click it: Practice 1 results || Qualifications order || Combined practice results

Marco Andretti, who is 22 points behind front-runner Helio Castroneves in the championship standings, had a good start to the weekend by pacing both practice sessions preceding qualifications in the No. 25 Chevrolet-powered RC Cola car. He posted a best lap of 166.684 mph (21.9217 seconds) in the morning and 168.534 mph (21.6811 seconds in the afternoon).

Teammate Ryan Hunter-Reay, the defending race winner, was second in both sessions in the No. 1 DHL car. He was .0183 of a second back in the morning and .0501 of a second behind in the afternoon on the flat oval.

Two-lap average speed qualifications are scheduled for 5:15 p.m. (ET). Catch the IMS Radio Network broadcast and real-time Timing & Scoring on indycar.com and the INDYCAR 13 app.

Castroneves, who has three earned poles and two top-five finishes in 12 starts at The Mile, was seventh in the morning session in the No. 3 PPG Team Penske car and sixth in the afternoon. He opened a gap over Andretti with a victory in the Firestone 550 at Texas Motor Speedway on June 8.

Twenty-four cars have logged 2,321 laps.