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Today’s Schedule: All Times Eastern, Mid Ohio is in the Eastern Time Zone

Mid Ohio has a tough act to follow. It is the next event after Road America, which has became one of Indycar’s three crown jewels. The Lexington track will always have a special place in my heart. It was the first race that I went to outside of Indianapolis. There is a lot to watch for this weekend as we enter the heart of the season.

Sunday at lap 40 the season reaches the halfway point. Alex Palou leads Marcus Ericsson by 74 points and Josef Newgarden by 81. A lot of people are conceding the title to Palou, and his consistency is a big reason why. We have seen bigger leads evaporate, but I think while Palou may fall back to the field a bit, I don’t see anyone carching him this year.

Mid Ohio begins auditions in earnest for those looking to cahnge teams for 2024, and for those who need good results in the final nine races to keep their jobs.

Auditoning

Felix Rosenqvist is the top driver looking for a new seat for next season. It is pretty obvious that Alex Palou will replace Rosenqvist at Arrow McLaren. I have no idea where Rosenqvist will land, but he can help whatever team he goes to.

David nakukas has been rumored to be looking to move from Coyne. is one of the possibly two Ganassi openings his destiation?

Marcus Ericsson may of may not be on the move. I think it would be a mistake for Ganassi to let him go, but this is a business.

Hot Seats

Jack Harvey remains in the warmest seat in he paddock. While his qualifying has improved, Harvey needs to have a larger improvement in race results.

How safe is Romain Grosjean? He looked secure early in the season with two poles and two second place finishes, but a series of crashes has made people wonder about his place.

Home Game for Rahal

RLL’s home track hasn’t produced a victory since Graham Rahal’s thrilling win in 2015. The team is making strides in qualifying, and Graham and Christian Lundgaard are starting to produce better race results, flirting with the top 10.

Will we see the best result of 2023 fron one of these two drivers Sunday?

Arrow McLaren’s Unfinished Business

I have to wonder, when I look at the driver roster for Arrow McLaren- Pato O’QWard, Felix Roswenqvist, and Alexander Rossi-why this team is winless in 2023. There have been opportunities and podium finishes, but no victories as the season begins the downhill run to the finish. This might be the weekend the team breaks through. If they do, I think Rosenqvist will stand on the top step of the podium.

Weather

According to @Indycar_Wxman, there is a chance of rain every day this weekend. The projected rain as of Friday night could interfere with every Indycar session.

It has been a long time since rain affected a arce at Mid Ohio, and it might make for an intersting afternoon on Sunday, Check back of weather updates all weekend.