My favorite spot to watch racing at Mid Ohio is the esses, the turn 4 and 5 complex just after the starting line. Turn 4 was a swooping, banked curve with a sand trap on the driver’s left, heading downhill then uphill to turn 5.
Since last year turn 4 has been flattened and the sand trap, affectionately known as China Beach, has been enlarged. The difference is quite striking, as I discovered this morning. I did not expect such a dramatic change. Turn 4 is completely flat now.
You can see the difference in this photo.
Change is inevitable on a track that that opened in 1962. Ground settles, and Midwest weather is rough on pavement. I suppose it had to be done. We will see how it affects the racing tomorrow. I hope itdoesn’t diminish one of the most exciting starts of the season.
Autograph Session at American Legion in the Midway
4:20 PM – 5:00 PM
USF2000
Race 2
After Qualifying
Camping with Honda
Honda IndyCar drivers will tour the campground
5:15 PM – 6:05 PM
USF Pro 2000
Race 2
7:00 PM
Movie in the Esses
Disney’s “Cars” on the big screen between Turns 4 & 5
Dusk
Fireworks Show
Sunset at 9:05 PM
Another hot day on tap for this afternoon. . If you’re coming to the track, wear light colored clothing, hydrate, and seek shade.
Yesterday Team Penske formalized their new leadership roles, promoting two people who had been working with their Porsche program. Jonathan Duguid, who has been with the team since 2005, is the new president of Penske Racing Inc., covering Indycar and sports cars. Duguid had been managing director of Porsche Penske Motorsport.
Travis Law is now competition director of Penske Racing Inc. Law has been with Team Penske since 2007 and had been director of competition for Porsche Penske Motorsport.
It looks like a fairly seamless transition for the team, and I think they will get the teamback to its usual standard rather quickly. Team Penske cars were among the leaders in yesterday’s mpractice, and I expect them to do well in qualifying today.
I’ll be back after this morning’s practice with results and qualifying groups.
Kyle Kirkwood posted the fastest lap of the day in Group 1 of Practice 1 for the Honda Indy 200 at Mid Ohio. Will Power led the all car group, and Josef Newgarden led Group 2.
“We’re really fast right now,” Kirkwood said. “As long as we continue that, we’ll be in a really good spot. We’ve come here this year with maybe a different philosophy, and it seems to be working out.”
Red flags in the 40 minute session- David Malukas backed into the tire barrier in turn9 and broke his suspension. He was seen and released in the medical center. Malukas did not return for group practice.
Colton Herta spun and made contact with the wall in turn 6 to end the session. He served his 5 minute penalty during his group session.
Felix Rosenqvist came to a stop two minutes into Group 2 practice.
In the post practice press conference, Will Power and Colton Herta complained of other drivers backing up and costing them a lap. Both drivers are uncertain as to whether the change to turn 4 will affect passing.
The trip was easy and just under four hours, probably a new track record from my house to the track. Mid Ohio has a special spot in my heart. It was the first track I visited other than IMS. I like that there have been few changes since my first trip here. I will check out the changes to turn 4 tomorrow morning when it is cooler.
The schedule for the rest of the day: All times Eastern. Practices on FS2
3:05 PM – 3:50 PM
INDY NXT by Firestone
Practice 1
4:35 PM – 5:55 PM
NTT INDYCAR SERIES
Practice 1
6:15 PM
Camper Golf Cart Parade
Staging on the False Grid at 5:45 PM
7:00 PM
Live Music in the Campgrounds
Band: Panco Black Root
I’ll be back after IndyCar practice with a quick wrap up.
Not only does Mid Ohio begin the second half of IndyCar’s all too short season, but this venue also marks the one year anniversary of the hybrid. The energy recovery unit got off to a shaky start as Scott Dixon had issues on the parade lap. Now, the additional power source barely gets a mention.
Sunday’s race will be the 42nd IndyCar race at Mid Ohio. While Long Beach has held races for 50 years, 2025 was the 41st IndyCar race there.
Alex Palou and Kyle Kirkwood have won the nine races this year. with Palou winning six, including the Indianapolis 500, Not since 1980 have we seen just two winners this deep into the season. In that year Johnny Rutherford and Bobby Unser were the only winners through 10 races. Rutherford won the inaugural IndyCar race at Mid Ohio that year.
This year the race returns to the 90 lap distance of the mid 2010s. I thought it was a better race at 90 laps than it has been at 80 laps. Will we see Scott Dixon save fuel and try to make it on two stops? Three stops are more likely this year.
As far as winning, Dixon has won six times at Mid Ohio, once after starting last. Team Penske has a combined 12 wins at this circuit. Dixon needs a win this year to extend his treak of seasons with a win, which stands at 20 right now.
There have been some changes to turn four. It has been flattened a bit. My first task Friday is to see how it looks and whether it will change the racing through the esses.
Is this the week the series sees its third different winner of the year? I believe it will be. While Pato O’Ward might be the obvious choice as the defending winner, I’m going with a driver who has run quietly near the front all season, Felix Rosenqvist.
I will be onsite early this afternoon, Indycar’s first practice is at 4:30 on FS2. Tomorrow’s action is all on FS1, and the race coverage begins at 1 pm Eastern on FOX.
INDIANAPOLIS (Wednesday, July 2, 2025) – Cannon McIntosh took a long, tough route Wednesday night to become the first two-time winner of the BC39 Presented by Avanti Windows & Doors at The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. McIntosh, from Bixby, Oklahoma, repeated as the winner of the 39-lap USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget Championship race after starting 19th in the No. 71K Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports machine in the 24-car field. He earned $20,039 for the win in the race honoring late USAC champion and three-time Indianapolis 500 starter Bryan Clauson. “I’m speechless right now – this is amazing,” McIntosh said. “To do it in honor of Bryan Clauson here at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway twice now, it’s just an honor. It’s all for him, and I’m sure he’s looking down, smiling and seeing another good race here.” The Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian team swept the top three spots in the finishing order, as Gavin Miller placed second in the team’s No. 97 car and Jacob Denney third in the No. 67 entry. McIntosh’s journey to victory lane for the second straight year at the 1/5th-mile dirt oval inside Turn 3 at IMS was as improbable as it was dramatic. He ended up upside-down in a wild crash during a qualifying race earlier in the evening and had to drive his way into the field by winning the Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts semi race. That placed McIntosh 19th in the starting lineup. He wasn’t a factor in the first half of the race, which was dominated by pole sitter Justin Grant, who won the 30-lap feature Tuesday night. But McIntosh began to charge through traffic and climbed to third by Lap 30 behind Grant and Denney. Grant had led every lap to that point, expanding his gap to nearly a second midway through the race, but was being challenged by Denney as McIntosh drew closer. Grant and Denney jousted in a spirited side-by-side duel for the lead from Laps 30 to 35, with Grant holding off Denney’s repeated low slides for the top spot on both ends of the clay oval. On Lap 36, Grant was running in the high groove exiting Turn 4 and Denney low when the two drivers banged wheels heading for the flag stand. On the next lap, Grant dove low exiting Turn 2 trying to pass Denney for the lead, but Grant’s right front wheel hit Denney’s left rear, momentarily launching Grant airborne and blunting his momentum. That incident triggered a caution and flattened Grant’s front left tire and bent his side nerf bar into his left rear tire, effectively ending his chances to sweep the event in the No. 87 CB Industries car. Meanwhile, McIntosh squeezed past Grant and took second place. With two laps to go, Denney and McIntosh made hard contact while battling for the lead exiting Turn 2, with Denney taking the lead. Miller was closely pursuing, ready to pounce. Just two turns later, McIntosh slid under Denney in Turn 4 for the lead with the white flag in the air while Miller and Denney made contact, all but ending their chances to win. That bobble by his rivals let McIntosh pull away on the final lap for the victory. “A lot of guys moved up to the top there, and it was hard to make moves,” McIntosh said. “When you throw a slide job, you lose so much momentum. So, to try and get your momentum back without getting slid was tough. “Luckily, I was the guy coming from behind and putting those guys in bad positions and was able to get to the next guy before they could get back to me. Just kept making moves.” Bryton Buoy led all 20 laps to win the Stoops Junior Sprint Invitational feature for young drivers. Levi Ballard, who won the first feature Tuesday night, rallied to close the gap over the final five laps but fell just short in second. Owen Larson, son of reigning Brickyard 400 presented by PPG winner Kyle Larson, finished fifth. USAC action will return to The Dirt Track at IMS on Thursday, July 24 for the AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship feature as part of the NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week Presented by Honest Abe Roofing series. The first USAC Sprint Car race at IMS takes place the night before Brickyard Weekend for the NASCAR Cup Series and Xfinity Series starts on the 2.5-mile IMS oval. Visit www.ims.com for information about the Indiana Sprint Week race at IMS.
Track: Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, a 13-turn, 2.258-mile permanent road course in Lexington, Ohio
Race distance: NTT INDYCAR SERIES: The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Presented by the All-New 2026 Passport: 90 laps / 203.22 miles | INDY NXT by Firestone: INDY NXT by Firestone Grand Prix at Mid-Ohio: 35 laps / 79.03 miles / 55 minutes
Push to Pass parameters: NTT INDYCAR SERIES: 200 seconds of total time with a maximum time of 20 seconds per activation | INDY NXT by Firestone: A maximum of 50 activations total or 150 seconds of total time.
Hybrid energy deployment parameters: NTT INDYCAR SERIES: Unlimited activation with a maximum deployment of 365 kilojoules (kj) per lap.
Firestone tire allotment: NTT INDYCAR SERIES: Five sets primary, five sets alternate to be used during the event weekend. Teams must use one set of primary and one new set of alternate tires unless wet conditions are declared. One additional set is available for the weekend’s first session to teams fielding a rookie driver. | INDY NXT by Firestone: Three new sets to be used during the event weekend. Two carryover sets from the Detroit event may be used during pre-qualifying practice sessions on Friday and Saturday.
Simon Pagenaud, 1:03.8700, 127.271 mph, July 30, 2016
INDY NXT by Firestone
Caio Collet, 1:10.2879, 115.650 mph, July 6, 2024
FOX Sports telecasts: NTT INDYCAR SERIES: Practice 1, 4:30 p.m. ET Friday, FS2 (live); Practice 2, 10:30 a.m. ET Saturday, FS1 (live); Qualifying, 2:30 p.m. ET Saturday, FS1 (live); Warmup, 9:30 a.m. ET Sunday, FS1 (live); Race, 1 p.m. ET Sunday, FOX (live). Will Buxton is the play-by-play announcer for FOX’s coverage of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, alongside analysts Townsend Bell and James Hinchcliffe. Georgia Henneberry, Kevin Lee and Jack Harvey are the pit reporters. | INDY NXT by Firestone: Practice 1, 3 p.m. ET Friday, FS2 (live); Practice 2, 8:35 a.m. ET Saturday, FS1; Qualifying, 1:30 p.m. ET Saturday, FS1 (live); Race, 10:30 a.m. ET Sunday, FS1 (live). Kevin Lee is the play-by-play announcer for FOX Sports’ coverage of INDY NXT by Firestone alongside analyst Jack Harvey. Georgia Henneberry is the pit reporter.
INDYCAR Radio Network broadcasts: Mark Jaynes is the anchor alongside analyst Davey Hamilton. Jake Query and Nick Yeoman are the turn announcers. Michael Young, Ryan Myrehn and DJ Clark are the pit reporters. The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Presented by the All-New 2026 Passport race (12:30 p.m. ET Sunday), INDY NXT Grand Prix at Mid-Ohio (10:25 a.m. ET Sunday) and all NTT INDYCAR SERIES and INDY NXT by Firestone practices and qualifying sessions air live on network affiliates, SiriusXM 218, racecontrol.indycar.com and the INDYCAR App powered by NTT DATA.
At-track schedule (all times local):
FRIDAY, JULY 4
3:05-3:50 p.m. – INDY NXT by Firestone Practice 1, FS2 (live)
4:35-5:55 p.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES Practice 1, FS2 (live)
SATURDAY, JULY 5
8:35-9:20 a.m. – INDY NXT by Firestone Practice 2, FS1 (live)
10:30-11:30 a.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES Practice 2 (45 minutes of green flag or 60 total minutes), FS1 (live)
1:30-2 p.m. – INDY NXT by Firestone Qualifying (Two groups, 12 minutes each), FS1 (live)
2:35-4 p.m. – Qualifying for the NTT P1 Award (Three rounds of knockout qualifying), FS1 (live)
SUNDAY, JULY 6
9:32-9:57 a.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES Warmup, FS1 (live)
10:31 a.m. – INDY NXT by Firestone Grand Prix at Mid-Ohio command to start engines
10:36 a.m. – INDY NXT by Firestone Grand Prix at Mid-Ohio (35 laps/55 minutes), FS1 (live)
12:27 p.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES Driver Introductions
1:15 p.m. – The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Presented by the All-New 2026 Passport command to start engines
1:22 p.m. – The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Presented by the All-New 2026 Passport (90 laps/203.22 miles), FOX (live)
NTT INDYCAR SERIES Notes:
The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Presented by the All-New 2026 Passport is the 10th race of the 2025 season. There have been two winners in nine NTT INDYCAR SERIES races in the 2025 season. Alex Palou (Streets of St. Petersburg, The Thermal Club, Barber Motorsports Park, Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, Indianapolis 500 and Road America) and Kyle Kirkwood (Streets of Long Beach, Streets of Detroit and World Wide Technology Raceway).
The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Presented by the All-New 2026 Passport will be the 42nd INDYCAR SERIES race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Pato O’Ward won the race in 2024. Johnny Rutherford won the first INDYCAR SERIES race at Mid-Ohio in 1980.
Scott Dixon is the winningest INDYCAR SERIES driver at Mid-Ohio with six victories (2007, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2014 and 2019). Emerson Fittipaldi won at Mid-Ohio three times, while Michael Andretti, Helio Castroneves, Teo Fabi, Josef Newgarden, Bobby Rahal, Al Unser Jr. and Alex Zanardi all won at Mid-Ohio twice. Past winners Dixon, Newgarden (2017 and 2021), Graham Rahal (2015), Alexander Rossi (2018), Will Power (2020-Race-1), Colton Herta (2020-Race 2), Scott McLaughlin (2022), Alex Palou (2023) and Pato O’Ward (2024) are entered this year.
ACTIVE RACE WINNER
WINS
SEASONS
Scott Dixon
6
2007, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2019
Josef Newgarden
2
2017, 2021
Graham Rahal
1
2015
Alexander Rossi
1
2018
Will Power
1
2020 Race 1
Colton Herta
1
2020 Race 2
Scott McLaughlin
1
2022
Alex Palou
1
2023
Pato O’Ward
1
2024
Fifteen drivers have won the race from the pole – Mario Andretti (1984), Bobby Rahal (1985), Roberto Guerrero (1987), Teo Fabi (1989), Michael Andretti (1990, 1991), Al Unser Jr. (1994), Alex Zanardi (1996), Patrick Carpentier (2002), Paul Tracy (2003), Scott Dixon (2011), Simon Pagenaud (2016), Alexander Rossi (2018), Will Power (2020-Race 1), Colton Herta (2020-Race 2) and Josef Newgarden (2021). Power has won five poles at Mid-Ohio, the most of any driver.
ACTIVE POLE WINNER
POLES
SEASONS
Will Power
5
2010, 2012, 2017, 2019, 2020 Race 1
Scott Dixon
2
2011, 2015
Colton Herta
2
2020 Race 2, 2023
Alexander Rossi
1
2018
Josef Newgarden
1
2021
Pato O’Ward
1
2022
Alex Palou
1
2024
Twenty-four drivers entered in the event have competed in past INDYCAR SERIES races at Mid-Ohio. Scott Dixon (21) has made the most starts at Mid-Ohio among the entered drivers. Twelve drivers have led laps at the track (Dixon 265, Will Power 206, Josef Newgarden 162, Alex Palou 101, Colton Herta 99, Alexander Rossi 71, Pato O’Ward 52, Scott McLaughlin 48, Graham Rahal 30, Conor Daly 22, Felix Rosenqvist 15, Marcus Ericsson 3).
Chip Ganassi Racing has won 12 times at Mid-Ohio, including nine of the 19 races sanctioned by INDYCAR. Ganassi’s winning drivers are Alex Zanardi (1996, 1997), Juan Pablo Montoya (1999), Scott Dixon (2007, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2019), Dario Franchitti (2010), Charlie Kimball (2013) and Alex Palou (2023).
Team Penske also has 12 wins at the track with Emerson Fittipaldi (1992, 1993), Al Unser Jr. (1994, 1995), Helio Castroneves (2000, 2001), Ryan Briscoe (2008), Simon Pagenaud (2016), Josef Newgarden (2017, 2021), Will Power (2020-Race 1) and Scott McLaughlin (2022).
Scott Dixon has finished in the top five in 14 of his 21 starts at Mid-Ohio, including six wins between 2007 and 2020 … Will Power has finished in the top five in 11 of his 17 starts at Mid-Ohio … Kyle Kirkwood won eight of nine development series starts from 2018-21.
Rookies Jacob Abel, Louis Foster and Robert Shwartzman will race an NTT INDYCAR SERIES car at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course for the first time this weekend.
Milestones: Scott Dixon will attempt to make his 349th consecutive start, extending his record streak…Graham Rahal will attempt to make his 249th consecutive start, breaking a tie with Marco Andretti for the third-longest streak in INDYCAR SERIES history…Josef Newgarden will attempt to make his 212th consecutive start, breaking a tie with Jimmy Vasser for the sixth-longest streak in INDYCAR SERIES history…Dixon passed Mario Andretti for the INDYCAR SERIES record for starts with his 408th start May 25 at Indianapolis and will extend his record to 412 with a start Sunday.
INDY NXT by Firestone Notes:
The INDY NXT by Firestone title fight between Andretti Global drivers Dennis Hauger and Lochie Hughes starts its second half with the series’ annual visit to Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Hauger, who has recorded five top-two finishes this season, heads to Mid-Ohio with a 28-point lead over Hughes, a two-time race winner this season. The ultra-competitive 2025 season has seen three winners in seven races so far, with six different drivers finishing on the podium.
Caio Collet returns to Mid-Ohio looking for his second consecutive race win in 2024. The 23-year-old Brazilian driver scored his first INDY NXT by Firestone win at Mid-Ohio in 2024 and is aiming to become the first INDY NXT driver to win at Mid-Ohio in back-to-back seasons since Santiago Urrutia swept a doubleheader in 2016 and won the first race of the 2017 doubleheader.
The INDY NXT by Firestone Grand Prix at Mid-Ohio will be the series’ 37th race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, dating to the American Racing Series race in 1986. Previous INDY NXT by Firestone winners at Mid-Ohio include Paul Tracy, Bryan Herta, Townsend Bell, Raphael Matos, Jack Harvey, Pato O’Ward, Kyle Kirkwood, Linus Lundqvist and Louis Foster.
Push to Pass could play a key strategic role at Mid-Ohio as INDY NXT by Firestone drivers will have a bank of 150 seconds to use an added 50 horsepower to assist in overtaking, similar to the drivers in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES. The maximum amount of time for each press of the overtake system is 15 seconds.
Group qualifying will decide the starting grid on road and street circuits. Based on the best lap times from the practice session immediately preceding qualifying, the fastest driver in that session will choose which group will compete in the first of the two qualifying sessions. With 12 minutes allotted for each group (with a guarantee of one timed lap), the fastest driver between the two sessions will be awarded pole position with the drivers who finished behind that driver, in order and in that group, occupying the odd-numbered starting positions (3, 5, 7, etc.) for the race and the drivers who finished in order from the other group occupying the even-numbered starting positions (2, 4, 6, etc.). One driver and entrant championship point will be awarded to the fastest car in each qualifying group.
The Pit Window by Mike Silver 