Mid Ohio Race Day

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Today’s schedule:

TimeSeriesSession
8:20 AM – 9:00 AMUSF2000Race 3
9:32 AM – 9:57 AM NTT INDYCAR SERIES Warmup
10:36 AM – 11:31 AMINDY NXT by FirestoneRace
12:20 PM – 12:50 PMFan Grid WalkEnter through the Paddock
12:27 PMNTT INDYCAR SERIESDriver Introductions
1:22 PMNTT INDYCAR SERIESThe Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Presented by the All-New 2026 Passport (90 Laps)

Three words for the day- Hydrate, Shade, Sunscreen. The high will be 90 degrees again today, so please take care.

The alternate tire may be the rubber of choice today. Drivers who did not make the Fast Six will have an extra set of reds available for the race.

If anyone can beat Alex Palou today, Christian Lundgaard could be the driver to do it. He has been one of the fastest drivers all weekend.

Heat

Several drivers will be wearing cool suits today as they try to combat the heat.

How will heat affect the hybrids? The units have had a tendency to overheat in similar weather conditions.

I look for a three stop race unless we have a lot of caution periods. The trend this season has been for cautions in the first half of the race, then green for most of the second half.

I will be back after warmup with starting tire selections, and Iwill have a brief race wrap up after thr=e race.

Mid Ohio Qualifying- New Fast Six, Same Result

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A Fast Six combination that has never been seen before ended with the same result. Nolan Siegel and Kyffin Simpson joined Christian Lundgaard, Louis Foster, Alex Palou, and Colton Herta in the final round.

Foster looked to be on track for his second straight pole, and Lundgaard had shown a lot of strength in practice. But in the end, Alex Palou won his third pole of the season as his dominance continues.

Perhaps the biggest surprise of the day was Kyle Kirkwood not advancing to the Fast Six. Kirkwood finished seventh in Round 2. Scott Dixon will start ninth.

Team Penske woes continue as Josef Newgarden is their best qualifier in 18th. Will Power and Scott McLaughlin share row 11.

Arrow McLaren placed two cars in the Fast Six,k but Pato OWard, last year’s winner at Mid Ohio, was not one of them. He will start 15th tomorrow. Christian Lundgaard has emerged as the team leader.

Pato O’Ward during qualifying today.

Rinus VeeKay lost his best lap for causing a local yellow and will start 26th.

Christian Rasmussen qualified 10th but will start 16th because of an engine penalty.

Notes

It is nice to start seeing some new drivers in the Fast Six. Foster has a pole and has made two consecutive Fast Six rounds. Siegel seems to have found his groove after a challenging early season. Simpson has show quiet but steady improvement.

Palou just missed turning a lap under 1:05. Lundgaard was 0.19 seconds behind him.

Siegel, Herta, and Foster were more than a second slower than Palou. In today’s IndyCar, that is a huge difference.

Results

Mid Ohio Practice 2 and Qualifying Groups

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Alex Palou led the final practice before qualifying for the Honda Indy 200 in a session full of off track excursions. Palou led a top five of Christian Lundgaard, Louis Foster, Pato O’Ward, and Felix Rosenqvist. The gap between first and fifth was three tenths of a second.

\Marcus Ericsson went off in turn 13 and hit the tire barrier, bringing out a red flag with 21 minutes left in the session. Colton herta went into the sand at turn four but kept going, reentering the track at the entrance to turn 5, r missing an approaching car. Scott McLaughlin also tried out the turn 4 trap and the grass. He nearly stalled, but he kept the car moving and continued on track.

Gapping

Will Power and Colton Herta both complained about cars backing up on track to create a gap in order to get a decent lap in practice. I saw a near collision in turn 4 this morning because a car was creeping along on the racing line. It was so blatant I thought the driver deserved a drive through.

If a car wants to get clear track, which I get, he needs to stay off the racing line until he is up to speed.

Results

Qualifying Groups

Goodbye, Turn 4

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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.

Mid Ohio Saturday

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Today’s schedule:

TimeSeriesSession
8:35 AM – 9:20 AMINDY NXT by FirestonePractice 2
9:40 AM – 10:15 AMUSF Juniors Race 2
10:35 AM – 11:35 AM NTT INDYCAR SERIESPractice 2
11:00 AM – 2:00 PMFishing with Cabela’sMeet at the pond south of the Mid-Ohio Tower
11:55 AM – 12:45 PMUSF Pro 2000Race 1
1:30 PM – 2:00 PMINDY NXT by FirestoneQualifying 
1:30 PM – 1:50 PMUSF JuniorsAutograph Session in the Middle Paddock
2:00 PM – 2:20 PMUSF2000Autograph Session in the Middle Paddock
2:30 PM – 2:50 PMUSF Pro 2000Autograph Session in the Middle Paddock
2:35 PM – 4:00 PMNTT INDYCAR SERIESQualifying
4:15 PM – 5:00 PMINDY NXT by FirestoneAutograph Session at American Legion in the Midway
4:20 PM – 5:00 PMUSF2000Race 2
After QualifyingCamping with HondaHonda IndyCar drivers will tour the campground
5:15 PM – 6:05 PMUSF Pro 2000Race 2
7:00 PMMovie in the EssesDisney’s “Cars” on the big screen between Turns 4 & 5
DuskFireworks ShowSunset 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.

Mid Ohio Practice 1

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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.

Results

Greetings From Mid-Ohio

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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 PMINDY NXT by FirestonePractice 1
4:35 PM – 5:55 PMNTT INDYCAR SERIESPractice 1
6:15 PMCamper Golf Cart ParadeStaging on the False Grid at 5:45 PM
7:00 PMLive Music in the CampgroundsBand: Panco Black Root

I’ll be back after IndyCar practice with a quick wrap up.