Tag: Mid Ohio Sports Car Course

Papaya Domination

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Some quick thoughts on Mid-Ohio:

Pato O’Ward led Arrow McLaren’s total domination of the weekend. Christian Lundgaard won the pole, but O’Ward passed him on track on lap 42. The duo led a combined 86 of the 90 laps. In addition to O’Ward and Lundgaard finishing 1-2, Nolan Siegel finished 10th.

O’Ward becomes the sixth different driver to win a race in 2026

The most intriguing part of the race was the pit strategy. The entire field opted for a three-stop race, but some pitted at the beginning of the window, and others waited until the end of the cycle. In the end, the early pitters had the4 advantage.

The lack of a caution flag and having cars pretty strung out made for a less than exciting television broadcast for the casual viewer. more on the broadcast later.

Why Rinus VeeKay is not with a bigger, more competitive team is puzzling. He made the Fast Six in qualifying, and he backed it up today by finishing fourth. VeeKay had a good shot at a podium spot for awhile.

Kyle Kirkwood’s early pit stop helped gain his first road course podium. Today was one of Andretti Global’s best days on a natural road course in quite a while. Teammate Will Power started third, dropped back at the start and recovered to sixth at the finish. Kirkwood returns to second in the point standings, just 56 points behind Alex Palou, who finished fifth.

After another strong qualifying effort, David Malukas didn’t have the pace to contend with the McLarens. A long pit stop caused by a balky fuel hose dropped to eighth. Malukas drops to fourth in the standings, just 66 points behind the leader.

Hats off the Scott McLaughlin, who toughed it out all afternoon after his cool suit failed on lap 3. He did finish 16th after starting 23rd.

Lundgaard made the statement he needed to this weekend. I don’t understand why McLaren is letting him go. Tony Kanaan said after the race that the 2027 lineup hasn’t been decided yet, and that Lundgaard is “very much in play.”

I don’t understand why they are playing with Lundgaard’s feelings like this. He is third in points, won two races and a pole. What more does he have to do?

FOX Sports

The nice thing about attending races is you don’t have to watch the race broadcast. The booth does a fine job analyzing the race and keeping viewers informed of what is happening, but several things about the presentation are annoying.

It seems that there was a commercial break every three laps. At times it felt as if they would come out of a break, say, “How ya doin’?” and go to another break. The last break seemed so long that I wasn’t sure they would get back in time for the checkered flag.

Townsend Bell was particularly annoying today. He talked about when cars would “box,” his constant soccer references were more numerous than necessary, his obsession with Davidf Malukas, an American (who knew?), drove me up the wall.

That will do it for me this weekend. I’m still recovering from a bug I picked up at the end of my trip to Ireland. Thanks for following See you in Nashville.

Lundgaard Pole Ends Palou Streak

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Christian Lundgaaqrd won the pole for tomorrow’s Honda Indy200 at Mid-Ohio as he and teammate Pato O’Ward locked out the front row. The pole for the Danish driver ends a streak of five consecutive poles for Alex Palou, but another Palou streak also fell today.

Palou missed the Fast Six for the first time since Long Beach in 2024. He starts eighth tomorrow.

The Fast Six was a surprise not only for who advanced, but for who didn’t advance. In addition to Palou, Kyle Kirkwood had been fast both yesterday and today but will roll off 10th Sunday. Josef Newgarden was strong in rounds 1 but faded to ninth.

The final round saw Lundgaard, O’Ward, Will Power, David Malukas, Rinus VeeKay, and Christian Rasmussen competing for the pole.

Row 1- Lundgaard, O’Ward- teammates for now, with Lundgaard not returning in 2027

Row 2- Power, Malukas- Malukas replaced Power at Team Penske

Row 3- Rasmussen, VeeKay- Rasmussen replaced VeeKay at ECR

Notes

VeeKay continues to outperform his equipment. Imagine what he could do on a stronger team.

Malukas has an opportunity to gain some significant points on Palou tomorrow. Kirkwood will have to get past Palou to pick up some ground.

Lundgaard won the last race at Road America, and he starts on pole tomorrow. It is rare to see a driver other than Palou these days who backs up what they did in the previous race.

Even though Scott Dixon did not advance, and probably wouldn’t have, his blocking penalty on Romain Grosjean was justified. Dixon is having a difficult year. I hope the change of scenery next season will get him back up to speed.

That will do it for me for today. I’ll be back tomorrow with a pre-race post, then post tire selections and have a wrap up after the race. Thanks for following along today.

Results

Lundgaard Tops Practice 2; Qualifying Groups

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A few surprises in practice two this morning Sting Ray Robb in fourth despite a spin which brought out a red flag, and Will Power dropping to 13th while teammates Kyle Kirkwood and Marcus Ericsson stayed in the top 10.

Alex Palou was eighth fastest in the final practice before qualifying begins at 2:30 pm Eastern.

Results

Qualifying Groups

Mid-Ohio Saturday

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Today’s schedule:

Another warm day is on tap for IndyCar at Mid-Ohio with a chance of afternoon storms that might play a factor in qualifying.

Friday was a strong day for Willl Power and Kyle Kirkwood, but they need another strong showing today to stay ahead of Alex Palou.

The race seems to be secondary to all the Silly Season talk going through the paddock. The big news yesterday on that front is that Christian Lundgaard revealed that he is not allowed to talk to other teams right now, even though it is apparent that he will not return to Arrow McLaren. Racing is a cruel business.

Sunday could be the final chance for either Kyle Kirkwood or David Malukas to gain ground on Palou. A Palou win will make it hard for anyone to catch him. Palou’s run over the last two seasons has been so dominant that fans got excited when Kirkwood pulled within one race of Palou.

I’m going with Will Power this weekend. He looked very strong yesterday, and I think he will finally justify Andretti’s faith in him.

If you are at the track this weekend, please seek shade, hydrate, and take advantage of the cooling stations the track has set up.

I’ll be back after /practice and have another report after qualifying

Andretti 1-2 in Practice 1

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Will Power and Kyle Kirkwood took the top two spots in Practice 1 for the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio this afternoon. Points Alex Palou finished third.

Arrow McLaren had a good day also, with Christian Lundgaard fourth, Pato O’Ward fifth, and Nolan Siegel seventh.

Rinus VeeKay posted the sixth best time.

The hot humid weather made conditions difficult for both drivers and crew members.

Kirkwood only needed 14 laps to set the second fastest lap. Andretti teammate Marcus Ericsson was eighth quickest in the session.

Practice stopped twice for red flags. In the 40-minute segment Marcus Armstrong slid oof track and in tot he tire barrier, damaging the left front suspension. In the second group practice Romain Grosjean spun in turn 9 and could not get the car refired.

Results

The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Presented by the 2027 CR-V Hybrid Fast Facts 

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From IndyCar. My preview will not be up until tomorrow morning.

 Race weekend: Friday, July 3-Sunday, July 5
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 2027 CR-V Hybrid: 90 laps / 203.22 miles | INDY NXT by Firestone: INDY NXT by Firestone Grand Prix at Mid-Ohio Race 1: 35 laps / 79.03 miles / 55 minutes; INDY NXT by Firestone Grand Prix at Mid-Ohio Race 2: 30 laps / 67.74 miles / 50 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: 65 seconds of total time.
Hybrid energy deployment parameters: NTT INDYCAR SERIES: Unlimited activation with a maximum deployment of 310 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. A carryover set from the Detroit event may be used during pre-qualifying practice session on Friday.
X: @Mid_Ohio, @INDYCAR, @INDYNXT, #Honda200, #INDYCAR
Instagram: @officialmidohio, @INDYCAR, @INDYNXT, #Honda200, #INDYCAR
Threads: @INDYCAR, @INDYNXT
Facebook: @MidOhioSportsCarCourse, @INDYCAR, @INDYNXT, #FirestoneGP, #INDYCAR
TikTok: @INDYCAR, #FirestoneGP, #INDYCAR
YouTube: @INDYCAR
Event website: www.midohio.com
INDYCAR website: www.IndyCar.com
INDY NXT by Firestone website: www.indynxt.com

2025 race winners:NTT INDYCAR SERIESScott Dixon (No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda)INDY NXT by FirestoneDennis Hauger (No. 28 Andretti Global)2025

NTT P1 Award winner:Alex Palou (No. 10 OpenAI Chip Ganassi Racing Honda) 1:05.0215, 125.027 mph2025 INDY NXT by Firestone pole winner:Dennis Hauger (No. 28 Andretti Global), 1:09.7431, 116.553 mph
Qualifying lap record:NTT INDYCAR SERIESSimon Pagenaud, 1:03.8700, 127.271 mph, July 30, 2016INDY NXT by FirestoneDennis Hauger, 1:09.7431, 116.553 mph, July 5, 2025

FOX Sports telecasts: NTT INDYCAR SERIES: Practice 1, 3 p.m. ET Friday, FS2 (live);
Practice 2, 10 a.m. ET Saturday, FS1 (live);
Qualifying, 2:30 p.m. ET Saturday, FS1 (live);
Warmup, 9 a.m. ET
Sunday, FS1 (live); Race, 12:30 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. A Spanish-language telecast will be available on FOX Deportes.
| INDY NXT by Firestone: Practice, 2 p.m. ET Friday, FS2 (live); Qualifying, 9 a.m. ET Saturday, FS1 (live); Race 1, 1 p.m. ET Saturday, FS1 (live). Race 2, 10 a.m. ET Saturday, FS1 (live). Kevin Lee is the play-by-play announcer for FOX Sports’ coverage of INDY NXT by Firestone alongside analyst Jack Harvey and guest analyst Conor Daly. Georgia Henneberry is the pit reporter.

INDYCAR Radio Powered by OnlyBulls broadcasts: Mark Jaynes is the anchor alongside analyst Davey Hamilton. Jake Query, Nick Yeoman and Michael Young are the turn announcers. Alex Wollf, Ryan Myrehn and DJ Clark are the pit reporters. The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Presented by the 2027 CR-V Hybrid race (noon ET Sunday), INDY NXT Grand Prix at Mid-Ohio doubleheader (12:55 p.m. Saturday and 9:55 a.m. Sunday) and all NTT INDYCAR SERIES practices and qualifying sessions air live on network affiliates, SiriusXM INDYCAR Nation 218, indycar.com/leaderboard and the INDYCAR App powered by NTT DATA. All INDY NXT by Firestone practices, qualifying sessions and races are available on SiriusXM INDYCAR Nation 218, indycar.com/leaderboard and the INDYCAR App powered by NTT DATA

.At-track schedule (all times local):
FRIDAY, JULY 32-2:45 p.m. – INDY NXT by Firestone Practice 1, FS2 (live
)3:05-4:25 p.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES Practice 1, FS2 (live)

SATURDAY, JULY 49-9:30 a.m. – INDY NXT by Firestone Qualifying (Two groups, 10 minutes each), FS1 (live)
0:05-11:25 a.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES Practice 2 , FS1 (live)
1:01 p.m. – INDY NXT by Firestone Grand Prix at Mid-Ohio Race 1 command to start engines1:08 p.m. – INDY NXT by Firestone Grand Prix at Mid-Ohio Race 1 (35 laps/55 minutes), FS1 (live)
2:35-4 p.m. – Qualifying for the NTT P1 Award (Three rounds of knockout qualifying), FS1 (live)

SUNDAY, JULY 5
9:05-9:35 a.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES Warmup, FS1 (live)
10:01 a.m. – INDY NXT by Firestone Grand Prix at Mid-Ohio Race 2 command to start engines10:08 a.m. – INDY NXT by Firestone Grand Prix at Mid-Ohio Race 2 (30 laps/50 minutes), FS1 (live
1:57 a.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES Driver Introductions
12:30 p.m. – FOX on air
12:45 p.m. – The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Presented by the 2027 CR-V Hybrid command to start engines
12:52 p.m. – The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Presented by the 2027 CR-V Hybrid (90 laps/203.22 miles), FOX (live)
NTT INDYCAR SERIES Notes: The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Presented by the 2027 CR-V Hybrid is the 11th race of the 2026 season. There have been five winners in the first 10 NTT INDYCAR SERIES races this season. Alex Palou (Streets of St. Petersburg, Barber Motorsports Park, Streets of Long Beach and Streets of Detroit), Josef Newgarden (Phoenix Raceway and World Wide Technology Raceway), Kyle Kirkwood (Streets of Arlington), Christian Lundgaard (Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course and Road America) and Felix Rosenqvist (Indianapolis 500).The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Presented by the 2027 CR-V Hybrid will be the 43rd INDYCAR SERIES race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. 
Scott Dixon won the race in 2025. 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 seven victories (2007, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2019 and 2025). 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.
Twenty-two drivers entered in the event have competed in past INDYCAR SERIES races at Mid-Ohio. Scott Dixon (22) has made the most starts at Mid-Ohio among the entered drivers. Twelve drivers have led laps at the track (Dixon 276, Will Power 206, Alex Palou 176, Josef Newgarden 162, Alexander Rossi 71, Pato O’Ward 52, Scott McLaughlin 48, Graham Rahal 30, Felix Rosenqvist 15, Marcus Ericsson 3 and Kyffin Simpson 1)
.Chip Ganassi Racing has won 13 times at Mid-Ohio, including 10 of the 20 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, 2025), 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 15 of his 22 starts at Mid-Ohio, including seven wins between 2007 and 2025 … Will Power has finished in the top five in 11 of his 18 starts at Mid-Ohio … Kyle Kirkwood won eight of nine development series starts from 2018-21.Rookies Caio Collet, Dennis Hauger and Mick Schumacher will race an NTT INDYCAR SERIES car at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course for the first time this weekend. Both Hauger and Collet won INDY NXT by Firestone races at the track. Collet won in 2024, while Hauger won in 2025.Milestones: Scott Dixon will attempt to make his 367th consecutive start, extending his record streak…Graham Rahal will attempt to make his 267th consecutive start…Josef Newgarden will attempt to make his 230th consecutive start…Dixon will extend his record to 430 with a start Sunday…Will Power will attempt to make his 330th INDYCAR SERIES start, passing Al Unser Jr. for sixth on the all-time list

.INDY NXT by Firestone Notes:The ultra-competitive INDY NXT by Firestone season continues with a doubleheader visit to Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Cape Motorsports Powered by ECR’s Nikita Johnson leads the point standings by just six points over HMD Motorsports’ Tymek Kucharczyk with HMD’s Enzo Fittipaldi 27 points back. The 2026 season has seen eight winners in 10 races.The INDY NXT by Firestone Grand Prix at Mid-Ohio doubleheader will be the series’ 38th and 39th races 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, Louis Foster, Caio Collet and Dennis Hauger.Group qualifying will decide the starting grid for both races at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. 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 10 minutes allotted for each group (with a guarantee of one timed lap), the fastest driver between the two sessions will be awarded Race 1 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.). A driver’s second best lap will be determine the pole position for Race 2. One driver and entrant championship point will be awarded to the fastest car in each qualifying group for each race. 
 
 

Quick Thoughts- Honda Indy 200

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One seventh win prevented another. Scott Dixon won his seventh race at Mid Ohio, keeping Alex Palou from winning his seventh race of the season.

The predictable turned unpredictable in the closing laps at Mid Ohio as Dixon took advantage of a rare mistake by Palou to take the lead with five laps to go and turn what had been an unremarkable race into a thrilling finish, winning the Honda Indy 200 for the seventh time. Palou appeared to have another win tucked away before going off track in turn nine and watching his teammate zip by.

“Just a mistake,” Palou said.

It’s nice to know he is human after all.

Dixon is the third different winner of the 2025 season. He keeps a streak intact of winning at least one ace for 21 consecutive seasons. Dixon now has 59 victories in his IndyCar career.

The Penske Spiral

The lost season continues for Josef Newgarden. Newgarden spun just after the start of the race when his rear brakes locked. Graham Rahal made contact but was able to continue. Today marked the fifth finish in the 20s for Newgarden.

Will Power came into the pits after one lap with a fire at the rear of the car. Scott McLaughlin finished 23rd, one lap down.

Great Drives

Pato O’Ward started 14th and finished fifth.

Felix Rosenqvist started 15th and finished sixth.

Rinus VeeKay started 26th and came home ninth.

Kyffin Simpson’s hiccup on his last stop may have cost him a podium, which would have made for a Ganassi 1-2-3 finish. Four of the top 11 finishers today have five or fewer years in IndyCar.

Colton Herta may have lost a podium with a slow last pit stop.

Mid Ohio announced a record crowd today. I can believe it from the traffic entering the track this morning.

Results

That will do it for me today. Thanks for following along this weekend.