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.
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.
Source: “Rutherford Road Races To First,” by Dave Overpeck, Indianapolis Star, July 14, 1980
Photo: Rutherford’s championship car from 1980.
A hot track, a race of attrition, and off-track turmoil didn’t stop Johnny Rutherford from taking his first road race victory at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in the Red Roof Inns 250 on July 13, 1980. Driving a Chaparral prepared by Jim Hall, Rutherford led the last 19 laps. taking the lead when Rick Mears, who had led for 32 laps, spun in turn 12. as the heat caused him to lose focus. Eight laps later, Mears collided with the spinning car of Rick Muther.
Rutherford and Mears had the best duel of the day. Rutherford passed Mears, only to lose the lead on the same lap.
” I passed him once off the long (3,000-foot) straightaway, but then I went wide on a turn and he went back around me,” said Rutherford.
Coming on the heels of his third win in the Indianapolis 500, Rutherford beat Gordon Johncock by 23 seconds in a race where only seven cars were running at the finish. Roger Rager, the last car running was eight laps behind. Vern Schuppan. credited with fifth place, ran out of fuel just before the finish. Pole sitter Al Unser had suspension problems and retired on lap 27.
Four drivers- Sheldon Kinser, John Wood, Tim Richmond, and Danny Ongais- did not complete a lap, and Gary Bettenhausen and John Mahler completed fewer than 10 laps.
Rutherford averaged 86.601 mph for the 65 lap race, which was witnessed by 45,00 spectators.
The race was the final race of the season for USAC. Rutherford easily won the championship over Tom Sneva. The rival CART series had seven more races scheduled, and Rutherford won that championship also.
The split between USAC and Cart had created a temporary organization, The Championship racing League, to form. It did not last long.
The hangup seemed to be IMS president John Cooper, who had not decided which sanctioning body the Speedway would recognize. Both groups were in a sort of limbo.
Despite the off-track wrangling, Mid Ohio put on a good race, and IndyCar has returned every year with the exceptions of 1981 and 1982 and 2004-2006. Sunday’s race will be the 42nd IndyCar race at Mid -Ohio.
Sunday’s race at Mid-Ohio had a tenuous beginning and a compelling ending. The main story was not Pato O’Ward’s first on track win in nearly two years, but the performance of the new hybrid power system.
Before we talk about the hybrid, let’s touch on a couple of notable items from Sunday.
Toby Sowery had an excellent first Indycar race. finishing 13th in the 51 car. Sowery was the sixth driver in that seat this season, and he matched the car’s best run of the season. Katherine Legge will give the team some continuity as she will drive the six ovals which make up the bulk of the last half of 2024. Sowery may be back for Toronto or Portland. he has earned another race.
Despite Will Power’s 11th place finish, he is the only driver within one race of Alex Palou.
Meyer Shank Racing has made a great decision to put David Malukas in the 66. In just two races, he has pulled the car into the Leader’s Circle, and I don’t think the team needs to worry about that. I’m excited to see how he does on the ovals, where he has had some good results.
The Hybrid- C+
I went into Mid-Ohio a bit of a skeptic, but overall, I think the hybrid had a decent debut. I expect some teething problems, and there were some. The unit was mostly reliable, except for what happened to Scott Dixon on the warmup lap. I wonder ow much the hybrid had to do with the stalls on pit lane.
Romain Grosjean spun with three laps to go and was able to refire the car and get back on track, saving alate yellow which would probably have ended the race. Drivers refiring the engines on their own is one of the best features of this new technology. Several red flags in practice and qualifications will be avoided in the future.
On the other hand, the hybrid did not change the racing or increase passing. Several drivers said the added 100 pounds the unit has put on the car negates the extra power.
Is the issue that befell Scott Dixon an isolated occurrence, or we will see this continue to happen? Could a malfunctioning hybrid have an effect on the championship? Dixon lost 39 points to Palou on Sunday.
As I said in a post before the season, it might have been better to hold off the debut until next year, rather than add a new wrinkle halfway through the season. That way everyone starts out on an equal footing with the same car for the entire year.
I’m not sure what we will see from the hybrids on the ovals, but I still don’t see much benefit on a non road/street course. With just Toronto and Portland the only remaining road/street circuits, we may have just two more opportunities in 2024 to assess the hybrid’s effectiveness. This year shouild probably just go down as an experiment, and we will be able to fully evaluate the unit next September.
A rather dull race turned quickly into a great 20 lap duel to the end as Pato O’Ward held off Alex Palou by about half a second. Officially oit os O’Ward’s second victory of 2024, but the first time he has won on track. He was awarded the St. Pete victory after Josef Newgarden’s disqualification.
What a brilliant call by the 5 crew to pit a lap early.
No one is happier to see six oval races coming up on the schedule than Newgarden. He has had two consecutive road course finishes in the 20s. Newgarden is 146 points behind Palou and appears to be out of the championship, but given his record on ovals, he has a chance to get back into the chase. Palou has b=ever won on an oval.
It’s great for the series to have its most popular driver win a race. It has been since Iowa race 2 in 2022 that O’Ward last crossed the finish line first.
The hybrid seemed to perform weel except for Scott Dixon’s issue. Both Palou and third place Scott Mclaughlin said that they enjoyed using it more than they thought they would.
Kyle Kirkwood continues to be the most consistent driver in the series. he scored another top 10 today, finishing eighth, after his worst qualifying of the season. Kirkwood nis now sixth in points.
David Malukas had a tough day after stalling at the start and then on his first pit stop. If he continues his outstanding qualifying, he will gat a top five result this year.
O’Ward mentioned how hard it is pass at Mid-Ohio. The results bear that out. The top five finishers started 2nd, 1st, 6th, 4th, and 5th.
I will have a more detailed analysyis tomorrow. I need to head back to Indianpolis. Thanks for following along this weekend.
The Pit Window by Mike Silver 