Tag: Mid Ohio Sports Car Course

Day 2 at Mid Ohio

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Today’s schedule: All times Eastern,; Indycar sessions on Peacock

7:55 am: GT3 Qualifying

8:35 am: Indy NXT Practice

9:45 am: INDYCAR Practice

11 am: USF2000 Race

11:55 am: USF Pro2000 Race

1 pm: GT3 Race

2:05 pm: Indy NXT Qualifying

2:45 pm: INDYCAR Qualifying

4:30 pm: USF2000 Race

5:25 pm: USF Pro2000 Race

There was some rain overnight, but the morning practice should be dry. Rain could be a factor during qualifying this afternoon, however. I will provide weather updates on The Pit Window Facebook page and on Twitter @tutorindie throughout the day.

In a media ocnference after yestreday’s pracrice, Alexander Rossi said that rain during the race could be an equalizer. He said that we wkk fuibd our id Alex Palou is good in the rain. Rossi noted that Indycar has so few rain races, it;’s hard to say who would have the advantage in wet conditions.

Track Improvements

I walked around some of the track Friday afternoon, and it was nice to see some changes the facility has made. The paddock area has new blacktop in the areas where the transporters and garages are.

Turn 1 has been repaved.

There is a new viewing stand on the inside of the track between turns 1 and 2. The stand is private for use of team guests and sponsors.

A qwlcone changes for fans who watch drom the esses.

Viewing here has been obstructed the last few years by small shade tents and umbrellas all the way down the hill to the fence next to the track. I am glad to see this change. I’m a bit surprised at how far from the track the boundary is. The esses are my favorite bantage point on race day. I am looking forward to seeing this policy implemented tomorrow.

O’Ward Leads Mid Ohio Practice 1

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In a frenzied practice session, Pato O’Ward turned in the fastest lap of Practice 1, 1:06.4935. Alex Palou was second quick, and Marcus Ericsson was third. The htree drivers are in the top four of the points standings heading into the weekend.

Helio Castroneves caused the only stoppage for an off track incident.

As usual, itwas a busy day at Mid Ohio. I will have more later.

Results

Good Morning from Mid Ohio

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It’s a cloudy morning at Mid Ohio. USF2000 practice has just concluded, and Poesche Sprint practice will start in 15 minutes.

All eyes are on the weather this weekend.

The latest from @Indycar_Wxman:

For today

The rest of the weekend has a chance of rain affecting the Indycar sessions.

Turn one has been repaved, and I will be taking a look at it later today.

I’ll be back with more updates later. If you’re coming to the track, prepare for some rain. The air quality has improved this mornng.

Mid Ohio Preview- Chasing Palou

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Photo from Indycar

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.

The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Presented by the 2023 Accord Hybrid Fast Facts

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From Indycar:

  Race weekend: Friday, June 30-Sunday, July 2
Track: Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, a 13-turn, a 2.258-mile permanent road course in Lexington, Ohio
Race distance: NTT INDYCAR SERIES: 80 laps / 180.64 miles | INDY NXT by Firestone: 35 laps / 79.03 miles or 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: 150 seconds of total time with a maximum time of 15 seconds per activation
Firestone tire allotment: Six sets primary, four sets alternate to be used during the event weekend. One additional set of primary tires may be used by teams fielding a rookie driver. Teams must use one set of primary and one set of new (sticker) alternate tires for at least two laps in the race.
Twitter: @Mid_Ohio, @IndyCar, #Honda200, #INDYCAR
Event website: www.midohio.com
INDYCAR website: www.IndyCar.com
2022 race winners: NTT INDYCAR SERIES Scott McLaughlin (No. 3 Odyssey Battery Team Penske Chevrolet) INDY NXT by Firestone Hunter McElrea (No. 27 Andretti Autosport)
2022 NTT P1 Award winner: Pato O’Ward (No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet) 1:06.6739, 121.919 mph
Qualifying lap record: NTT INDYCAR SERIES Simon Pagenaud, 1:03.8700, 127.271 mph, July 30, 2016
INDY NXT by Firestone Oliver Askew, 1:10.8079, 114.801 mph, July 27, 2019
USA Network race telecast: The Honda Indy 200 at Mid Ohio Presented by the 2023 Accord Hybrid 1:30 p.m. ET Sunday, July 2, USA Network (live). Leigh Diffey is the play-by-play announcer for USA’s coverage of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, alongside analysts Townsend Bell and James Hinchcliffe.
Peacock Live Streaming: All NTT INDYCAR SERIES practice sessions and qualifying will stream live on Peacock, NBC’s direct-to-consumer livestreaming product, while USA Network’s race telecast of The Honda Indy 200 at Mid Ohio Presented the 2023 Accord Hybrid will be simulcast on the streaming service. The INDY NXT by Firestone Grand Prix at Mid-Ohio will be streamed on Peacock with practice and qualifying being shown on INDYCAR Live.
INDYCAR Radio Network broadcasts: Mark Jaynes is the chief announcer alongside analyst Davey Hamilton. Jake Query, Nick Yeoman and Michael Young are the turn announcers. Ryan Myrehn, Joel Sebastianelli and Alex Wolff are the pit reporters. The Honda Indy 200 at Mid Ohio Presented by the 2023 Accord Hybrid race (1 p.m. ET Sunday),
INDY NXT by Firestone Grand Prix at Mid-Ohio (11:25 a.m. ET Sunday) and all NTT INDYCAR SERIES and INDY NXT by Firestone practices and qualifying sessions air live on network affiliates, SiriusXM 160, racecontrol.indycar.com and the INDYCAR App powered by NTT DATA.
At-track schedule (all times local):
Friday, June 30
1:55-2:40 p.m. – INDY NXT by Firestone Practice 1, INDYCAR LIVE 3:05-4:20 p.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES Practice 1, Peacock

Saturday, July 1
8:35-9:20 a.m. – INDY NXT by Firestone Practice 2, INDYCAR LIVE 9:45-10:45 a.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES Practice 2 (45 minutes of green flag or 60 total minutes), Peacock
2:05-2:25 p.m. – INDY NXT by Firestone Qualifying (Eight minutes of green flag running or 15 minutes), INDYCAR LIVE
2:45-4:15 p.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES Qualifying for the NTT P1 Award (Three rounds of knockout qualifying), Peacock

Sunday, July 2
10:30-11 a.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES Final Practice, Peacock
11:35 a.m. –  INDY NXT by Firestone Grand Prix at Mid-Ohio command to start engines
11:40 a.m. –  INDY NXT by Firestone Grand Prix at Mid-Ohio (35 laps/55 minutes), Peacock
1:05 p.m. – Driver introductions
1:46 p.m. – The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Presented by the 2023 Accord Hybrid command to start engines
1:53 p.m. – The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Presented by the 2023 Accord Hybrid (80 laps/180.64 miles), USA Network (live)

NTT INDYCAR SERIES Notes: The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Presented by the 2023 Accord Hybrid will be the ninth race of the 2023 season. There have been five different winners in nine NTT INDYCAR SERIES races this season. Marcus Ericsson (Streets of St. Petersburg), Josef Newgarden (Texas Motor Speedway and Indianapolis 500), Kyle Kirkwood (Streets of Long Beach), Scott McLaughlin (Barber Motorsports Park) and Alex Palou (Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course-1, Streets of Detroit and Road America) have all won in 2023. The modern record (1946-present) for most different winners in a season is 11 in 2000, 2001 and 2014. The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio will be the 40th INDYCAR SERIES race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Scott McLaughlin won the race in 2022. 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, Castroneves (2000 and 2001), Newgarden (2017 and 2021), Graham Rahal (2015), Simon Pagenaud (2016), Alexander Rossi (2018), Will Power (2020-Race 1), Colton Herta (2020-Race 2) and Scott McLaughlin (2022) are entered this year.  
ACTIVE RACE WINNER
WINS
SEASONS
Scott Dixon
6
2007, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2019
Helio Castroneves
2
2000, 2001
Josef Newgarden
2
2017, 2021
Graham Rahal
1
2015
Simon Pagenaud
1
2016
Alexander Rossi
1
2018
Will Power
1
2020 Race 1
Colton Herta
1
2020 Race 2
Scott McLaughlin
1
2022

ACTIVE POLE WINNER
POLES
SEASONS
Will Power
5
2010, 2012, 2017, 2019, 2020 Race 1
Helio Castroneves
2
2007, 2008
Scott Dixon
2
2011, 2015
Simon Pagenaud
1
2016
Alexander Rossi
1
2018
Colton Herta
1
2020 Race 2
Josef Newgarden
1
2021
Pato O’Ward
1
2022

Twenty-one drivers entered in the event have competed in past INDYCAR SERIES races at Mid-Ohio. Scott Dixon (19) has made the most starts at Mid-Ohio among the entered drivers.
Ten drivers have led laps at the track (Dixon 261, Will Power 205, Josef Newgarden 162, Alexander Rossi 71, Colton Herta 66, Simon Pagenaud 37, Graham Rahal 27, Takuma Sato 16, Felix Rosenqvist 15 and Marcus Ericsson 3). Team Penske 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).
Chip Ganassi Racing has won 11 times at Mid-Ohio, including eight of the 17 races sanctioned by INDYCAR at the track. Ganassi’s winning drivers are Alex Zanardi (1996, 1997), Juan Pablo Montoya (1999), Scott Dixon (2007, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2019), Dario Franchitti (2010) and Charlie Kimball (2013). Scott Dixon has finished in the top five in 13 of his 19 starts at Mid-Ohio, including six wins between 2007 and 2020 … Will Power has finished in the top five in 10 of his 15 starts at Mid-Ohio … Simon Pagenaud has finished on the podium four times in his previous 13 starts … Kyle Kirkwood won eight of nine development series starts from 2018-2021. Milestones: Scott Dixon will attempt to make his 314th consecutive start, the second-longest streak in INDYCAR SERIES history … Graham Rahal will attempt to make his 251st INDYCAR SERIES start with Honda power, tying him with Tony Kanaan for the most Honda-powered starts in INDYCAR SERIES racing.

INDY NXT by Firestone Notes: Nolan Siegel heads to Mid-Ohio looking for his third consecutive race win in 2023. The 18-year-old Californian could become the sixth driver since 2018 with a three-race win streak. Three of the previous five drivers to record such a streak – Linus Lundqvist, Kyle Kirkwood and Oliver Askew – won the INDY NXT by Firestone championship. Nolan Siegel, Reece Gold and Matteo Nannini became first-time winners in the first half of the season. Will another talented prospect like Jacob Abel, Louis Foster, James Roe, Kyffin Simpson or Ernie Francis Jr. score a first series win in 2023? 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. Qualifying takes on a new look in 2023 with Saturday’s qualifying session featuring just eight minutes of green flag running or 15 minutes total, whichever comes first. Setting a fast lap and starting up front is at a premium as 10 of the last 13 INDY NXT races at Mid-Ohio have been won from the pole with two other INDY NXT winners in that span starting on the front row.  

Early Look at Mid Ohio Schedule

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It’s a race week once again.

The Honda Indy 200 schedule, a first look. All times Eastern. Mid Ohio is in the Eastern Time Zone.

Note- The Indycar race is on USA network.

Friday:

3:05pm-4:20pm Indycar practice 1 Peacock

Saturday

9:45 am-10:45 am Indycar practice 2 Peacock

2:45 pm-4:15 pm Indycar Qualifying Peacock

Sunday

10″30 am-11:00 am Indycar Warmup Peacock

11:40 am-12:35 pm Indy NXT Race (35 laps or 55 miles) Peacock

1:53 pm Green flag for Indycar Honda Indy 200 USA; Peacock

Mid Ohio Wrap Up

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Scott McLaughlin leads Alex Palou and Colton Herta. Indycar photo by Joe Skibinski

I hope everyone had a good day yesterday. I have a few more thoughts about Mid Ohio. I watched the replay yesterday, and it confirmed my thoughts from Sunday. Today I’ll explore some of the after effects of the Honda Indy 200.

Andretti Drama Continues

The on track intramural bumping and banging between the Andretti teammates resulted in some harsh words from one driver post race and a team meeting. One media member was asked to delete a recording which he had every right to make, and a driver interview was cut short by team PR.

We may never know what was said in the team meeting, but I don’t think we’ll see a mid season driver change. It would be too complicated to do with sponsor commitments. The team has been in a state of dysfunction all year, and Sunday it boiled over.

Another Good Crowd

Attendance this weekend appears to have continued the season long trend of improved attendance at Indycar events. I though Saturday’s crowd was quite large and Sunday the esses seemed very packed.

Toronto should have a really good crowd as the race returns for the first time since 2019. Iowa will be a key race for attendance. Will the festival concept draw more fans? Are ovals outside IMS sustainable?

Is Newgarden Still the Favorite?

Josef Newgarden

Although he lost a couple of points to leader Marcus Ericsson, many still regard Josef Newgarden as the favorite to win the championship. The reason is the three oval races coming up. Newgarden has won three times at Iowa and twice at Gateway. Toronto is almost a must win for Ericsson.

Rookie of the Year Battle Still Tight

Christian Lungaard leads David Malukas by 14 points after Sunday. Malukas seems to be coming on strong and I think he will eventually pass Lundgaard.

David Malukas

Lundgaard’s lead has stayed between 13 and 19 points over the last few races, but Malukas is making great strides while Lundgaard seems to be treading water The rookie title may come down to the last race at Laguna Seca.

Photo Gallery

A few photos from the weekend.

Colton Herta leads Rinus VeeKay and Felix Rosenqvist toward turn 4
Pato O’Ward lost a huge opportunity to gain ground in the standings with his second straight DNF
Practice 2 begins
Waiting for practice to start

Quick Thoughts- Honda Indy 200

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Scott McLaughlin is 2022’s second multiple race winner. He won the season opener in St. Pete.

Today at Mid Ohio was team day. Teams as a whole either had a great day or an awful one. Mistakes were made. The pace car stayed busy. I don’t think it was the best race of the year, but it was quite entertaining, especially from modpack back.

Very Good Days

Team Penske cars finished first, third, and seventh.

Chip Ganassi Racing finished second, fifth, and sixth.

Meyer Shank finished eightth and tenth.

Ed Carpenter Racing finished fourth and Dale Coyne Racing with HMD finished ninth.

Not So Good Days

A. J. Foyt Racing lost Kyle Kirkwood early and then Tatiana Calderon a few laps later. Kirkwood was firmly in the top 10 at the time of hois spin.

Arrow McLaren SP’s promisinfg day went south when Felix Rosenqvist’s car stopped on trackmjust six laps into the race. Pole sitter Pato O’Ward began having gear troubles about halfway through the race and stalled exiting the pits.

Andretti Drama

Has Alexander Rossi already checked out of the team? He collided with teammates Romain Grosjean,Colton Herta, and Devlin DeFrancesco, pushing eaqch one off the track.

I would love to listen in on the team debrief tonight.

Will Power

He started 21st, spun on the first lap, passed eighteen cars on track and finished third. It was exciting to watch him slice his way to the front. He gained seven points on leader Marcus Ericsson. No question who the Driver of the Day is.

Is a Yellow for Safety or Team Convenience?

Should Indycar wait to throw a yellow so all teams can pit under green? When tatiana Calderon stopped in turn four, some cars had pitted and others were just about to. Pato O’Ward’s stalled car neaqr pit exit forced their hand.

I think if a car is disabled and a yellow is warranted, it needs to wave as soon as possible. Pit windows should not be a consideration. If a yellow comes while you’re in the poits, it’s the breaks of the game.

I will have a follow up story tomorrow. I am heading back to Indy now,Thanks for following along this weekend.