Mid Ohio Spotter Guide
Tag: NTT Indycar Series
Greetings From Mid-Ohio
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.
Grid Penalty for Rasmussen
From IndyCar:
Mid Ohio Preview
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.
From earlier this week:
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.
The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Presented by the All-New 2026 Passport Fast Facts
From IndyCar:
Race weekend: Friday, July 4-Sunday, July 6
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.
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
2024 race winners:
NTT INDYCAR SERIES
Pato O’Ward (No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet)
INDY NXT by Firestone
Caio Collet (No. 18 HMD Motorsports)
2024 NTT P1 Award winner:
Alex Palou (No. 10 Ridgeline Chip Ganassi Racing Honda) 1:05.3511, 124.387 mph
2024 INDY NXT by Firestone pole winner:
Caio Collet (No. 18 HMD Motorsports), 1:10.2879, 115.650 mph
Qualifying lap record:
NTT INDYCAR SERIES
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.
45 Years Ago- IndyCar’s First Race at Mid-Ohio
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.
Mid Ohio Schedule First Look
All Times Eastern
from last night:
IndyCar Notes- New Car, Schedule News
Photo: Alex Palou celebrates his win at the Thermal Club
There is now a target date for a new Indycar, although it is still quite a way off from racing. On Saturday, during qualifying at Road America, IndyCar sent a press release outlining the features of the new machine, and a proposed timeline for preparation.
If you missed the release, you can find it here:
I like a lot of what is proposed on the new car, especially the lower weight and more power. The car should have a sleeker profile with an integrated aeroscreen.
I found the timing of this announcement strange. It emerged as the teams were preparing to qualify, and there were no drawings of the design. It appears to the public that this project is still an abstraction.
IndyCar seems to be moving forward assuming that Honda will stay beyond 2026, when their current contract ends
If the series is going to announce something as major as its next generation racer, I would think they would have a prototype on site and present it during the pre race show when the most eyeballs could see it.
I hope we will see what the car looks like before the end of the season. Surely there is a mockup or a car or two in production right now.
Thermal Out, Mexico City In?
News broke a couple hours ago that Thermal will not host an IndyCar race in 2026. I cannot help but wonder if this opens a spot for the long anticipated race in Mexico City.
Club owner Tim Rogers told KESQ in Coachella Valley that he hopes the race can return in 2027. IndyCar had an exhibition race at the club near Palm Springs, California, in 2024, and a points paying grand prix on March 23 this year.
I am glad the race will not return. The venue does not present an image of a major league sporting event. The price point of n early $500 held attendance to only about 3,000 fans.
It’s a fine facility for Spring Training, but that is as far it goes.
As far as the race in Mexico City, it would make sense to slot it in March just before the Grand Prix of Arlington in Texas. With the season opener vat St. Pete scheduled for March1, it looks like the early season gap might be filled in.
Road America Wrap Up- Palou Flies Solo
The air was hot, the track was hot, and t5he action was hot. Teams played Pit Stop Roulette, but in the end, we saw the same result.
The fuel save master just missed, and the tire master came out on top again. In an entertaining, action packed race at Road America where the winner wasn’t decided until the last three laps. Alex Palou won his sixth race of the year after Scott Dixon fell two laps short on fuel.
Some thoughts:
The chaotic start with eight laps of caution in the first 12 laps led to a wide mix of pit and tire strategies, which in turn led to a lot of on track battles. From my view in turn 5, I’m surprise there were only five caution periods. Drivers were pushing each other to the outside with lots of contact. I have never seen so much dust kicked off at the exit of the turn as I did yesterday.
I had a good view of Sting Ray Robb’s incident. he was fortunate that he scrubbed off some speed on the concrete barrier before he hit the tire wall. It appeared he couldn’t brake. It seems I say this every race, but hats off to the safety design features of this chassis. Robb stopped in a place where the AMR safety stations a truck, but still it seemed as if they were headed to Robb before he came to an abrupt stop.
Great Drives
Santino Ferrucci finished third after starting 18th. Scott Dixon finished ninth from 25th on the grid, and he had a chance to win because of pit strategy. Rinus VeeKay started 22nd and finished 10th, overcoming three penalties.
David Malukas started seventh, went off track on lap 1, and roared back to end the race where he started. Malukas complained of the heat affecting him. While no other driver mentioned it, I’m sure heat was a factor for many.
Penske’s Lost Year
For the last two races, I have thought that Team Penske would begin a comeback to being a factor. At Gateway the trio of Will Power, Scott McLaughlin, and Josef Newgarden qualified first, second, and fifth. None finished the race.
Yesterday the team started fourth, eighth, and 10th. They finished 12th, 14th, and 25th. Josef Newgarden has four results lower than 20th and is 17th in points. McLaughlin and Power are still in the top 10 in points, but ypoun have to wonder for how long?
Even before the organizational shakeup in May, the team seemed not quite up to their usual standards. It is sad to see a team decline as rapidly as they have.
MSR Rising
Felix Rosenqvist finished second as he continues to quietly stay in the top five in points. Rosenqvist is now fourth in the standings, and teammate Marcus Armstrong’s fifth place result has him standing 11th for the year.
MSR has thrived in their relationship with Chip Ganassi Racing.
Foyt Ascending
It ius ironic that A. J. Foyt Racing is doing better tha the team they have atechnical alliance. The association with Team Penske has yielded marked improvement for one of the smallest teams in the paddock.
As not6ed earlier, Santino Ferrucci and David Malukas both had top 10 results yesterday. Ferruci is now ninth in points and Malukas is 12th, a far cry from the years when this team hovered on the brink of missing out on the Leaders ‘Circle.
After seven rather mundane races, IndyCar has produced two very good, exciting races with lots of passing, position battles, and doubts about who would win until near the end of the race. I hope this trend continues when the series goes to Mid-Ohio in a couple of weeks.
Results
The Pit Window by Mike Silver 