Editorials IndyCar

IndyCar: Mid-Ohio Preview

Posted by AR1 staff

As Ohio’s largest annual motorsports event, The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Presented by the All-New 2023 Civic Type R features a packed weekend of on-track action as well as a Fourth of July celebration.

Headlined by the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, this will be the 39th running of the event at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

A fireworks display, camping activities and 11 races in total will make for a spectacular weekend at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course beginning tomorrow for The Honda Indy 200 Presented by the All-New 2023 Civic Type R, July 1-3.

The stars and cars of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES will headline the weekend on the 2.258-mile, 13-turn road course in Lexington, Ohio. This time the Pataskala, Ohio-based Meyer Shank Racing (MSR) will bring not one, but two former Indy 500 and Mid-Ohio winners to its home track. Helio Castroneves, a 4-time winner of the Indy 500 and two-time winner in the series at Mid-Ohio (2000, 2001), will be joined by Simon Pagenaud, 2019 Indy 500 winner and 2016 Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio winner. Pagenaud is new to the team in 2022 driving the No. 60 Honda, but the veteran French driver already understands the importance of Mid-Ohio to MSR.

Last year’s winner at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Josef Newgarden is the PointsBet Sportsbook favorite for this week’s Honda Indy 200

“It’s our home track. It’s definitely an event where we want to do well because we have so many supporters here in the state of Ohio,” Pagenaud said. “So, I’m going to give it everything I have. At the end of the day, that’s what we do every weekend, but this one definitely is closer to the heart.”

Castroneves, who will pilot the No. 06 Honda, echoed his new teammate’s sentiments regarding the importance of this race for the team.

“Mid-Ohio is a place that brings me a lot of memories,” said Castroneves. “I’ve won in INDYCAR, I’ve won in IMSA sports car (at Mid-Ohio). And I really feel that myself and Simon would love to give this win and amazing results to (team owner) Mike (Shank), because we know how much this means to not only him but the entire team here.”

Another local favorite is Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing with New Albany, Ohio’s Graham Rahal trying to match his victory from 2015 at Mid-Ohio. Other past winners in the starting field will be Josef Newgarden (2021, 2017), Colton Herta (2020), Will Power (2020), Scott Dixon (2019, 2014, 2012, 2011, 2009, 2007) and Alexander Rossi (2018).

All three series from the Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires open-wheel development ladder will join the schedule along with the Porsche Sprint Challenge North America by Yokohama and the high-flying SPEED Energy Stadium SUPER Trucks. The weekend features a lot more than just the on-track action from the six different racing series for fans; it is a full Fourth of July celebration.

On Saturday (July 2) after the day’s on-track activities conclude, fans and campers can enjoy a spectacular fireworks display after sunset. The Honda Indy 200 Presented by the All-New 2023 Civic Type R weekend also features the return of “Camping with Honda.” This year’s theme encourages campers to show their “Civic Spirit” and decorate their sites in patriotic red, white and blue. Honda-powered NTT INDYCAR SERIES drivers will also make visits late Saturday afternoon into early evening to the campsites to greet fans.

Two special guests will take part in honorary roles for pre-race festivities as the celebration continues leading up to the 80-lap The Honda Indy 200 Presented by the All-New 2023 Civic Type R. Ohio State tight end and Lexington (OH) High School graduate Cade Stover will serve as the race’s grand marshal and give the command for the NTT INDYCAR SERIES drivers to start their engines. Then, Jim Keller, EVP of Honda Development & Manufacturing of America, will perform honorary starter duties by waving the green flag as the field of 27 cars speed toward the start line.

FAST FACTS

Race weekend: Friday, July 1 – Sunday, July 3

Track: Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, a 13-turn, a 2.258-mile road course in Lexington, Ohio

Race distance: NTT INDYCAR SERIES: 80 laps/180.64 miles | Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires: 35 laps/79.03 miles or 55 minutes

Entry List – 27 Drivers

CAR

DRIVER

HOMETOWN

CAR NAME

TEAM

ENGINE

1

2

Josef Newgarden

Nashville, Tennessee

PPG Team Penske

Team Penske

Chevrolet

2

3

Scott McLaughlin

Christchurch, New Zealand

Odyssey Battery Team Penske

Team Penske

Chevrolet

3

4

Dalton Kellett

Toronto, Canada

K-LINE / AJ FOYT RACING

A.J. Foyt Enterprises

Chevrolet

4

5

Pato O’Ward

Monterrey, Mexico

Arrow McLaren SP

Arrow McLaren SP

Chevrolet

5

06

Helio Castroneves

Sao Paulo, Brazil

AutoNation/SiriusXM

Meyer Shank Racing

Honda

6

7

Felix Rosenqvist

Värnamo, Sweden

Vuse Arrow McLaren SP

Arrow McLaren SP

Chevrolet

7

8

Marcus Ericsson

Kumla, Sweden

Ridgeline Lubricants

Chip Ganassi Racing

Honda

8

9

Scott Dixon

Auckland, New Zealand

PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing

Chip Ganassi Racing

Honda

9

10

Alex Palou

Barcelona, Spain

NTT DATA Chip Ganassi Racing

Chip Ganassi Racing

Honda

10

11

Tatiana Calderon (R)

Bogota, Colombia

ROKiT / AJ FOYT RACING

A.J. Foyt Enterprises

Chevrolet

11

12

Will Power

Toowoomba, Australia

Verizon Team Penske

Team Penske

Chevrolet

12

14

Kyle Kirkwood (R)

Jupiter, Florida

ROKiT / AJ FOYT RACING

 A.J. Foyt Enterprises Chevrolet

13

15

Graham Rahal

New Albany, Ohio

Fifth Third Bank

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing

Honda

14

16

Simona De Silvestro

Thun, Switzerland

Paretta Autosport

Paretta Autosport

Chevrolet

15

18

David Malukas (R)

Chicago, Illinois

HMD

Dale Coyne Racing with HMD

Honda

16

20

Conor Daly

Noblesville, Indiana

BitNile

Ed Carpenter Racing

Chevrolet

17

21

Rinus VeeKay

Hoofddorp, Netherlands

Bitcoin Racing Team with BitNile

Ed Carpenter Racing

Chevrolet

18

26

Colton Herta

Valencia, California

Gainbridge

Andretti Autosport w/ Curb-Agajanian

Honda

19

27

Alexander Rossi

Nevada City, California

NAPA AUTO PARTS / AutoNation

Andretti Autosport

Honda

20

28

Romain Grosjean

Geneva, Switzerland

ForeverLawn / DHL

Andretti Autosport

Honda

21

29

Devlin DeFrancesco (R)

Toronto, Canada

PowerTap

Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport

Honda

22

30

Christian Lundgaard (R)

Hedensted, Denmark

Hendrickson

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing

Honda

23

45

Jack Harvey

Bassingham, England

Hy-Vee

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing

Honda

24

48

Jimmie Johnson

El Cajon, California

Carvana Chip Ganassi Racing

Chip Ganassi Racing

Honda

25

51

Takuma Sato

Tokyo, Japan

Nurtec ODT

Dale Coyne Racing with RWR

Honda

26

60

Simon Pagenaud

Montmorillon, France

AutoNation/SiriusXM

Meyer Shank Racing

Honda

27

77

Callum Ilott (R)

Cambridge, England

Juncos Hollinger Racing

Juncos Hollinger Racing

Chevrolet

All cars use fourth-generation NTT INDYCAR SERIES chassis (Dallara IR12) with universal IR-18 aerodynamic bodywork, Chevrolet or Honda engines and Firestone tires.

(R) – Denotes Rookie of the Year candidate

Push-to-pass parameters: NTT INDYCAR SERIES: 200 seconds of total time with a maximum time of 20 seconds per activation. | Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires: 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

2021 race winners:

NTT INDYCAR SERIES

Josef Newgarden (No. 2 XPEL Team Penske Chevrolet)

Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires

Race 1: Kyle Kirkwood (No. 28 Andretti Autosport)

Race 2: Kyle Kirkwood (No. 28 Andretti Autosport)

Race 3: Kyle Kirkwood (No. 28 Andretti Autosport)

Race 4: Linus Lundqvist (No. 26 Global Racing Group with HMD Motorsports)

2021 NTT P1 Award winner: Josef Newgarden (No. 2 Hitachi Team Penske 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 Lights Presented by Cooper Tires

Oliver Askew, 1:10.8079, 114.801 mph, July 27, 2019

NBC Sports race telecast: The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Presented by the All-New 2023 Civic Type R 12:30 p.m. ET Sunday, July 3, NBC (live). Leigh Diffey is the play-by-play announcer for NBC’s coverage of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, alongside analysts Townsend Bell and James Hinchcliffe.

Peacock Premium Live Streaming: All NTT INDYCAR SERIES practice sessions and qualifying will stream live on Peacock Premium, NBC’s direct-to-consumer livestreaming product, while NBC’s race telecast of The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Presented by the All-New 2023 Civic Type R will be simulcast on the streaming service. Peacock Premium’s exclusive post-race show – featuring driver interviews, podium ceremonies and post-race analysis – will be streamed following the race. The Indy Lights at Mid-Ohio will be streamed on Peacock Premium 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. Joel Sebastianelli and Alex Wolff are the pit reporters. The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Presented by the All-New 2023 Civic Type R race (noon ET Sunday), Indy Lights at Mid-Ohio (10:30 a.m. ET Sunday) and all NTT INDYCAR SERIES and Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires 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, July 1

2:20-3:10 p.m. – Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires Practice 1, INDYCAR Live

3:30-4:45 p.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES Practice 1, Peacock Premium (Note: One set of alternate tires may be used during this session and all teams must return that set after the practice)

Saturday, July 2

8:35-9:15 a.m. – Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires Practice 2, INDYCAR Live

9:30-10:30 p.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES Practice 2 (45 minutes limited guarantee), Peacock Premium

1:45-2:05 p.m. – Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires Qualifying, INDYCAR Live

2:45-4 p.m. – Qualifying for NTT P1 Award (Three rounds of knockout qualifying), Peacock Premium

Sunday, July 3

9:45-10:15 a.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES Final Practice, Peacock Premium

10:35 a.m. – Indy Lights at Mid-Ohio “Drivers, start your engines”

10:40 a.m. – Indy Lights at Mid-Ohio (35 laps/79.03 miles or 55 minutes), Peacock Premium

Noon – NBC on air

12:46 p.m. – The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Presented by the All-New 2023 Civic Type R “Drivers, start your engines”

12:53 p.m. – The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Presented by the All-New 2023 Civic Type R (80 laps, 180.64 miles), NBC (Live).

NTT INDYCAR SERIES Notes:

  • There have been six different winners in eight NTT INDYCAR SERIES races in the 2022 season. Scott McLaughlin (Streets of St. Petersburg), Josef Newgarden (Texas Motor Speedway, Streets of Long Beach and Road America), Pato O’Ward (Barber Motorsports Park), Colton Herta (Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course-1), Marcus Ericsson (Indianapolis 500) and Will Power (Raceway at Belle Isle Park) have all won in 2022. The record for most different winners in a season is 11 in 2000, 2001 and 2014.
  • There have been six different winners in the last 10 NTT INDYCAR SERIES races (Colton Herta, Scott McLaughlin, Josef Newgarden, Pato O’Ward, Marcus Ericsson and Will Power) The only repeat winners in that stretch are Herta (Laguna Seca 2021 and Long Beach 2021) and Newgarden (Texas 2022, Long Beach 2022 and Road America 2022).
  • The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio will be the 39th INDYCAR SERIES race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Josef Newgarden won the race in 2021. 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. Emerson Fittipaldi won at Mid-Ohio three times, while Michael Andretti, Helio Castroneves, Teo Fabi, Josef Newgarden, Bobby Rahal, Al Unser and Alex Zanardi all won at Mid-Ohio twice. Dixon, Castroneves and Newgarden are expected to compete. Other previous Mid-Ohio winners entered include Graham Rahal, Simon Pagenaud, Alexander Rossi, Will Power and Colton Herta.
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
  • 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
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
  • Twenty-one drivers entered in the event have competed in past INDYCAR SERIES races at Mid-Ohio. Scott Dixon (18) 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).
  • Chip Ganassi Racing has won 11 times at Mid-Ohio, including eight of the 16 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).
  • Team Penske has 11 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 and 2021) and Will Power (2020-Race 1)
  • Scott Dixon has finished in the top five in 12 of his 18 starts at Mid-Ohio, including six wins between 2007 and 2020 … Will Power has finished in the top five in nine of his 14 starts at Mid-Ohio … Simon Pagenaud has finished on the podium four times in his previous 12 starts. Rookie Kyle Kirkwood won eight of nine Road to Indy starts from 2018-2021.
  • Milestones: Scott Dixon will attempt to make his 297th consecutive start, the second-longest streak in INDYCAR SERIES history… Graham Rahal will attempt to make his 250th INDYCAR SERIES start.

Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires Notes:

  • Linus Lundqvist is on the verge of building an insurmountable lead in the Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires point standings. The 23-year-old Swede leads Sting Ray Robb by 92 points heading into the weekend at Mid-Ohio, where Lundqvist won the 2021 season finale with an impressive drive in the rain.
  • Danial Frost and Christian Rasmussen became first-time winners in the first half of the season. Will another talented prospect like Sting Ray Robb, Benjamin Pedersen, Hunter McElrea, Kyffin Simpson or Ernie Francis Jr. score a first series win in 2022?
  • Push-to-pass could play a key strategic role at Mid-Ohio as Indy Lights 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.
  • Entry List – 13 Drivers

  • CAR

    DRIVER

    HOMETOWN

    CAR NAME

    TEAM

    1

    2

    Sting Ray Robb

    Boise, Idaho

    Sekady

    Andretti Autosport

    2

    7

    Christian Bogle

    Covington, Louisiana

    HMD Motorsports with Dale Coyne Racing

    HMD Motorsports with Dale Coyne Racing

    3

    11

    Antonio Serravalle

    Toronto, Canada

    HMD Motorsports with Dale Coyne Racing

    HMD Motorsports with Dale Coyne Racing

    4

    12

    James Roe (R)

    Naas, Ireland

    TJ Speed Motorsports

    TJ Speed Motorsports

    5

    21

    Kyffin Simpson (R)

    Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands

    TJ Speed Motorsports

    TJ Speed Motorsports

    6

    24

    Benjamin Pedersen

    Copenhagen, Denmark

    Global Racing Group with HMD

    Global Racing Group with HMD

    7

    26

    Linus Lundqvist

    Stockholm, Sweden

    HMD Motorsports with Dale Coyne Racing

    HMD Motorsports with Dale Coyne Racing

    8

    27

    Hunter McElrea (R)

    Los Angeles, California

    Andretti Autosport

    Andretti Autosport

    9

    28

    Christian Rasmussen (R)

    Copenhagen, Denmark

    Road to Indy / Stellrecht

    Andretti Autosport

    10

    51

    Jacob Abel (R)

    Louisville, Kentucky

    Abel Speedwagon

    Abel Motorsports

    11

    68

    Danial Frost

    Singapore

    HMD Motorsports with Dale Coyne Racing

    HMD Motorsports with Dale Coyne Racing

    12

    83

    Matthew Brabham

    Boca Raton, Florida

    Andretti Autosport

    Andretti Autosport

    13

    99

    Ernie Francis Jr. (R)

    Davie, Florida

    Force Indy 99

    Force Indy