IndyCar Gradebook: Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio
- Dan Jones
- 2 hours ago
- 9 min read
Pato O'Ward led home a papaya party at Mid-Ohio as he claimed his first podium since Toronto 2025 in McLaren's first 1-2 since they returned to IndyCar. Whilst it was smooth-sailing for him, others had a weekend to forget. DIVEBOMB IndyCar Correspondent, Dan Jones, graded all 25 drivers' performances during the Mid-Ohio weekend.
Chip Ganassi Racing
No.8 - Kyffin Simpson - C
Mid-Ohio proved to be a quiet weekend for Kyffin Simpson, who was unable to replicate his strong showing at the circuit 12 months ago. The Cayman Islander started in 18th and with no caution laps or opportunities to roll the dice on strategy, it would always be difficult to make significant progress. He finished in 15th at the chequered flag.
No.9 - Scott Dixon - C-
The start of Scott Dixon's Ganassi farewell tour did not go to plan at Mid-Ohio, in a tricky weekend that saw him finish just 17th. That errant result was primarily down to qualifying, where he was penalised after holding up Romain Grosjean in consecutive laps losing him his two quickest times. As always, the No.9 stand tried to do something different on strategy after starting 22nd but it proved of little success.
No.10 - Álex Palou - B+
It speaks volumes about the standard that Palou has set himself that a non-Fast Six appearance and a quiet road course performance is considered a disappointing weekend. And although Palou and the No.10 team did not have the edge this weekend that has seen them such a perennial force over recent seasons, it keeps their heads comfortably above the water in the championship picture. Eighth place was by no means a bad qualifying result and with little opportunity to overtake, Palou will be satisfied with his three places gained for a fifth-place finish.
Team Penske
No.2 - Josef Newgarden - B+
There's no doubt that the effects of his Indianapolis 500 crash are still looming large on Josef Newgarden, who continues to have to brake with his right foot, but the American continued his valiant run of drives this weekend as he earned himself another top 10 finish. Considering the circumstances, Newgarden did well to qualify in ninth and held his own during the race to finish where he started.
No.3 - Scott McLaughlin - C
Scott McLaughlin's inconsistent 2026 season came to the fore once again after another difficult weekend at Mid-Ohio which saw him leave with another finish outside of the top 15. McLaughlin qualified poorly in 17th, which was only worsened after the New Zealander took an engine penalty. With the nature of the caution-free race, progress would always be limited but McLaughlin did respectably to move up seven places to 16th. Even so, it is not the standards that McLaughlin has shown in years past.
No.12 - David Malukas - B+
It almost goes without saying now that David Malukas is the strongest Team Penske driver on any given weekend, and although Mid-Ohio was not quite the stardom he's shown in other races this season, he showed well once again. Malukas continued his strong qualifying run in fourth and ran in the podium positions for most of the day before problems on pitlane stunted their progress. Malukas finished eighth at the flag - once again as the best-finishing Penske driver.
Andretti Global
No.26 - Will Power - B+
It may have been a bit of a shock to Will Power at the start of the year that three consecutive top 10 finishes will mark progress in his maiden year at Andretti, but the nature of this season means that it is another result to be satisfied with. Power qualified well in third but lost three positions on the opening lap, and stayed in a similar position for the majority of the 90 laps. A sixth-place finish at the chequered flag rounded out a good weekend for the No.26 team.
No.27 - Kyle Kirkwood - A
Kyle Kirkwood will be the first to state that a first road course podium was overdue but he finally got that box ticked after a strong Mid-Ohio weekend. After starting in 10th, Kirkwood at the No.27 Andretti team made methodical progress throughout the race, with strong pit stop cycles elevating them to third place by the finish. It also feels significant that Kirkwood got one up over Palou on a road course and although it is needed on a more regular basis, it keeps him within sight of the championship.
No.28 - Marcus Ericsson - C-
A promising qualifying result proved to be to little avail for Marcus Ericsson at Mid-Ohio as he plummeted down to 21st in an error-strewn race. He stalled following his first stop before he earned an avoidable contact penalty when he collided with Dixon. With overtaking hard, there was little Ericsson could do to make up for his troubles. With every race critical into his future, weekends like this cannot be afforded on a regular basis.
Arrow McLaren
No.5 - Pato O'Ward - A+
It has been a frustrating podium-less streak for O'Ward, but there was no doubting, given his credentials, that he would eventually find a way back onto the rostrum and he did it in emphatic fashion. Despite O'Ward's struggles, qualifying has rarely let him down and he his first front row start of the year on Saturday. That was than followed on Sunday through flawless execution, where O'Ward nailed his pit cycles and made a decisive move on Christian Lundgaard with the one opportunity that presented itself. It still feels that O'Ward and McLaren can be a bit hit-and-miss, but he reminded everybody what he can do with the right package.
No.6 - Nolan Siegel - B-
There has certainly been an uptick in performance from Nolan Siegel on recent races, but unfortunately for him, it is too little, too late. And whilst his performances have improved to fringes of the top 10, it is ultimately still too much of a gulf to his teammates running 1-2. Siegel qualified mid-pack in 14th but made meaningful progress throughout the race to earn a second top 10 of the season. Every race for him going forward could be significant as he looks to find a new home in IndyCar in 2027.
No.7 - Christian Lundgaard - A
Lundgaard's 'revenge arc' got off to a good start at Mid-Ohio, as he prepares for his final races with Arrow McLaren after his departure was confirmed earlier this week. Lundgaard made quite the statement by qualifying on pole for the race and led the opening stints comfortably. However, when traffic hit, Lundgaard looked vulnerable, with a mistake at 'the Keyhole' proving the deciding factor into the race victory. Nevertheless, a second-place finish was a strong result for the Dane, even if it'll sting a little that he lost it to his Arrow McLaren teammate.
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
No.15 - Graham Rahal - B-
It was an unspectacular home race for Graham Rahal but not one to be disregarded either. Rahal qualified in 12th, a position that he stayed close to for the majority of proceedings on a black-red-black-black strategy. Despite struggling physically towards the end of the race, Rahal brought the No.15 home where he had started.
No.45 - Louis Foster - C-
After an encouraging run of races between May and June, Louis Foster has been unable to replicate such form in recent races with Mid-Ohio yet another tricky weekend. Foster was the slowest of all Rahal Letterman Lanigan cars in qualifying and struggled to make his way through traffic during the 90 laps. Foster's qualifying form has taken a dive in comparison to 2025, something he'll need to pick back up soon if he wishes for better results.
No.47 - Mick Schumacher - D+
A 15-th place starting spot will certainly be an encouragement to Schumacher and RLL, but a 24th-place finish continues Schumacher's difficult 2026 season, where the German is still yet to earn a top 15 finish. Schumacher struggled with warming up his tyres on out laps which cost valuable time in pit cycles and saw him finish as the last car on the lead lap.
Meyer Shank Racing
No.60 - Felix Rosenqvist - C+
It was an off-weekend for Meyer Shank Racing across both cars, with Rosenqvist ironically starting and finishing in the unlucky 13th position. It was a weekend where general pace seemed to be lacking across both Ganassi and Shank cars and although Rosenqvist was potentially on for a top 10 finish, a fuel probe issue cost him valuable track position. A 13th-place finish was all the Swede could muster in a weekend to forget.
No.66 - Marcus Armstrong - C
Like was the case for his teammate, it was a weekend to forget for Marcus Armstrong. A mechanical failure early on in the weekend caused him the loss of valuable practice time which proved in qualifying with a disappointing 24th place result. Armstrong extended the majority of his stints to try and recover from his disastrous qualifying result as he moved up to 14th and earned the biggest mover award. Not the race he was wishing for after the confirmation of his new multi-year deal at the team.
Ed Carpenter Racing
No.20 - Alexander Rossi - C-
Mid-Ohio proved a difficult weekend for Alexander Rossi, who was outshone by his teammate throughout - a rarity on road/street courses. Rossi started in 16th and tried to make gains by executing undercuts on the majority of his stops but it proved unsuccessful as he finished 20th at the chequered flag.
No.21 - Christian Rasmussen - A-
Long-time viewers of IndyCar Gradebook will know that I've been wanting to see Christian Rasmussen show some more on road courses for a while now and that show was on display at Mid-Ohio with Rasmussen having his best road/street weekend in his career thus far. Rasmussen qualified a career-best fifth on Saturday and stayed in-and-around the same positions throughout the race. Although he's never quite have enough over Palou and Power, a seventh-place finish was a much-needed result and one that Rasmussen needs to continue to build on going forward.
AJ Foyt Racing
No.4 - Caio Collet - B
The steady progress Caio Collet has made in recent weeks was on display once again at Mid-Ohio as earned a seasons-best result in 11th and continued to outshine his vastly more experienced teammate. Collet once again reached the Fast 12 and was competing for a top 10 finish, before an incident with Dennis Hauger cost him valuable lap time. Nevertheless, Collet continues to build his resume at a critical time of the season.
No.14 - Santino Ferrucci - C-
Another difficult weekend at Mid-Ohio means Santino Ferrucci's IndyCar future is starting to hang in the balance, as he continues to struggle relative to his teammate. Ferrucci qualified poorly in 21st and had his fortunes worsened after a small collision with McLaughlin on the opening lap. The No.14 was unable to do anything with strategy in a caution-free race where he ultimately finished 19th. A crucial stretch of races now await for Ferrucci.
Juncos Hollinger Racing
No.76 - Rinus VeeKay - A
An impressive fourth-place finish could not have come at a more valuable time for Rinus VeeKay, as his name continues to circle in silly season spaces. Such has been VeeKay's form in the last few seasons that equalling Juncos' best ever road/street finish is no longer a surprise and the type of performance we have seen the Dutchman execute several times in the last few seasons. That also came after an impressive sixth-place qualifying run, with VeeKay staying composed throughout the 90 laps and being unfortunate not to have stood on the rostrum given his performance. He continues to be the ultimate underdog performer and it is surely a matter of time before somebody higher up the pecking order requests his services.
No.77 - Sting Ray Robb - C
An six-place engine penalty proved costly for Sting Ray Robb in what otherwise could have been one of the strongest weekends of his IndyCar career. Robb marginally missed out on making the first Fast 12 of his career on Saturday, being just hundredths off the transfer. Unfortunately, the engine penalty relegated him to 20th and with passing so difficult, opportunities dwindles for Robb who finished 22nd at the chequered flag.
Dale Coyne Racing
No.18 - Romain Grosjean - C-
Mid-Ohio proved an unfortunate weekend for Romain Grosjean, who was never able to hit the ground running after a crash in practice followed by an unrepresentative qualifying performance given his run-in with Dixon. After starting 19th, Grosjean could only manage an underwhelming 23rd on Sunday in one of his more difficult weekends of 2026.
No.19 - Dennis Hauger - D-
Mid-Ohio marked the toughest weekend of Dennis Hauger's rookie season in a weekend he'll want to forget in a hurry. The Norwegian crashed in second practice before qualifying dead last in his repaired car. He struggled for pace throughout the race, had a minor incident with Caio Collet and ended up the only car a lap down, right at the back of the field.
Comments