IndyCar Preview: Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio
- Dan Jones
- 1 day ago
- 9 min read
If your ideal way of spending America's 250th anniversary weekend is watching 25 Indy cars hustle it around an old-school, tight and tricky road course, than you're in luck. In a landmark anniversary weekend for the United States, the IndyCar show hits Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio, the host to Race 11 of 18 in the 2026 IndyCar calendar.
What happened at Road America?
Road America kicked off IndyCar's summer swing in one of the most unpredictable races that the circuit has played host to in many years.
As many hit trouble at various points, including himself after a first lap collision sent him the to rear of the field, Christian Lundgaard went from last-to-first to claim his second victory of 2026 after taking the lead with just three laps to go after race leader Marcus Armstrong suffered an engine failuer.
David Malukas continued his impressive form by earning yet another second-place finish with the young American still chasing his first IndyCar victory, whilst Will Power earned his second podium of the year, despite a controversial last-lap collision with Graham Rahal.
On Saturday, Álex Palou had taken his fifth-consecutive pole position but saw his work come undone after he sped in the pitlane. The Spaniard eventually recovered to fifth after a well-timed caution saved Palou from further disaster.
The race took place following the Saudi Arabia-Spain FIFA World Cup game, with the game's lead-in having an impressive impact on TV ratings. FOX Sports averaged 1.8 million viewers throughout the race, marking the largest TV audience for a non-Indianapolis 500 race since 2011. It was an 131% increase on the network's figure achieved last year, with the series 14% up on average viewership from 2025.
You can read the full race report here, the DIVEBOMB IndyCar Podcast's race review here and my gradebook here.
Despite what had briefly looked a disaster day for Palou, he further extended his points lead with just eight races to go, whilst a strong weekend for Malukas allowed him to re-overtake Kyle Kirkwood in the standings for second. Top 10 are as follows:
Palou - 374
Malukas - 314
Kirkwood - 313
Lundgaard - 297
O'Ward - 257
Rosenqvist - 248
McLaughlin - 248
Newgarden - 247
Ericsson - 213
Dixon - 211
All you need to know about Mid-Ohio
IndyCar heads to one of their most traditional venues on the calendar, with the circuit having hosted IndyCar racing since 1980 and has become a modern-day staple, having hosted a race every year since IndyCar reunification in 2008. The circuit is relatively small at 2.258 miles (3.3634 km) but nevertheless has 13 tricky turns with eight to the right and five to the left.
The circuit has an old-school characteristic, with grass and gravel on the edge of every corner with very little margin for error. It also features plenty of elevation changes, blind corners and a combination of high and low-speed corners for the ultimate driver challenge.
The best overtaking opportunity lies into the run down to the right-hander at Turn 4, but drivers may also look to make moves into Turn 2, also known as The Keyhole. Turns 6 through 9 also make up the iconic Esses section before the cars head down Thunder Valley into The Carousel. The race will start on the run down to Turn 4, rather than the traditional start-finish straight to give cars an opportunity to align themselves before the green flag.
Being a small and tricky road course, there's no surprise at some of the names who've had great success at the circuit. Look no further than last year's winner Scott Dixon who inherited the lead after a rare error from teammate Palou before holding him off superbly in the closing laps. That marked Dixon's seventh win at Mid-Ohio, adding on to successes in 2007, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2014 and 2019.
Josef Newgarden is the only other active multi-time Mid-Ohio winner, having done so in both 2017 and 2021. Other active winners include Graham Rahal, Alexander Rossi, Will Power, Scott McLaughlin, Palou and Pato O'Ward who won in 2015, 2018, 2020, 2022, 2023 and 2024 respectively.
Power, Dixon, Palou, Rossi, Newgarden and O'Ward have all also claimed pole position at Mid-Ohio, Palou having taken the last two at the circuit.
A third-consecutive Mid-Ohio pole for Palou would also mark his sixth consecutive pole position, a feat that has not been accomplished since Alex Zanardi achieved the same number between 1996 and 1997. All of Palou's poles have also come on vastly different track types and yet another pole position this weekend would only solidify his modern-day greatness further.
Sunday's race will take place over 90 laps, with drivers having access to 200 seconds of push-to-pass throughout the race. Five sets of primary and five sets of alternate tyres will be available to each entrant. This race also marks two years since the hybrid was first used in IndyCar.
14 drivers tested at Mid-Ohio shortly after Road America, including drivers from Andretti, Dale Coyne, Ed Carpenter, Juncos Hollinger, Meyer Shank and Team Penske. Kirkwood topped the test ahead of Rinus VeeKay and Dennis Hauger. Felipe Nasr stood on for Josef Newgarden at Penske, but Newgarden will return to his No.2 car this weekend.
Sting Ray Robb will take a six-position grid penalty this weekend due to an unapproved engine change.
What to look out for at Mid-Ohio
The talk of the IndyCar town this week has all been about 'silly season' and none more so than seven-time Mid-Ohio race winner Dixon. The six-time series champion announced his departure from Chip Ganassi Racing this week, marking the end of an historic 25-year relationship which will be reflected on as one of the great individual-team sporting combinations. Although unconfirmed, his expected landing zone is Arrow McLaren.
Due to his pre-existing Chip Ganassi links, Marcus Armstrong was a driver who many saw as a potential replacement for his fellow New Zealander before he confirmed his future with Meyer Shank Racing on a new multi-year contract earlier on Friday.
It means Dixon has just eight more races with the team that has become so synonymous with his success. It can't be seen as just a farewell tour though, with Dixon's 21-year streak of having at least one victory in a season under threat with the races quickly lessening. There may be no better place to do that than at Mid-Ohio given Dixon's previous track record. It has been a rough couple of races for the 45-year-old but if anybody has the capability to turn it around, it will be him.
But as the case is in every race, it remains a challenging task to topple his Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Palou. Given Palou's dominance of road courses in recent seasons, it may be surprising he has just the one Mid-Ohio win, but he has stood on the podium in each Mid-Ohio race he has participated in since he joined Ganassi in 2021.
Palou will also have a lot riding on his qualifying as he aims to match the historical streak set by Zanardi and given his recent Mid-Ohio qualifying success and his current qualifying form, it would be a seismic shock should that not happen.
That said, Christian Lundgaard has been victorious in two of the three road course races this year. It has since emerged since Road America that Lundgaard is likely to depart Arrow McLaren at the end of the season, with every race now important as teams look to snap up the Dane's signature. Lundgaard finished third behind Palou and Dixon last season as has never finished lower than 11th in his four races at Mid-Ohio. It would be quite the statement to his team should he win again this weekend.
On the other side of the McLaren garage, Pato O'Ward enters this weekend 14 races without a podium - the longest streak since he has been racing in the series. He only has one Mid-Ohio podium to date, although that was his victory in 2024 and will desperately be looking to replicate that after what has been a tricky season for the Mexican.
As always, it will be hard to look past Team Penske, who have 12 victories at the circuit and have showed a general uptick in form on road courses in 2026. Malukas has led the way as he heads to a track he previously has gone well at before. Both McLaughlin and Newgarden are on concerningly-long winless streaks on road/street races as both aim to re-claim their Mid-Ohio crowns this weekend.
It also marks an important weekend for Andretti Global and Kirkwood. Palou's 60 point gap will need closing sooner rather than later should the title fight be taken to Laguna Seca, with Malukas and Kirkwood separated by just one point in the battle for second. Mid-Ohio has not been an easy track for Kirkwood, who has a career-best of eighth at the track. Should Kirkwood want to be seen as a championship contender, taking points off Palou at road course weekends will become vital.
Decision time soon awaits Marcus Ericsson as to whether he will retain his seat for 2027, but the Swede has shown significant improvement so far in 2026. Mid-Ohio has also been a happy hunting ground for Ericsson, who has taken three top five finishes at the circuit and another would be very timely this weekend. Power will also be aiming to add to his previous success at Mid-Ohio and build on positive momentum after earning his second podium of the year at Road America.
It notably marks a home race for Rahal and although it has not been the case in recent years, he heads to a circuit that has been a strong suiter for the Ohio native. Rahal has shown strong road course form throughout the year and was on for his third road course podium in three races at Road America before his last lap collision with Power. Could he make amends this weekend?
Pivoting to the Rookie of the Year battle, Hauger holds a 30 point lead over Caio Collet with a further 11 point gap to Mick Schumacher. Hauger and Collet have previously won this race in Indy NXT competition, with Hauger showing quick pace at the recent test - a day he described as the "best day he's had in the car all year." That said, Collet has shown excellent pace at each of the last two races at Gateway and Mid-Ohio, even if not shown on paper, with Hauger unable to rest on his laurels in the last eight races.
There's also suggestions that conditions could be a factor this weekend, with the potential for rain looming on Sunday.
Indy NXT Preview
Indy NXT follows it's parent series this weekend for a penultimate double-header weekend of the year in what could be the most important weekend to deciding the championship picture.
It follows a dramatic Road America weekend which saw many of the major championship contenders hit trouble and several unexpected results. After a difficult start to 2026, Lochie Hughes claimed his first victory of the year in Race 1 on Saturday before Alessandro de Tullio took his second victory of the year after a flag-to-flag victory in Race 2 on Sunday. That was until he was disqualified due to a tyre infringement, which provided Matteo Nannini the victory - his first Indy NXT win in three years.
Here's how the points standings look following the dramatic Road America double-header weekend, with the top 10 as follows (drivers denoted with an R are eligible for Rookie of the Year).
Johnson (R) - 350
Kucharczyk (R) - 344
Fittipaldi (R) - 323
Taylor - 289
Hughes - 269
Rowe - 264
de Tullio - 249
Correa - 224
Nannini - 209
Pierson - 207
With another 108 points up for grabs, this weekend will likely give a clear indication as to who can and cannot win the Indy NXT championship in the closing five races. Johnson, Kucharczyk and Fittipaldi are the firm favourites. Taylor, Hughes and Rowe have endured mixed spells so far this year and will need strong weekends at Mid-Ohio to re-solidify themselves as contenders.
De Tullio has stunned with his 2026 qualifying form, having taken seven pole positions and qualifying on the front row in each of the first nine races. It has not been his fault a lot of the time, but he has struggled to convert such performances with this weekend being vital as to whether he can remain in the championship picture.
Each of the last eight Indy NXT Mid-Ohio race winners have races in IndyCar and include current alumni Hauger, Kirkwood, O'Ward and Louis Foster. It also gives a strong correlation to championship campaigns, with O'Ward in 2018, Oliver Askew in 2019, Kirkwood in 2021, Foster in 2023 and Hauger in 2025 all becoming Indy NXT champions in the same season they won at Mid-Ohio.
Ricardo Escotto will be absent from his No.76 Juncos Hollinger Racing car this weekend as he participates in FIA Formula 3 this weekend at Silverstone with AIX Racing. Nolan Allaer will replace Escotto, which will mark his first Indy NXT race since the season finale at Nashville last year.
Race 1 will take place over 35 laps whilst Sunday's Race 2 is a slightly shorter affair at just 30 laps. Drivers will have access to 65 seconds of push-to-pass in both races, with qualifying following the usual double-header format with driver's quickest times setting the field for Race 1, with their second-quickest times forming the grid for Race 2.
Timings
Indy NXT Practice: 14:00 ET (19:00 BST) Friday
IndyCar Practice 1: 15:05 ET (20:05 BST) Friday
Indy NXT Qualifying: 09:00 ET (14:00 BST) Saturday
IndyCar Practice 2: 10:05 ET (15:05 BST) Saturday
Indy NXT Race 1: 13:08 ET (18:08 BST) Saturday
IndyCar Qualifying: 14:35 ET (19:35 BST) Saturday
IndyCar Warmup: 09:05 ET (14:05 BST) Sunday
Indy NXT Race 2: 10:08 ET (15:08 BST) Sunday
Grand Prix of Road America: 12:52 ET (17:52 BST) Sunday
Can Palou extend his historic pole streak? Can Dixon start his Ganassi farewell tour in the perfect way? Can Lundgaard make another seismic statement with another road course victory? Can somebody else stop the imperious Palou? There's plenty to keep an eye out for this weekend with stories up and down the field.
DIVEBOMB will bring you all the news and updates throughout the weekend as well as post-race analysis for the all-important Mid-Ohio weekend.
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