Fourth of July weekend (July 4th-6th) will once again be spent in Lexington, Ohio for those in the NTT Indycar Series, as they take on the 10th round of the championship. The 2.25 mile road course features 13 turns, plenty of verticality, and physical challenge at every corner.
Track and Race Details
The Honda Indy 200 will be 90 laps wrong, totaling a distance of 203.22 miles. Push to pass and tire allocation rules match those found at other road and street course events (with the exception of the allotted push to pass time, set this weekend at 200 seconds). Each team will have 5 sets of both alternate and primary tires, and will be required to use at least one set of each in the grand prix.
Ganassi’s to Lose
While at this point it feels like every race is Ganassi’s to lose, this one may be even moreso. Scott Dixon has won six times in nineteen starts at the circuit, with championship leading teammate Alex Palou owning his own victory at the track, and heading in having won six of the nine races so far this season. Even young Kyffin Simpson netted a podium at Mid-Ohio in Indy NXT back in 2023, and with top 10s in 3 of the last 7 races, may be on for another respectable result.
Don’t Count Out RLL
While the Rahal Letterman Lanigan team isn’t found often on the podium these days, this could be a big chance for the team. Graham Rahal enters his home track coming off a few consecutive subpar results, but a strong Indy GP weekend in May and previous victory at Mid-Ohio, as well as a strong 2023 weekend at the circuit, give reason for optimism.
As for rookie Louis Foster, the high of his maiden pole back in Elkhart Lake may have been short lived, but it showed that young Foster has what it takes to race with the best. Now, Foster travels back to the track where he earned his first Indy NXT victory. Could it be the weekend Foster finally gets that first Indycar top 10 finish?
Panic Time for the Bow Ties
It gets brought up every week, but Chevy’s inability to win a race in 2025 continues to have more severe consequences. An oval and a track they swept the podium at in 2024 led to yet another pair of victories for the dominate duo of Palou and Kyle Kirkwood, but Mid-Ohio may be another potential prime opportunity for Chevy to finally see their driver stand on the top step of the podium.
Since 2020, Chevy has won 4 of 6 races at Mid-Ohio, with 4 different drivers. All 3 Team Penske drivers, as well as Pato O’Ward Race have recent victories to their name at Mid-Ohio, making this weekend another can’t-miss opportunity for the manufacturer that finds themselves massively outclassed to this point in the season.
Qualifying Storylines
Similar to Road America, Mid-Ohio rarely sees the same driver take pole twice within a handful of seasons. Team Penske is traditionally the best team in qualifying trim at the road circuit, with 12 poles to their name. In the past 6 race weekends, the track has seen 5 polesitters, with only Colton Herta claiming multiple p1 starting spots. Palou, Herta, Josef Newgarden, and Will Power have also started from the top spot since 2020 at Mid-Ohio. Likely first time pole sitters at this track include Christian Lundgaard, Kyle Kirkwood, and Scott McLaughlin.
Rookies and Milestones
Once again in similar fashion to the previous race weekend, Mid-Ohio is a track that all but the three rookies have raced on before in Indycar. Also like Road America, only Foster has a win at Mid-Ohio in his open wheel racing career, taking multiple along the path up the Road to Indy ladder system.
Josef Newgarden will make his 225th career Indycar series start this weekend at the Honda Indy 200. He will join a group of around 15 drivers in Indycar history that have eclipsed 225 starts in the series, becoming the third active driver to reach that mark (alongside Dixon and Power).
Broadcast Info
The Honda Indy 200 will be broadcasted on FOX at 1:00pm EST on Sunday, July 6th. FP1 will be held Friday afternoon on FS2, with Saturday and Sunday morning sessions being held on FS1. INDYCAR Radio Network will also provide radio coverage for all sessions throughout the weekend.
written by Owen White / Media Credit: Penske Entertainment
