Ohio’s largest annual motorsports event, The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio, is set for this weekend in nearby Lexington, and drivers expected to compete include former Mid-Ohio track winners Scott Dixon, Helio Castroneves and Josef Newgarden.
The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio will be the 39th IndyCar Series race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Newgarden won the race in 2021. Johnny Rutherford won the first IndyCar Series race at Mid-Ohio in 1980. The race takes place on the 2.258-mile, 13-turn natural terrain road course (four left and nine right turns running clockwise) and will cover 180.64 miles
The weekend schedule features 11 total races taking the green flag across three days. All three open-wheel development ladder series from the Road to Indy will be featured. There will be a tripleheader of Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship races, a doubleheader for Indy Pro 2000 Championship and an Indy Lights race. The Porsche Sprint Challenge North America and Speed Energy Stadium Super Trucks will both run doubleheaders as well. On Saturday, July 2, after the on-track activities conclude, fans and campers can enjoy a fireworks display after sunset.
The Honda Indy 200 race is set to start Sunday at 12:53 p.m., but there is plenty of action on the track prior to the big race. Events include practice, qualifying and a 78-mile Indy Lights race.
Pole qualification is Saturday, July 2 from 2:45-4 p.m. In previous Indy 200 races at Mid-Ohio, 15 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), Dixon (2011), Simon Pagenaud (2016), Alexander Rossi (2018), Will Power (2020-Race 1), Colton Herta (2020-Race 2) and Newgarden (2021). Power has won five poles at Mid-Ohio, the most of any driver.
Dixon is the winningest IndyCar Series driver at Mid-Ohio with six victories. Emerson Fittipaldi won at Mid-Ohio three times, while Michael Andretti, Castroneves, Teo Fabi, Newgarden, Bobby Rahal, Al Unser and Alex Zanardi all won at Mid-Ohio twice. Other previous Mid-Ohio winners entered, in addition to Dixon, Castronveves and Newgarden, include Graham Rahal, Simon Pagenaud, Alexander Rossi, Power and Herta.
In the previous eight races during the 2022 NTT IndyCar Series, there have been six different winners. Scott McLaughlin (Streets of St. Petersburg), Newgarden (Texas Motor Speedway, Streets of Long Beach and Road America), Pato O’Ward (Barber Motorsports Park), Herta (Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course-1), Marcus Ericsson (Indianapolis 500) with Mount Vernon resident Chad Sims as one of his spotters, and 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.
Heading into the race, the 2022 IndyCar points leader is Indy 500 winner Ericsson, with 293 points and four Top-5 finishes; Power is second with 2 points and six Top-5s, and Newgarden is third with 21 points and four Top 5s.
Weekend race schedule at Mid-Ohio
Saturday, July 3
8-8:20 a.m. -- Porsche Sprint Challenge qualifying
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),
10:4-11:25 a.m. -- USF 2000 – race 2
11:40-12:30 p.m. -- Indy Pro 2000 -- race 1
12:45-1:30 p.m. -- Porsche Sprint Challenge –race 1
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),
4:15-4:45 p.m. – Stadium Super Trucks – race 1
5-5:40 p.m. – USF 2000 – race 3
5:55-6:40 p.m. – Indy Pro 2000 -- race 2
After dusk -- Fireworks
Sunday, July 3
8:30-9:15 a.m. – Porsche Sprint Challenge – race 2
9:45-10:15 a.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES Final Practice
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)
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)
3 p.m.-3:45 p.m. – Stadium Super Trucks – race 2
On Saturday, after the on-track activities conclude, fans and campers can enjoy a fireworks display after sunset. “Camping with Honda” also returns for campers to participate in throughout the Honda Indy 200 weekend. This year’s theme encourages campers to decorate their sites in patriotic red, white and blue.
For more information, visit midohio.com, its Facebook page at MidOhioSportsCarCourse or follow updates on Twitter @Mid_Ohio and Instagram @officialmidohio.com.
