LEXINGTON — Fireworks will be flying this weekend at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course when the NTT IndyCar Series roars into town for the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Presented by the 2023 Accord Hybrid.
For the third year in a row, Ohio’s biggest annual motorsports event will coincide with the Fourth of July weekend. A fireworks show is scheduled for Saturday night with the 80-lap race scheduled to go green at 1:55 p.m. Sunday.
“The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio is the most anticipated weekend on our annual calendar,” Mid-Ohio president Craig Rust said.
“We are truly grateful for Honda’s continued support over so many years, which has made it possible to bring this event to our fans year-in and year-out.”
The race is the ninth of 17 stops on the NTT IndyCar Series schedule. Alex Palou has won the last two events and three of the past four.
Palou (324) opened a comfortable 74-point lead over Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Marcus Ericsson (250) in the chase for the championship after taking the checkers at Road America on June 18.
“We had a lot of speed and our Honda was very good on fuel mileage, honestly,” Palou said afterward. “That gave us the win today. We were able to be consistent, fast and we’re going to try and keep it rolling into Mid-Ohio.”
No driver on the circuit has enjoyed more success at Mid-Ohio than CGR’s Scott Dixon, who has six career series victories at the 2.258-mile, 13-turn road course (2007, ’09, ’11, ’12, ’14, ’19). Dixon is currently fifth in the points standings after finishing fourth at Road America.
“It was definitely an interesting day,” Dixon said after qualifying 23rd at Road America. “(It was a) huge team effort and I’m happy to rebound the way we did with 19 spots moving forward.”
Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin is the defending champ at Mid-Ohio. McLaughlin is currently in sixth place in the points standings.
In addition to the NTT IndyCar Series, several support series will roll into Mid-Ohio this weekend. The USF2000, USF Pro 2000, Porsche Sprint Challenge and Indy NXT series will be in action.
The weekend kicks off at 8 a.m. Friday with USF Pro 2000 practice. A fireworks display is scheduled for after dusk Saturday with the weekend’s main event set for Sunday. Driver introduction begin at 1 p.m. with the race to follow.
