- Alex Palou extended his NTT IndyCar Series winning streak to three with Sunday’s win at Mid-Ohio.
- Palou leads teammate Scott Dixon by 110 points, which it nearly the equivalent of two full races.
- The winner called his dominant win, “The best moment of my career.”
Alex Palou is starting to appear unstoppable from earning his second IndyCar championship, capturing his third consecutive win and fourth victory in the last five races, taking the checkered flag in Sunday’s Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
The 26-year-old Palou, who also won the 2021 IndyCar championship in only his second full season on the circuit, leaves Mid-Ohio with a massive 110-point edge over Sunday’s runner-up and Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Scott Dixon (who climbed three spots in the standings with his podium finish).
“What an awesome day,” Palou said. “We had a really fast car. We committed to trying something different than the guys up front. That’s why we started on primaries, everything went well, strategy, pit stops and our pace was real good, so yeah, I’m super happy.”
It’s hard not to refer to Palou as dominant, given that he’s won nearly half of this year’s races thus far. Even he’s starting to give into his dominance on-track.
“I think maybe we’re starting to,” he said with a smile. “But honestly, no, it’s still real tight, as you can see. We’ve been able to do this quite often this year and hopefully we can keep it going.”
Palou joked when he said he’s been dominant like this before “in i-Racing,” before agreeing that “This is the best moment of my career.”
Palou has indeed been nothing short of dominant not just in the last several races, but the entire nine races of the 2023 season to date. His worst finish to date this year was eighth in the season-opening event at St. Petersburg, Florida in mid-March.
Since then, the Spanish driver’s 2023 resume reads: 3rd (Texas), 5th (Long Beach and Birmingham), 1st (Indianapolis Grand Prix), 4th (Indianapolis 500), and three straight wins at Detroit, Road America and now Mid-Ohio.
Palou started 4th in Sunday’s race but it was the second half of the 80-lap event that he really piled it on, building as much as a nine-plus second lead heading into the closing laps.
Dixon finished second, followed by Team Penske’s Will Power, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s Christian Lundgaard and Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin rounded out the top-five.
“Second place is great, but unfortunately the man we’re chasing finished up first,” Dixon said of Palou. “Huge congrats to Alex and the 10 car crew. They’re doing a hell of a job this year.”
Sixth through 10th were David Malukas, Graham Rahal, Pato O’Ward, Marcus Armstrong and Alexander Rossi.
Will Power Likes Alex Palou’s Championship Chances
Sunday’s Mid-Ohio runner-up, Scott Dixon, is certainly happy for the season his teammate, Alex Palou, is having.
But the New Zealand native also knows that greatness today could become desperation later in the season. Dixon was in a similar position to Palou in 2015, holding a dominant spot at times in the standings before just barely eeking out the championship.
And it doesn’t get much tighter than what Dixon went through that season: he and Juan Pablo Montoya finished the 2015 campaign tied at 556 points each. But Dixon earned what would be the fourth of six championships to date over Montoya by virtue of having one more win—three to two—over Montoya to take the title.
While Dixon is proud of what Palou has achieved thus far this season, he’s also cognizant that his teammate shouldn’t get too far ahead of himself with eight more races still to go.
As quick as Palou has gained supremacy, he could also go into a massive slump, which could negate much of what he’s already done thus far this season.
When asked if Palou is unstoppable, Dixon replied, “Anything’s possible. You’re never out of it until you’re out of it. We’ll keep trying as hard as possible.
“We tied for the championship in 2015 with Montoya and thought we were possibly out of it. So, that’s what’s fun about the IndyCar Series and all the competition.”
The other driver who finished on the podium Sunday, Power, has a slightly different viewpoint on Palou than Dixon has, saying, “I don’t think anyone can challenge Palou right now, but there’s going to be a fight for second in the championship.”
Pato O’Ward Was a Man on the Move
Pato O’Ward was the biggest gainer of all 27 drivers in the field in Sunday’s IndyCar race at Mid-Ohio.
After qualifying a disappointing 25th, the determined Mexican driver went out and put in an outstanding effort, climbing a race-high 17 spots to finish eighth.
Pato O’Ward took the long way to a top-10 finish.
“I was comfortable in it, I was happy in it and we didn’t have help from anybody, no yellows, no lappers, no nothing,” O’Ward said. “But I’m happy with our results, considering that we had to fight for every position, had to pass almost every single car on-track, so there wasn’t one lap that we went through that we weren’t pushing to the absolute maximum.”
O’Ward looked relieved after the race and was prepared to reward himself for a job well done: “I’m going to have a big old burger tonight with some French fries and maybe some chocolate ice cream.”
Encouraging Home-Course Effort for Graham Rahal
If Graham Rahal had one wish that he’d love to see granted, it’s that all races on the NTT IndyCar Series be held at his “home track,” Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
Rahal always seems to get up with extra effort at Mid-Ohio and Sunday was no exception. He started second (his highest start in the series since also starting second in the 2019 race at Barber Motorsports Park) and on the front row, next to pole sitter Colton Herta, and battled for the lead throughout the first half of the 80-lap event.
Around Lap 34, Rahal pitted for tires and fuel, but had a slight snag in getting fuel into his Honda, resulting in a few lost seconds. And then on Lap 56, in his final pit stop under green flag conditions, Rahal’s car stalled on pit road and any chances of his coming back to win essentially and unfortunately evaporated away. He finished seventh.
Graham Rahal spent much of the first half of the race running with leaders.
“We win as a team, we lose as a team,” a dejected Rahal said. “I felt we should have been further forward today. Look, I’m disappointed. That’s a fact. It’s going to sting to think about it over the next couple of weeks, but we just have to work to improve upon it and hope for a better race at Toronto (July 16).”
Rahal hasn’t won an IndyCar event since capturing both ends of the Detroit Grand Prix in 2017. Since then, his best finish has been runner-up in the 2018 season opener at St. Petersburg, as well as second in the 2020 Indianapolis Grand Prix.
The younger Rahal’s current contract with father Bobby’s team expires at the end of this season. If father doesn’t re-sign son, rumors have the younger Rahal moving to either Andretti Autosport or Dale Coyne Racing next season.
Colton Herta Still Winless in 2023
Colton Herta can understand Rahal’s frustration. He earned his second straight pole this season (also led the field to the green flag at the last race at Road America two weeks ago) and appeared to be the favorite to win Sunday’s race.
Unfortunately, Herta made a costly mistake coming into the pits on Lap 55, powering onto pit road in excess of the speed limit.
That cost him a pass-through penalty that, like Rahal, ended his hopes of a win, or at the very least, a podium showing. Herta ultimately finished a disappointing 11th in Sunday’s race.
Herta remains winless in 2023 and has struggled several times this season due to either his own mistakes or issues with other drivers. His best finishes have been 4th on his home track of Long Beach and 5th two weeks ago at Road America.
Pagenaud a No-Go After Horrific Crash in Practice
Simon Pagenaud was refused medical clearance and was not allowed to compete in Sunday’s race, following his horrific crash during Saturday morning’s practice session.
Pagenaud’s car went flying coming off Turn 4 at approximately 150 mph and flew through the air for several seconds, barrel-rolling nearly seven times after losing his brakes and flipping end-over-end before coming to a rest almost fully upside down against a tire wall.
It’s unclear whether Pagenaud was deemed to have suffered a concussion or some other head injury that precluded his participation in Sunday’s race, as details from the IndyCar medical staff were in short supply.
“I’m feeling good, everything is fine,” Pagenaud said before Sunday morning’s warm-up, per Motorsport.com. “Unfortunately, you’ve just got to follow what the medical staff are saying.
“We have an incredible medical team behind us, and their choice is for me not to race today and I respect it quite frankly. I’m a pro at what I do, I can tell them when a racecar is good or not, so they can tell me about my health.
“I’m a racer, I just want to go race. Honestly, I’ve raced feeling much worse! It’s definitely going to be tough today to watch from the bench but it’s what’s best for the team and me, and I respect the decision of the doctors.”
Pagenaud was replaced in the No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing Honda by Conor Daly, who was released last month from his prior ride with Ed Carpenter Racing.
Daly ultimately finished 20th. Teammate Helio Castroneves finished one spot behind in 21st.
IndyCar Results
Honda Indy 200
at Mid-Ohio
Results Sunday of The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Presented by the 2023 Accord Hybrid NTT IndyCar Series event on the 2.258-mile Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, with order of finish, starting position in parentheses, driver, chassis-engine, laps completed and reason out (if any):
1. (4) Alex Palou, Honda, 80, Running
2. (6) Scott Dixon, Honda, 80, Running
3. (7) Will Power, Chevrolet, 80, Running
4. (5) Christian Lundgaard, Honda, 80, Running
5. (8) Scott McLaughlin, Chevrolet, 80, Running
6. (12) David Malukas, Honda, 80, Running
7. (2) Graham Rahal, Honda, 80, Running
8. (25) Pato O’Ward, Chevrolet, 80, Running
9. (18) Marcus Armstrong, Honda, 80, Running
10. (13) Alexander Rossi, Chevrolet, 80, Running
11. (1) Colton Herta, Honda, 80, Running
12. (15) Josef Newgarden, Chevrolet, 80, Running
13. (14) Romain Grosjean, Honda, 80, Running
14. (24) Devlin DeFrancesco, Honda, 80, Running
15. (16) Rinus VeeKay, Chevrolet, 80, Running
16. (20) Callum Ilott, Chevrolet, 80, Running
17. (3) Kyle Kirkwood, Honda, 80, Running
18. (11) Jack Harvey, Honda, 80, Running
19. (17) Ryan Hunter-Reay, Chevrolet, 80, Running
20. (27) Conor Daly, Honda, 80, Running
21. (19) Helio Castroneves, Honda, 79, Running
22. (22) Sting Ray Robb, Honda, 79, Running
23. (21) Agustin Canapino, Chevrolet, 79, Running
24. (26) Santino Ferrucci, Chevrolet, 79, Running
25. (10) Felix Rosenqvist, Chevrolet, 79, Running
26. (23) Benjamin Pedersen, Chevrolet, 79, Running
27. (9) Marcus Ericsson, Honda, 5, Contact
Race Statistics
Winners average speed: 111.125
Time of Race: 01:37:31.9887
Margin of victory: 5.0242
Cautions: 1
Lead changes: 7
Lap Leaders:
Herta, Colton 1 – 26
Rahal, Graham 27
Palou, Alex 28
Dixon, Scott 29 – 30
Palou, Alex 31 – 53
Power, Will 54
Rahal, Graham 55 – 56
Palou, Alex 57 – 80
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