IndyCar Results and Highlights From the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio

Mid-Ohio is traditionally a track where anyone can win, and anything can happen. In the past two years, Pato O'Ward of McLaren and Scott Dixon of Chip Ganassi have taken the win, but this year the grid is a bit shaken up.

During a severely delayed qualifying session, the shock of the day came in the form of our championship leader and 4-time Champion, Alex Palou. He didn't make the Fast 6, making "very un-Palou-like mistakes" around his flying lap. This is not the best track for Palou over the past couple of years – looking back to 2025 when he lost the race to Dixon due to his own mistake.

Christian Lundgaard Arrow McLaren | Penske Entertainment, Paul Hurley

The other big story is that Christian Lundgaard, expected to exit Arrow McLaren to be replaced by Scott Dixon (news that broke this week), claimed pole position – making a loud statement in a must-win situation for Lundgaard. Lundgaard was joined on the front row by his teammate Pato O'Ward.

In the end, it was Pato O'Ward of Arrow McLaren who took his first win and podium this season for his first road course win in over two years. This is the second win in a row for Arrow McLaren, who seemed to have found very strong late-season performance from all three of their cars.

No Papaya Rules in IndyCar

Christian Lundgaard in the #7 car had everything to prove this weekend with his expected replacement by Scott Dixon for 2027. He confirmed that he was free to negotiate with teams as of today's race day. That puts him in a position of massive importance, converting this pole position into a win.

O'Ward and Lundgaard ran nearly identical strategies – pitting back-to-back with his teammate, O'Ward. It took until Lap 43 for O'Ward to finally close the gap enough to go wheel to wheel with Lundgaard and overtake for the lead.

Rinus VeeKay Juncos Hollinger | Penske Entertainment, Matt Fraver

The battle wasn't over, though, as the win came down to a 4-way battle. Not just between the two Papaya drivers, but between JHR's VeeKay and Andretti's Kirkwood. In the end, it didn't matter as Pato was able to clear lapped traffic and pull a massive gap over the three drivers behind.

On top of the double podium, Mid-Ohio was simply a strong showing for Arrow McLaren. This was their first 1-2 finish ever. All three drivers finished in the Top 10, including Nolan Siegel.

Nolan Siegel Arrow McLaren — Nolan Siegel (6) exits turn six during The Thermal Club IndyCar Grand Prix in Thermal, Calif., Sunday, March 23, 2025. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Siegel is another driver looking for a seat next year, as he is expected to be replaced by Indy 500 winner Rosenqvist. This lineup may have been strong today, but next year's Mid-Ohio race will look very different for the McLaren team.

IndyCar at Mid-Ohio Results

Position	Driver / Team	Gap to Lead [s]
1.	O'Ward / McLaren	-
2.	Lundgaard / McLaren	+0.988
3.	Kirkwood / Andretti	+2.246
4.	VeeKay / Juncos Hollinger	+2.793
5.	Palou / Chip Ganassi	+7.545
6.	Power / Andretti	+10.957
7.	Rasmussen / ECR	+15.841
8.	Malukas / Penske	+16.510
9.	Newgarden / Penske	+21.067
10.	Siegel / McLaren	+25.626
11.	Collet / AJ Foyt	+26.609
12.	Rahal / RLL	+30.791
13.	Rosenqvist / Meyer Shank	+31.356
14.	Armstrong / Meyer Shank	+36.342
15.	Simpson / Chip Ganassi	+37.054
16.	McLaughlin / Penske	+39.824
17.	Dixon / Chip Ganassi	+42.774
18.	Foster / RLL	+51.165
19.	Ferrucci / AJ Foyt	+56.652
20.	Rossi / ECR	+1:00.432
21.	Ericsson / Andretti	+1:01.073
22.	Robb / Juncos Holinger	+1:05.211
23.	Grosjean / Dale Coyne	+1:06.429
24.	Schumacher / RLL	+1:07.421
25.	Hauger / Dale Coyne	+1 Lap

IndyCar Championship is NOT Over Yet

Coming into the Mid-Ohio race weekend, it looked like Alex Palou was going to run away with the championship. He had a 60-point lead over David Malukas, and even more over Christian Lundgaard in 3rd.

Alex Palou Chip Ganassi Racing — Chip Ganassi Racing Alex Palou Alex Palou (10), center, celebrates winning the Detroit Grand Prix in Detroit on Sunday, May 31, 2026. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

However, it's never over until it's over. With Alex Palou not even finishing on the podium in Ohio, the top 4 drivers are now only separated by 66 points in total.

It is important to note that this is Kyle Kirkwood's first-ever podium on a road course, which is well timed for the impact on his championship race.

Alex Palou still leads, but now he is closely followed by Kirkwood (second, -56 points), Christian Lundgaard (third, -65 points), and David Malukas (fourth, -66 points). There are only 6 races remaining in the 2026 IndyCar season, but with each win awarding 50 points (+4 for other factors) – all it takes is one more mistake for Palou to fall into the clutches of Kirkwood.

IndyCar returns in two weeks at the Music City Grand Prix in Nashville on Sunday, July 19 at 5:30 PM ET (subject to change due to FIFA World Cup Final) on Fox.

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