By: Spencer Neff
July 2,2023
After starting fourth, Chip Ganassi Racing’s Alex Palou turned a dominant performance from Honda in qualifying and this morning’s warmup into another victory, winning the Honda Indy 200.
The NTT INDYCAR SERIES points leader cruised to his third victory in a row and fourth of the season at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. He led 48 of the 80 laps on the day.
Palou won by 5.0242 seconds over Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Scott Dixon for his first win at the 2.258-mile, 13-turn permanent road course in Lexington, Ohio. Team Penske’s Will Power would join them on the podium in third, best among the Chevrolets.
Matching his best finish of the year (Indianapolis Grand Prix), Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s Christian Lundgaard was fourth. 2022 race winner Scott McLaughlin finished fifth, giving Penske and Ganassi four of the Top Five drivers.
After earning his second pole in as many races, Andretti Autosport’s Colton Herta overcame. a pit road speeding penalty to finish 11th. Graham Rahal, who made his best start in over four years, finished seventh. CGR would also boast the top-finishing rookie, Marcus Armstrong in ninth.
After being tabbed as the substitute driver for the No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing entry, Conor Daly made his way to 20th after starting last on the 27-car grid.
Race Recap
During the start of the race, the field made it cleanly through the start line in Turn 3. In Turn 6, Marcus Ericsson collided with Felix Rosenqvist. The contact sent Rosenqvist spinning and left Ericsson stalled in Turn 7. Although both drivers continued on, Ericsson remained on pit road and his day was in effect over. The four laps under caution were the only for the 80-lap event.
On Lap 19, Kirkwood spun in Turn 4 after slight contact with Palou. Although he dropped from third to ninth, the race continued on without another caution for the incident.
By Lap 32, the driver of the No. 10 made his way back to the front and would not look back, earning yet another dominant victory.
Palou’s 110-point lead over teammate Scott Dixon in the season standings is the largest in almost seven years. He will look to be the first driver since Cristiano Da Matta to win four consecutive races and the first since Al Unser Jr. (1990) to do so in a unified INDYCAR SERIES.
Up Next
After a week off, the NTT INDYCAR SERIES returns to the Exhibiton Place street circuit in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, the lone race outside the United States of America. Here is the on-track schedule (subject to change). Stay with IndyCar1909 for the latest on the NTT INDYCAR SERIES.
FRIDAY, JUL 14
3:00 PM – 4:15 PM ET- Practice 1
SATURDAY, JUL 15
10:35 AM – 11:35 AM ET-Practice 2
2:50 PM- Qualifying (Three rounds)
SUNDAY, JUL 16
10:15 AM – 10:45 AM ET Warmup
1:45 PM ET Race
Header Image By Joe Skibinski/INDYCAR
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