By: Spencer Neff
July 4, 2025

The NTT INDYCAR SERIES kicks off a busy month of July at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio this weekend.

The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio will be the 42nd race on the 2.258-mile 13-turn permanent road course.

It also marks the 10th race of 17 for the 2025 season. Before on-track action begins, here’s a look at the major stories for the weekend.

Headlines

Two weeks ago, Chip Ganassi Racing’s Alex Palou scored his sixth win of 2025 in a savvy fuel-saving effort at Road America. Palou now returns to a track where he’s won before (2023) and started on the pole last year, the first race of the hybrid era.

14 of Palou’s 17 victories have been on permanent road courses.

Along with Palou, Andretti Global’s Kyle Kirkwood is the lone race winner in 2025. Kirkwood has five career victories, including three in 2025.

Kirkwood has not won on a permanent road course in his NTT INDYCAR SERIES career.

In three Mid-Ohio starts, Kirkwood’s best finish has been eighth in 2024, when he also started a career-best 14th. He did sweep the 2021 Indy Lights (now INDY NXT) doubleheader at Mid-Ohio.

Following his first INDYCAR pole and equaling a career-best 11th-place finish, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s Louis Foster will make his Mid-Ohio INDYCAR debut this weekend, along with rookies Robert Shwartzman of PREMA Racing and Jacob Abel of Dale Coyne Racing.

Foster has finishes of first and second in his INDY NXT starts at Mid-Ohio. Shwartzman leads Foster by 2 points in the Rookie of the Year standings.

The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio
Presented by the All-New 2026 Passport
Fast Facts

Spotter Guide Pit Assignments

Race weekend: Friday, July 4-Sunday, July 6

Track: Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, a 13-turn, 2.258-mile permanent road course in Lexington, Ohio

Race distance: NTT INDYCAR SERIES: The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Presented by the All-New 2026 Passport: 90 laps / 203.22 miles | INDY NXT by Firestone: INDY NXT by Firestone Grand Prix at Mid-Ohio: 35 laps / 79.03 miles / 55 minutes

Push to Pass parameters: NTT INDYCAR SERIES: 200 seconds of total time with a maximum time of 20 seconds per activation | INDY NXT by Firestone: A maximum of 50 activations total or 150 seconds of total time.

Hybrid energy deployment parameters: NTT INDYCAR SERIES: Unlimited activation with a maximum deployment of 365 kilojoules (kj) per lap.

Firestone tire allotment: NTT INDYCAR SERIES: Five sets primary, five sets alternate to be used during the event weekend. Teams must use one set of primary and one new set of alternate tires unless wet conditions are declared. One additional set is available for the weekend’s first session to teams fielding a rookie driver. | INDY NXT by Firestone: Three new sets to be used during the event weekend. Two carryover sets from the Detroit event may be used during pre-qualifying practice sessions on Friday and Saturday.

X: @Mid_Ohio, @INDYCAR, @INDYNXT, #Honda200, #INDYCAR

Instagram: @officialmidohio, @INDYCAR, @INDYNXT, #Honda200, #INDYCAR

Threads: @INDYCAR, @INDYNXT

Facebook: @MidOhioSportsCarCourse, @INDYCAR, @INDYNXT, #FirestoneGP, #INDYCAR

TikTok: @INDYCAR, #FirestoneGP, #INDYCAR

YouTube: @INDYCAR

Event website: www.midohio.com

INDYCAR website: www.IndyCar.com

INDY NXT by Firestone website: www.indynxt.com

2024 race winners:

NTT INDYCAR SERIES

Pato O’Ward (No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet)

INDY NXT by Firestone

Caio Collet (No. 18 HMD Motorsports)

2024 NTT P1 Award winner:

Alex Palou (No. 10 Ridgeline Chip Ganassi Racing Honda) 1:05.3511, 124.387 mph

2024 INDY NXT by Firestone pole winner:

Caio Collet (No. 18 HMD Motorsports), 1:10.2879, 115.650 mph

Qualifying lap record:

NTT INDYCAR SERIES

Simon Pagenaud, 1:03.8700, 127.271 mph, July 30, 2016

INDY NXT by Firestone

Caio Collet, 1:10.2879, 115.650 mph, July 6, 2024

FOX Sports telecasts: NTT INDYCAR SERIES: Practice 1, 4:30 p.m. ET Friday, FS2 (live); Practice 2, 10:30 a.m. ET Saturday, FS1 (live); Qualifying, 2:30 p.m. ET Saturday, FS1 (live); Warmup, 9:30 a.m. ET Sunday, FS1 (live); Race, 1 p.m. ET Sunday, FOX (live). Will Buxton is the play-by-play announcer for FOX’s coverage of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, alongside analysts Townsend Bell and James Hinchcliffe. Georgia Henneberry, Kevin Lee and Jack Harvey are the pit reporters. | INDY NXT by Firestone: Practice 1, 3 p.m. ET Friday, FS2 (live); Practice 2, 8:35 a.m. ET Saturday, FS1; Qualifying, 1:30 p.m. ET Saturday, FS1 (live); Race, 10:30 a.m. ET Sunday, FS1 (live). Kevin Lee is the play-by-play announcer for FOX Sports’ coverage of INDY NXT by Firestone alongside analyst Jack Harvey. Georgia Henneberry is the pit reporter.

INDYCAR Radio Network broadcasts: Mark Jaynes is the anchor alongside analyst Davey Hamilton. Jake Query and Nick Yeoman are the turn announcers. Michael Young, Ryan Myrehn and DJ Clark are the pit reporters. The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Presented by the All-New 2026 Passport race (12:30 p.m. ET Sunday), INDY NXT Grand Prix at Mid-Ohio (10:25 a.m. ET Sunday) and all NTT INDYCAR SERIES and INDY NXT by Firestone practices and qualifying sessions air live on network affiliates, SiriusXM 218, racecontrol.indycar.com and the INDYCAR App powered by NTT DATA.

At-track schedule (all times local):

FRIDAY, JULY 4

3:05-3:50 p.m. – INDY NXT by Firestone Practice 1, FS2 (live)

4:35-5:55 p.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES Practice 1, FS2 (live)

SATURDAY, JULY 5

8:35-9:20 a.m. – INDY NXT by Firestone Practice 2, FS1 (live)

10:30-11:30 a.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES Practice 2 (45 minutes of green flag or 60 total minutes), FS1 (live)

1:30-2 p.m. – INDY NXT by Firestone Qualifying (Two groups, 12 minutes each), FS1 (live)

2:35-4 p.m. – Qualifying for the NTT P1 Award (Three rounds of knockout qualifying), FS1 (live)

SUNDAY, JULY 6

9:32-9:57 a.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES Warmup, FS1 (live)

10:31 a.m. – INDY NXT by Firestone Grand Prix at Mid-Ohio command to start engines

10:36 a.m. – INDY NXT by Firestone Grand Prix at Mid-Ohio (35 laps/55 minutes), FS1 (live)

12:27 p.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES Driver Introductions

1:15 p.m. – The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Presented by the All-New 2026 Passport command to start engines

1:22 p.m. – The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Presented by the All-New 2026 Passport (90 laps/203.22 miles), FOX (live)

Header Image By Chris Owens/INDYCAR Fast Facts by INDYCAR