2025 The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Presented by the All-New 2026 Passport Predictions

The NTT IndyCar Series returns to the rural landscape of Lexington, Ohio, for the 42nd running of the 2025 The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Presented by the All-New 2026 Passport at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. A 2.258 mile, 13-turn, natural terrain road course, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course opened in 1962 and has hosted the NTT IndyCar Series since 1980. Consisting of four left turns and nine right turns, drivers will be hustling for every position they can get over the 80-lap run this afternoon.

Notable facts for today’s race: Pato O’Ward is making his 100th NTT IndyCar Series start this afternoon. Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course is hosting the NTT IndyCar Series for the 42nd, ranking third in most IndyCar races run at a single track. 15 of the previous 41 winners started this race on the Pole, with the most recent driver to accomplish this being Josef Newgarden during his victory in 2021. This race has run caution free five times over the previous 41 editions. The closest margin of victory in this race is 0.0934 seconds, which was achieved by Scott Dixon during his victory in 2019 over teammate Felix Rosenqvist. 12 drivers who won this race went on to win the Championship in the same season, with the most recent being Alex Palou in 2023. Medina, Ohio, native Bobby Rahal will serve as the grand marshal for today’s race to commemorate the 40th anniversary of his victory in this race in 1985.

American Honda Motor Co., Inc. has produced automobiles in Ohio since 1982 at its Marysville plant. They have been the title sponsor of this race since INDYCAR racing returned to the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in 2007 and has been a facility sponsor for 32 years, dating back to 1994. Today, over 12,000 associates support Honda manufacturing in Ohio, with five plants that represent a total capital investment of $13 billion and the capacity to produce 460,000 Honda and Acura automobiles, 1.18 million automobile engines and over 1 million automobile transmissions and two-motor hybrid systems, using domestic and globally sourced parts. The company’s five Ohio manufacturing facilities include three auto plants, the Marysville Auto Plant, East Liberty Auto Plant and Performance Manufacturing Center, as well as the Anna Engine Plant and transmission plant in Russells Point. The company has invested more than $1.4 billion in these facilities over the past six years, continually modernizing equipment and adopting new technologies to advance quality and efficiency for Honda and Acura customers here and around the world. Now, Honda is establishing a new EV Hub for the start of EV production in the U.S. including an investment of over $1 billion to re-tool its existing auto and powertrain plants in Ohio for production of electric vehicles, as well as $3.5 billion with LG Energy Solution to establish a joint venture EV battery plant in Fayette County, Ohio.

Mid-Ohio serves as the kickoff for the second half of the 2025 IndyCar Series season. With nine races to go until a champion is crowned, Ganassi Racing’s Alex Palou has a commanding 93 point advantage over second place in the Championship Standings, Andretti Global’s Kyle Kirkwood. Fan favorite Pato O’Ward sits in third place, 111 points off the pace, while Meyer Shank Racing’s Felix Rosenqvist and Scott Dixon, Palou’s teammate, round out the top five, both 155 points off the pace.

The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Presented by the All-New 2026 Passport has been held since 1980 and has produced an incredible list of winners through the years, a real Who’s Who of IndyCar Racing. Scott Dixon has truly been the King of Mid-Ohio, finding victory lane a total of six times and counting in his career. Emerson Fittipaldi sits in a distant second behind Dixon with three Mid-Ohio victories, while Michael Andretti, Helio Castroneves, Teo Fabi, Josef Newgarden, Bobby Rahal, Al Unser, Jr. and Alex Zanardi are also multi-time winners of this race.

Last year’s edition was won by Pato O’Ward, who led 24 laps and held off Polesitter Alex Palou by 0.4993 seconds to take home the victory. Palou finished in second place after leading a race-high 53 laps. Scott McLaughlin led three laps on the way to a third place finish, while Honda drivers Colton Herta and Marcus Ericcson rounded out the top five.

Coverage of The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Presented by the All-New 2026 Passport can be seen on Sunday, July 6, on FOX, with green flag coverage beginning at 1 PM EST.

Driver to Fade:

After a strong 2022 season in the INDY NXT by Firestone Series where he won once, posted 10 top 5’s and finished runner-up in the Championship Standings, it has been a struggle for Sting Ray Robb ever since, posting just a pair of top 10’s and four top 15 finishes over 44 NTT IndyCar Series races over the past two and a half seasons. Robb did tie his career-best with a 9th place run in Long Beach earlier in the season and posted a gritty top 15 at Detroit, but he also has seven finishes of 20th or worse to go with those results, including a 26th place showing at Road America where he only completed nine laps after early contact, which slots him at 24th in the Championship Standings. Robb’s Mid-Ohio struggles continue this weekend, posting the 22nd fastest lap in both Practice sessions before ultimately qualifying in 19th position. Robb has finished 16th and 22nd in his previous Mid-Ohio starts, and I have no doubt he will finish outside the top 20 again this afternoon.

Dark Horse:

After a slow start to the year that saw him post just one top 15 result in the first five races for A. J. Foyt Racing, David Malukas is starting to come alive as we enter the summer months, posting one top five, two top 10’s and no finishes worse than 14th, not to mention tying his career best result with a runner-up performance in the Indianapolis 500. Fresh off of a seventh-place performance at Road America, Malukas has some great vibes coming to Mid-Ohio, a track where he has posted a pair of top 10’s and finished in the top 12 in all three of his previous starts. Malukas did struggle in Practice, finishing 25th in Practice 1 and 19th in Practice 2, but he was able to improve in qualifying, slotting into the 14th position for today’s race. Now I don’t see an upset win unless a bold strategy is played, but with Malukas’ past success at Mid-Ohio and the recent high he’s been riding this season, I predict that he will keep his streak alive and bring home a top 12 performance in this race for the fourth consecutive year.

Top 10:

Just a few days shy of his 45th birthday, Scott Dixon has aged like a fine wine and continues to show us he still has some gas left in the tank, posting three top 5’s, six top 10’s and leading 79 laps through nine races to slot in 5th in the Championship Standings. Dixon started off the season strong with a runner-up performance in St. Petersburg, but has often struggled with finding race-winning pace, posting five finishes in the 8-12 position range. That’s nothing to sneeze at, but Dixon and his fans are certainly craving some more on the track at this stage of his career. Dixon knows a thing or two about finding success at Mid-Ohio. In fact, he’s arguably the best to ever do it at this track, posting six wins, 13 top 5’s, 17 top 10’s and 263 laps led in 19 starts. And those two races where he finished outside the top 10? Both were due to issues with the car (suspension issues in 2016 and mechanical issues last year). Put this man in a car with four tires and a clean body and he will make his way to the top 10. Dixon posted mixed results in Practice, finishing 17h in Practice 1 and 7th in Practice 2. Dixon carried that pace from Practice 2 into qualifying and will start from 9th position on the grid. Never count out a six-time Mid-Ohio winner, as Dixon will undoubtedly work his way forward throughout the race and log an incredible 18th top 10 finish in this race.

Winner:

As I say often in my writings, why bet against the favorite? Your Championship leader, Alex Palou is the greatest thing since sliced bread in the NTT IndyCar Series in 2025, scoring six wins, seven top 5’s, eight top 10’s and 169 laps led in nine starts, including scoring his first Indianapolis 500 victory. There are very few holes in Palou’s racing abilities right now, and he brings a tidal wave of success to a track where he has a ton of recent success. Since making the move to Ganassi in 2021, Palou has finished 3-2-1-2 at Mid-Ohio, a stretch that has seen him lead 101 laps across the last two Mid-Ohio races. As if there was ever any doubt, Palou once again is the man to beat in Lexington, Ohio, this weekend, finishing third in Practice 1 and posting the fastest lap of Practice 2 before ultimately qualifying on the Pole for the second consecutive year. Given his absolute dominance this season, all I can see is another runaway victory for Alex Palou in the 2025 The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Presented by the All-New 2026 Passport!