IndyCar
Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon Fastest In First Practice At Mid-Ohio
LEXINGTON, OHIO (Pittsburgh Racing Now) – A good start to the Honda 200 weekend at Mid-Ohio for Chip Ganassi Racing.
Five-time IndyCar Series Champion Scott Dixon turned the fastest lap in the No. 9 PNC Bank Honda during the first practice this morning.
Dixon’s fast lap of 1-minute, 06.973-seconds was quicker than Ed Carpenter Racing’s Spencer Pigot (-0.1482-seconds), who was second and Team Penske’s Simon Pagenaud (-0.1692-seconds) who was third fastest.
Dixon is the all-time winningest IndyCar driver at Mid-Ohio with five wins (2007, 2009, 2011, 2012 and 2014).
“It’s a track that really feels like home to me,” said Dixon. “I’ve said over the years that it’s a rhythm track, and it’s very technical.”
Chip Ganassi Racing has won 10-times on the 2.258-mile, 13-turn, natural terrain road course with Alex Zanardi (1996 & 1997), Juan Pablo Montoya (1999), Dixon, Dario Franchitti (2010) and Charlie Kimball (2013) capturing checkered flags.
“Mid-Ohio is a place that we as a team have always felt that all of our cars have a shot at winning, and there aren’t many tracks out there where your confidence level is that high as a team,” said Dixon. “You have to get a lot of things right to go to victory lane there.”
Dixon is coming off consecutive 2nd place finishes in the last two races (Toronto & Iowa) but hasn’t been able to make-up ground on points leader Josef Newgarden, who he trails by 98-points.
“We need a big finish for the championship with five to go starting this weekend in the PNC Bank car,” said Dixon. “Mid-Ohio would be a great place to start a run of strong results.”
Dixon’s teammate, rookie Felix Rosenqvist, will be sporting a new look this weekend on the No. 10 Honda as Clover will be the primary sponsor at Mid-Ohio.
The No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda will carry primary sponsorship at Mid-Ohio from Point-of-Sale system Clover.
Clover is a customized point-of-sale system for business including retail, restaurant and service businesses.
Mid-Ohio is one of the few tracks the Rosenqvist has had a chance to drive an IndyCar prior to racing there.
“This is the track where I sort of got my introduction to the team, I guess you could say,” said Rosenqvist. “I’ve tested a few times in Scott’s car over the years before coming to IndyCar full time. It’s a track I’m familiar with and one I think we should be able to compete at and get a good result.”
Rosenqvist is locked into a battle for the “Rookie-of-the-Year” award with Arrow Schmidt Petersen Motorsports Marcus Ericsson, Harding Steinbrenner Racing’s Colton Herta and Dale Coyne Racing’s Santino Ferrucci.
“The IndyCar Rookie of the Year race is tight, and we want to continue to lead that,” said Rosenqvist. “Starting toward the front at Mid-Ohio is key for the race as well as for track position, so qualifying is very important this weekend. I’m looking forward to getting going.”
Three rounds of knockout-style qualifying takes place Saturday afternoon at 2:30 p.m. and will be televised by NBCSN and can be heard on the Advance Auto Parts IndyCar Radio Network.
There is a warm-up Sunday from Noon to 12:30 p.m. ET with the race at 4:05 p.m. on CNBC and the Advance Auto Parts IndyCar Radio Network.
INDIANAPOLIS, IN (July 2, 2026) – Six-time Series Champion Scott Dixon is leaving Chip Ganassi Racing following the conclusion of the 2026 NTT IndyCar Series Season the team announced in a statement Thursday before the series races at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Complex this weekend.
MADISON, IL (Sunday, June 7, 2026) – The king of World Wide Technology Raceway has returned to his throne.
Josef Newgarden won for the sixth time in 11 starts at the 1.25-mile oval just across the Mississippi River from St. Louis, enduring two rain delays during the race Sunday night to win a feverish, fascinating Bommarito Automotive Group 500 presented by Axalta and Valvoline. The victory was Newgarden’s second this season, as he also won in March at the 1-mile Phoenix Raceway oval.
SEE: Race Results
The two-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion has captured 15 of his 34 career victories on ovals shorter than 1.5 miles. This win came as he was still recovering from a lower leg injury suffered two weeks ago in the 110th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge.
“Great job to the group,” Newgarden said. “Just a methodical night. We had a good car to start. It wasn’t perfect, but it really came to us just when we needed it. It was a track position day.”
Newgarden, who started eighth, drove his No. 2 Astemo Team Penske Chevrolet to victory by .6613 of a second over the No. 28 Delaware Life Honda of fellow Indianapolis 500 winner Marcus Ericsson, who still managed a season-best finish. Christian Rasmussen finished a season-best third in the No. 21 Splenda Chevrolet of ECR.
Rinus VeeKay continued the trend of season-best finishes by ending up fourth in the No. 76 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet, with Scott McLaughlin rounding out the top five in the No. 3 DEX Team Penske Chevrolet that featured a throwback livery honoring the 2009 Indianapolis 500-winning car driven by Helio Castroneves.
Newgarden took the lead for good on Lap 221 after a spirited duel with Rasmussen that began almost immediately after a restart on Lap 212. Rasmussen dove under Newgarden in Turn 1 for the lead on Lap 215, but Newgarden drove past Rasmussen in Turn 3 for the top spot on Lap 219.
One lap later, Rasmussen again drove under Newgarden for the lead in Turn 1, one of his race-high 38 on-track passes. But Newgarden countered again in Turn 3 one lap later for a lead he would not surrender. It was the most decisive of an event-record 268 passes for position in this frantic race.
Ericsson sped under Rasmussen for second in Turn 3 on Lap 225 and set his sights on Newgarden. But one lap later, a plume of smoke trailed from the No. 4 Combitrans Amazonia Chevrolet fielded by A.J. Foyt Enterprises for Caio Collet, who was enjoying the best race of his rookie season by leading seven laps and running consistently in the top five in the second half of the race.
That triggered the last of four caution periods, with another wrinkle to concern Newgarden and the lead pack. A host of trailing cars entered the pits for fresh Firestone Firehawk tires, while the top eight cars stayed out.
McLaughlin made a spirited charge toward the front on the restart on Lap 234, climbing from ninth to fifth in just four laps. But the Kiwi and the other cars that pitted for tires didn’t have enough traction from the fresher rubber or speed to challenge the top four down the stretch.
Meanwhile, Newgarden maintained a gap of around one-half of a second over Ericsson over the closing 10 laps and never was threatened.
“You’ve got to give a lot of credit to Marcus,” Newgarden said. “I thought he was incredibly strong. I don’t really think there was much between us, so it was a matter of who was going to get position on each other, and that was going to seal the deal. He drove a great race.”
Said Ericsson, seeking his first win since March 2023 at St. Petersburg: “I’m very proud of our performance, but at the same time it’s tough to lead that many laps … I thought we had it at some points, but Josef is the best in the business on these short ovals.”
Two red-flag periods totaling 50 minutes kept strategists’ heads spinning on the pit wall as various permutations and fuel options were considered.
Chip Ganassi Racing rolled the dice earlier in the race by calling NTT P1 Award winner Alex Palou and his teammate Scott Dixon to the pits to top off fuel as soon as the pits opened after the first red flag period, which lasted 38 minutes. The hope was to get enough caution to need one fewer fuel stop than rivals or be out front when a race-ending rain shower arrived.
But neither happened, and Palou paid the price dearly.
The four-time series champion entered the pits on Lap 203, two laps after Dixon had to enter a closed pit for emergency service as his No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda was running out of fuel. Palou’s No. 10 HRC Chip Ganassi Racing Honda sputtered when it entered the pit lane and ran out of fuel, and he was forced to coast to his pit box for a stop made even longer when his engine wouldn’t refire.
Palou’s car restarted, and he returned to the track to finish 17th. The two short oval races this season have been Palou’s Achilles’ heel. He finished 24th after contact in March at Phoenix, and that result and tonight’s disappointing showing are his only finishes outside of the top seven all season.
Reigning series champion Palou’s lead in the standings was trimmed to 49 points over Kyle Kirkwood, who finished sixth in the No. 27 Sam’s Club Honda of Andretti Global.
The next NTT INDYCAR SERIES race is the XPEL Grand Prix at Road America on Sunday, June 21 at Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin.
MADISON, IL (June 6, 2026) – Alex Palou and the No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing team are continuing to lay down fast laps when it counts with Palou earning the pole position for Sunday’s NTT IndyCar Series Bommarito Automotive Group 500 at World Wide Technology Raceway. The pole position is Palou’s fourth straight NTT P1 Pole award.
“It was incredible and so much fun, especially that first lap,” said Palou, who turned a two-lap average speed of 174.353 mph in the No. 10 HRC Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. “The #10 Honda Honda had so much speed. The team I have around me is incredible. My car was on rails today; it was incredible.”
David Malukas starts second in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet after a two-lap average of 173.244 mph. Malukas could only look on in disbelief as Palou knocked him off the pole.
Andretti Global’s Kyle Kirkwood starts third in the No. 27 Sam’s Club Honda following a two-lap average of 173.206 mph.
“ It was a good run for us,” said Kirkwood, the 2025 WWWT Raceway winner. “P3 is a really good starting spot and we can definitely do some great things from there. Last year we won from 10th, so it’s nice to be able to be at the front.”
2026 Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge winner Felix Rosenqvist starts fourth in the No. 60 SiriusXM Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb Agajanian Honda.
Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin will start 5th in the No. 3 Dex Imaging Chevrolet.
Palou’s Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Scott Dixon starts 7th in the No. 9 PNC Bank Honda and CGR’s Kyffin Simpson will start 14th in the No. 8 Sunoco Honda.
Television coverage of Sunday’s Bommarito Automotive Group 500 begins at 8 PM CT / 9 PM ET on Fox. Complete, flag-to-flag race coverage also will be available on the INDYCAR Radio Network, and SiriusXM INDYCAR Nation (Channel 160).
Say it ain’t so Scott – Dixon leaving Chip Ganassi Racing
Macri Romps At Hagerstown
Dietz and Shultz Get Dramatic Wins at Port Royal
Macri and Pauch Get Grandview Glory
Dietz Doubles Down Speedweek Style; Adam Edkin Scores First Career Sportsman Win
Alex Palou wins fourth straight pole position at World Wide Technology Raceway
Rough day for Wright at Michigan
Denny Hamlin grabs the NASCAR Cup pole at Pocono Raceway
Heim holds off Honeycutt to win Truck race at Michigan
