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.
WASHINGTON D.C. (August 22, 2026) – Alex Palou’s blistering lap of 56.8993 seconds in the No. 10 OpenAI Chip Ganassi Racing Honda puts the four-time NTT IndyCar Series Champion on the pole position for Sunday’s Freedom 250 on the streets of Washington D.C.
“Incredible,” said Palou. “My car was on rails. Super-fun lap, super-fun car to drive. Couldn’t be happier. Looking forward to tomorrow. Tomorrow is going to be a long day, man, 250 miles.”
Andretti Global’s Kyle Kirkwood lines up second after a lap of 57.4661 in the No. 27 Sam’s Club Honda.
“P1 both first and second group, and the last one Alex Palou is just a legend and goes faster on his one-lap dash than he did the whole rest of the run, I think,” Kirkwood said. “He made us look silly out there.”
Scott McLaughlin spoiled the Honda party up front, putting the No. 3 PPG Chevrolet third on the grid after a fast lap of 57.4200.
Palou’s CGR teammates Scott Dixon and Kyffin Simpson did not fare as well as their teammate.
Dixon was on a lap that would have allowed him to transfer into the next round of qualifying, when Simpson hit the wall, triggering a red flag which cancelled Dixon’s lap. The No. 9 PNC Bank Honda will start 14th.
Bringing out the red flag penalized Simpson of his two fastest laps so the No. 8 Sunoco Honda will start last in 25th.
Coverage of the Freedom 250 starts at 11:30 a.m. on Fox and IndyCar Radio with the green flag waving in our nation’s capital at 1 p.m.
MARKHAM, ONTARIO (August 15, 2026) – The NTT IndyCar Series is making it’s first visit to a new street circuit in Markham, Ontario but a familiar face topped the speed charts after the first practice.
Four-time Series Champion Alex Palou turned the fastest lap around the 12-turn, 2.19-mile temporary street course, a 1-minute, 14.9915-seconds (100.811 mph) lap in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda.
A.J. Foyt Racing rookie Caio Collett was second quick with a 1-minute, 15.0454-seconds (100.739) in the No. 4 Chevrolet.
Louis Foster was third quick in the No. 45 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda at 1:15.0278 (100.702) followed by Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin 1:15.2981 (100.401). Will Power rounded out the Top 5 at 1:15.3152 (100.378).
Palou’s Chip Ganassi Racing teammates were not as strong. Six-time Series Champion Scott Dixon was 20th at 1:16.4583 (98.877) in the No. 9 PNC Bank Honda. Kyffin Simpson was 24th at 1.17.3893 (97.688) in the No. 8 Sunoco Honda. Simpson made contact with the wall at Turn 6, causing damage to the rear suspension. Simpson limped to pits for repair and returned to action later in the session.
Practice 2 is set for 2:30 p.m. as delayed track construction forced officials to cancel Friday’s activities and condense Saturday’s schedule. NTT P1 Pole Qualifying is set for 6:30 p.m. ET
MARKHAM, ONTARIO (August 14, 2026) – Issues with the completion of the temporary street circuit in Markham Ontario has forced the NTT INDYCAR SERIES first practice to be moved to Saturday as all of Friday’s on-track activity had to be scrubbed from the schedule.
“INDYCAR is incredibly disappointed that our promoter was not able to complete the track build on time, despite significant support from our team on site,” INDYCAR President J. Douglas Boles said. “Ontario has always been a magnificent market for our sport and the number of spectators that attended today is a shining example of that. New events can always pose logistical challenges and we join in the frustration of our loyal fans and apologize.”
Green Savoree Promotions also issued a statement.
“Ensuring the safety of the drivers and the completion of the certification process of competing on a brand-new racetrack delayed all on-track activities today. Today’s sessions have been rescheduled to Saturday, August 15, to allow for further track preparations.”
“We greatly appreciate all the fans who made it out to the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy at Markham today and chose to spend the day with us. The attendance and support were overwhelming.”
The revamped schedule calls for the first practice to take place at 10:00 a.m. followed by a second practice at 2:30 p.m. and P1 Pole Qualifying at 6:30 p.m.
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