Round 9: Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio. Lexington, Ohio. July 5 - 7

Round 9: Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio. Lexington, Ohio. July 5 - 7


This weekend's race will mark the long awaited introduction of IndyCar's hybrid engine, which has been plagued with delays. IndyCar first introduced the idea of a hybrid engine in 2019, inviting companies to tender for the contract and be ready for 2022. It also announced that General Motors and Honda would introduce new engines, increasing capacity from 2.2-litres to 2.4. However, under pressure from various external factors, the manufacturers opted to drop the new engine and keep the proven 2.2-litre engine instead.

It is also the 19th running of the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio, since the race was first held on July 22, 2007. It was won by Scott Dixon, driving a Dallara IR-05- Honda HI7R V8, for Chip Ganassi Racing.

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History
Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, was the idea of local business man Les Griebling, who convinced a number of friends from the local business community, to invest in a road course for weekend sportscar racing. The course, which followed the contours of the land, was designed by Griebling and opened in 1962.

From 1970 to 1976, Mid-Ohio became an event on the SCCA/USAC Formula 5000 Championship calendar and from 1977 to 1980, hosted a round of the revived Can-Am series. AOWR returned to Mid-Ohio in 1980, when the CART PPG IndyCar series held the Red Roof Inns 150, with Johnny Rutherford taking victory in the Chaparral 2k-Cosworth DFX.

In 1981, the track was bought by road racing enthusiast Jim Trueman, the owner of Red Roof Inns and Mid-Ohio underwent its first major renovation. Permanent grandstands, new pit garages with spectator balconies, a media/hospitality center, underground tunnels and a new paddock were built, as well as the Goodyear Tower.

CART returned on September 11, 1983 for the Escort Radar Warning 200, which was won by Teo Fabi in a March 83C- Cosworth DFX, for Forsythe Racing. The following year, the race was moved to the Labor Day weekend and became a perennial event on the CART calendar up to and including the final CART race at the track, the 2003 Champ Car Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio. It was won by Paul Tracy, in a Lola B03-00 - Ford Cosworth XF, driving for Team Player's owned by Gerald Forsythe.

From 2004 to 2006 the race was not held and in 2006 Mid-Ohio underwent extensive renovation, with the whole track and pit lane being completely resurfaced and adding a 75,000 seat grandstand.

After a 3 year absence from AOWR, Mid-Ohio returned In 2007, as a venue for the IndyCar series, with title sponsors Honda and has remained on the IndyCar calendar ever since. In March 2011, the track was purchased from Truesports by Green Savoree Racing Promotions, who also promote the Grand Prix of Portland and the IndyCar street races at St Petersburg and Toronto.

Due to the 2020 Covid19 pandemic, the 2020 calendar was severely disrupted, with races either being cancelled or re-scheduled. Mid-Ohio was no exception, with the race intially being rescheduled from July 3 - 4 to August 9 - 10, hosting Round 7 of the revised 2020 calendar. It was also to be a ticketed event, however with concerns over social distancing the race was initially dropped, though promoters Green Savoree Racing Promotions hoped it would be reinstated at a later date.

On August 1, Ohio governor Mike DeWine decided the race could go ahead on the weekend of Sept 12 - 13, hosting Rounds 10 and 11 of the newly revised calendar. It was the 4th double-header of the season and remained a ticketed event, though capacity was capped at 6000 for the weekend.

As of 2021, the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio has gone back to being a single race event. In addition, it was decided to reduce the number of race laps from 90 to 80, which would force teams to use either a two-stop or three-stop strategy.

During practice for last year's race, French driver Simon Pagenaud, winner of the 2016 driver's championship and the 2019 Indy 500, both with Team Penske, was involved in a high speed crash when the breaks failed, resulting in the car barrell rolling several times across the gravel, before ending up against the tyre barrier. He credits the Aeroscreen for saving his life. Though physically unscathed, he was left with debilitating concussion-like symptoms which ended his 2023 season. He has not raced since but hopes to return to racing.

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Track Layout
Mid-Ohio features two track configurations, one of 2.25 miles (3.621 km) and 13 turns, the other of 2.4 miles (3.862 kms) and 15 turns. The track runs clockwise, with the start line located on the back stretch after Turn 3 and the finish line in front of the pits. In 1963 the original sports car course had 16 turns but was modified, as drivers were concerned it was too slow. Oak Tree Bend, which literally went around an oak tree, was removed and replaced by the Thunder Valley section.

In 1990, there were further modifications, with the track being widened, creating the 13-turn, 2.250 mile (3.621 km) layout, adopted by CART and which is now used by IndyCar. During the 2006 renovations, new link roads were added to the track's famous Keyhole section, creating three separate road course configurations.

During October last year, Mid-Ohio was completely repaved for the first time since spring 2006.

Original layout