Preview – 2016 Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio
By Dylan Reynolds, The Open Wheel
This weekend INDYCAR heads to Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio for the Verizon IndyCar Series Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio and the Cooper Tires Indy Lights Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio. The Open Wheel will be on-site covering the action all weekend so stay tuned to this site and our Twitter page @openwh33l for all the latest news.
Photo by Parker Hall/The Open Wheel
Schedule – Entry List – Spotter Guide – Circuit Map – Pit Lane Assignments – Tickets
Indy Lights Preview: Cooper Tires Indy Lights Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio (Entry List), Race 1 – Saturday July 30, 2016 3:30PM (ET) & Race 2 – Sunday July 31, 2016 12:20PM (ET) – 2015 Race 1 and Race 2 were dominated by drivers no longer in Indy Lights but a noteworthy takeaway is how strong Andretti Autosport’s Shelby Blackstock was so I think he and teammate Dean Stoneman could be factors this weekend. Kyle Kaiser just missed out on a podium in Race 1 last year so he’s one to watch as well. Felix Serralles and Santiago Urrutia led the way in Mid-Ohio testing in June and they’ve looked strong lately. With Belardi Auto Racing’s star Felix Rosenqvist missing out this weekend due commitments in Spa it could be a huge weekend for those two. My picks to win: Felix Serralles & Santiago Urrutia
Verizon IndyCar Series Preview: Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio, Sunday July 31, 2016 2:00PM (ET) CNBC – Previous driver experience at Mid-Ohio automatically makes Scott Dixon a massive favorite. The Ganassi driver has won the race 5 times and has finished in the Top 10 in 10 of 11 of his starts. Helio Castroneves is the only other multiple race winner at Mid-Ohio with 2 wins while Graham Rahal, Charlie Kimball, and Juan Pablo Montoya also have Mid-Ohio wins. Results from 2015 and 2014 show Scott Dixon is the only driver to finish in the Top 5 in each of the last two years. Rahal, Pagenaud, Hunter-Reay, and Munoz each finished in the Top 10 over the last two races at Mid-Ohio. My pick to win: Scott Dixon – It’s almost impossible to pick against Scott Dixon at Mid-Ohio. He won the pole last year and managed a Top 5 finish even with some misfortune in cautions and pit strategy and won from starting last in 2014 using brilliant strategy and a great drive. It’s just a track that suits him and he always manages a great finish. This should be one more (and maybe final) trip to victory lane for the Target machine.
My fantasy.indycar.com picks: Scott Dixon, Graham Rahal, Carlos Munoz, Jack Hawksworth – You know my thoughts on Dixon. Rahal is the defending champion, will be extremely motivated to repeat that success at his “home” track, and was strong at a similar track at Barber earlier this year. Munoz is a bit of a risky pick but he has a Top 10 in each of his two Verizon IndyCar Series starts at Mid-Ohio and put on a show in Indy Lights in the past at this track. I think he’ll be fun to watch this weekend. Hawksworth is the best of the budget picks and does have a Mid-Ohio Top 10.