The Alex Palou Victory Tour rolls into the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course this weekend with many NTT IndyCar drivers eager to stop a seemingly unabated charge to the championship.
The Chip Ganassi Racing star has three victories and two pole positions in the past four races, amassing a 74-point lead over teammate Marcus Ericsson entering Sunday’s Honda Indy 200.
Through eight of 17 races, Palou has finished outside the top five only once (an eighth in the season opener at St. Petersburg, Florida), and his rivals have hope that the 2021 champion might be overdue for a stumble that could narrow the field.
NBC SPORTS POWER RANKINGS: Alex Palou remains No. 1
“It’s kind of out of our control,” said Indy 500 winner Josef Newgarden, who is ranked third in points. “They’ve had a good run up to this point. They’ve not had a bad race. I think that’s to be expected. We had an engine pop on us in the very first round. Everybody has a different story. If you look at their story, they’ve not had one bad race yet. When you have eight races in a row without a bad one, this is what happens points-wise.
“What’s going to happen on the final nine, it’s impossible to say. There’s so much season still that he’s got a good cushion at this point, they’ve done a great job, but I don’t think that guarantees anything in IndyCar.”
Paluo has two podiums (including a second last year) in four starts at Mid-Ohio, but if the Spaniard has trouble Sunday, there are many candidates poised to pounce.
Scott Dixon (fourth in points but winless this season) has a series-high six victories at the road course, and Scott McLaughlin (the track’s defending winner), Colton Herta, Alexander Rossi, Graham Rahal, Simon Pagenaud and Newgarden are past winners here.
Here are the details and IndyCar start times for the Honda Indy 200 race weekend at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (all times are ET):
INDYCAR HONDA INDY 200 MID-OHIO START TIMES
TV: Sunday, 1:30 p.m. ET on USA Network and streaming on Peacock, the NBC Sports App and NBCSports.com. Leigh Diffey is the announcer with analysts Townsend Bell and James Hinchcliffe. Kevin Lee and Dillon Welch are the pit reporters. Click here for the full NBC Sports schedule for IndyCar in 2023.
Peacock also will be the streaming broadcast for both practices and qualifying. Click here for more information about how to access Peacock.
The USA Network and Peacock will be the home of IndyCar’s next three races.
POSTRACE SHOW ON PEACOCK: After the race’s conclusion, an exclusive postrace show will air on Peacock with driver interviews, postrace analysis and the podium presentation. To watch the extended postrace show, click over to the special stream on Peacock after Sunday’s race ends.
INDYCAR RADIO NETWORK: Mark Jaynes is the announcer with analyst Davey Hamilton; turn announcers Jake Query, Nick Yeoman and Michael Young; and pit reporters Alex Wollf, Joel Sebastianelli and Georgia Henneberry. The IndyCar and Indy NXT practice, qualifying and race sessions will air live on network affiliates, SiriusXM 160, racecontrol.indycar.com and the IndyCar app powered by NTT Data.
COMMAND TO START ENGINES: 1:46 p.m.
GREEN FLAG: 1:53 p.m.
PRACTICE: Friday, 3:05 p.m. (Peacock), Saturday, 9:45 a.m. (Peacock), Sunday, 10:30 a.m. (Peacock)
PRACTICE RESULTS: Session I l Session II l Warmup l Combined
QUALIFYING: Saturday, 2:45 p.m. (Peacock)
STARTING LINEUP: Click here for the grid
RACE DISTANCE: The race is 80 laps (180.64 miles) on a 13-turn, 2.258-mile road course in Lexington, Ohio.
TIRE ALLOTMENT: Six sets primary, four sets alternate to be used during the event weekend. One additional set of primary tires may be used by teams fielding a rookie driver. Teams must use one set of primary and one set of new (sticker) alternate tires for at least two laps in the race.
PUSH TO PASS: 200 seconds of total time with a maximum time of 20 seconds per activation (Indy NXT: 150 seconds total; 15 seconds per). The push-to-pass is not available on the initial start or any restart unless it occurs in the final two laps or three minutes of a timed race. The feature increases the power of the engine by approximately 60 horsepower.
FORECAST: According to Wunderground.com, the forecast at the green flag is for 76 degrees and a 58 percent chance of rain.
ENTRY LIST: Click here to view the 27 drivers racing at Mid-Ohio.
INDY NXT RACE: Sunday, 11:40 a.m. (35 laps/55 minutes), Peacock
INDY NXT ENTRY LIST: Click here to view the 17 drivers racing at Mid-Ohio.
HONDA INDY 200 AT MID-OHIO WEEKEND SCHEDULE
Friday, June 30
8-8:30 a.m.: USF Pro 2000 practice
8:45-9:15 a.m.: USF2000 practice
9:30-10:10 a.m.: Porsche Sprint Challenge practice
10:25-10:55 a.m.: USF Pro 2000 qualifying Race 1
11:10-11:40 a.m.: USF2000 Qualifying
12:10-12:50 p.m.: Porsche Sprint Challenge practice
1:05-1:35 p.m.: USF Pro 2000 qualifying Race 2
1:55-2:40 p.m.: Indy NXT practice
3:05-4:20 p.m.: IndyCar practice (Peacock)
4:40-5:20 p.m.: USF2000 Race 1
Saturday, July 1
7:55-8:15 a.m.: Porsche Sprint Challenge qualifying
8:35-9:20 a.m.: Indy NXT practice
9:45-10:45 a.m.: IndyCar practice (Peacock)
11:00-11:40 a.m.: USF2000 Race 2
11:55 a.m.-12:45 p.m.: USF Pro 2000 Race 1
1-1:40 p.m.: Porsche Sprint Challenge Race 1
2:05-2:25 p.m.: Indy NXT qualifying
2:45-4:15 p.m.: IndyCar qualifying (Peacock)
4:30-5:10 p.m.: USF2000 Race 3
5:25-6:15 p.m.: USF Pro 2000 Race 2
Sunday, July 2
8-8:40 a.m.: Porsche Sprint Challenge Race 2
10:30-11 a.m.: IndyCar warmup (Peacock)
11:40 a.m.: Indy NXT Race (35 laps/55 minutes), Peacock
1:53 p.m.: Green flag for the Honda Indy 200 (80 laps/180.64 miles), USA, Peacock
2023 SEASON RECAPS
ROUND 1: Marcus Ericsson wins wild opener in St. Petersburg
ROUND 2: Josef Newgarden wins Texas thriller over Pato O’Ward
ROUND 3: Kyle Kirkwood breaks through for first career IndyCar victory
ROUND 4: Scott McLaughlin outduels Romain Grosjean at Barber
ROUND 5: Alex Palou dominant in GMR Grand Prix
ROUND 6: Josef Newgarden wins first Indy 500 in 12th attempt
ROUND 7: Alex Palou wins from the pole in downtown Detroit
ROUND 8: Alex Palou rebounds from crash to win Road America
COVERAGE ON NBCSPORTS.COM
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Alex Palou on his Indy 500 pole, multitasking at 224 mph and a Chip Ganassi surprise
Marcus Ericsson, engineer Brad Goldberg have ties that run very deep
New competition elements for 2023 include an alternate oval tire
Indy 500 will be Tony Kanaan’s final race
IndyCar drivers say Thermal Club could host a race
IndyCar team owners weigh in on marketing plans, double points
Alexander Rossi fitting in well at McLaren
Phoenix takes flight: Romain Grosjean enjoying the pilot’s life
Helio Castroneves says 2023 season is “huge” for IndyCar future
How Sting Ray Robb got that name
Kyle Larson having impact on future McLaren teammates
Simon Pagenaud on why he likes teasing former teammate Josef Newgarden
HOW TO WATCH INDYCAR IN 2023: Full NBC Sports schedule
