Round 13: Honda Indy 200 At Mid-Ohio. Lexington, OH, USA. July 29-31, 2016.

[bjohnsonsmith]

Round 13: Honda Indy 200 At Mid-Ohio. Lexington, OH, USA. July 29-31, 2016.

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 was designed by Griebling, which followed the contours of the land and was opened in 1962, From 1970 to 1976 Mid-Ohio became an event on the SCCA/USAC Formula 5000 Championship calendar. AOWR returned when CART initially raced at Mid-Ohio in 1980, with Johnny Rutherford taking victory in the Chaparral-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 in 1983 racing there until 2003.

In 2006, Mid-Ohio underwent further renovation, with the whole track and pit lane being completely resurfaced and adding a 75,000 seat grandstand. In 2007, after a 3 year absence from AOWR, Mid-Ohio returned as a venue for the IndyCar series and this weekend will see the 9th running of the race as an IndyCar event.

In March 2011, the track was purchased from Truesports by Green Savoree Racing Promotions, which currently promotes the IndyCar street races at St Petersburg and Toronto.

Some Trivia:
Driver with most wins, Scott Dixon: 2007, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2014.
Team with most wins, Chip Ganassi Racing: 1996, 1997, 1999, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014.

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 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.

Original track layout:


1963-1989 track layout:


1990-2005 track layout:


Current IndyCar track layout with 2006 modifications in grey:


Length:
2.250 Miles (3.621 km)
Turns: 13
Lap record: 1 August, 2015. Scott Dixon, 1:04.581 minutes, 125.869 mph (202.566 km/h). Chip Ganassi Racing, Dallara DW12-Chevrolet IndyCar V6. Verizon IndyCar Series.

Last year's winner:
Graham Rahal
Rahal-Letterman-Lanigan Racing
Dallara DW12-Honda H15TT

Laps: 90
Distance: 203.22 mi (327.05 km)
Race Time: 1:55:20
Average Speed: 105.72 mph (170.13 km)

TV Coverage:
CNBC, 2:00pm EST.

[bjohnsonsmith]

Dale Coyne Racing gives Enerson IndyCar debut at Mid-Ohio.

http://classic.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/125469

[Yannick]

The DW 12 races pretty well around this track, so I'll try to find a time window to watch this.

[canamman]

Here is the schedule for Mid Ohio.
Times are EST(Eastern).
Support races streamed live at website
as most of you know.
http://digbza2f4g9qo.cloudfront.net/...0160722T094926

[Purist]

Already down into the 1:03s for Practice 3. So, maybe they'll notch up a lap in Qualifying faster than what we saw on the Indy Road Course.

[bjohnsonsmith]

I don't think I'll be able to watch the race live or most of it live but I see on the IndyCar website, NBCSN have an Encore Presentation at 5:30pm ET. I don't know if this is the entire race or extended highlights?

[bjohnsonsmith]

Qualifying results:

Simon Pagenaud is back on Pole, breaking the lap record in the process and RH-R's fortunes seemed to have changed for the better. Just wonder if he can get a decent result tomorrow? I wasn't expecting to see Bourdais down in 16th.

1 Simon Pagenaud, Team Penske. Dallara/Chevrolet. 1m03.8700s
2 Will Power, Team Penske. Dallara/Chevrolet. 1m03.9381s, 0.0681s
3 Josef Newgarden, Ed Carpenter Racing. Dallara/Chevrolet. 1m04.1200s, 0.2500s
4 Ryan Hunter-Reay, Andretti Autosport. Dallara/Honda. 1m04.3265s, 0.4565s
5 Charlie Kimball, Chip Ganassi Racing. Dallara/Chevrolet. 1m04.3644s, 0.4944s
6 Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan. Dallara/Honda. 1m04.4697s, 0.5997s
7 Helio Castroneves, Team Penske. Dallara/Chevrolet. 1m04.4300s
8 Juan Pablo Montoya, Team Penske. Dallara/Chevrolet. 1m04.5141s
9 James Hinchcliffe, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports. Dallara/Honda. 1m04.5796s
10 Mikhail Aleshin, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports. Dallara/Honda. 1m04.6084s
11 Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing. Dallara/Chevrolet. 1m04.6554s
12 Alexander Rossi, Andretti Herta. Dallara/Honda. 1m04.8082s
13 Max Chilton, Chip Ganassi Racing. Dallara/Chevrolet. 1m04.7752s
14 Tony Kanaan, Chip Ganassi Racing. Dallara/Chevrolet. 1m04.5885s
15 Carlos Munoz, Andretti Autosport. Dallara/Honda. 1m04.8621s
16 Sebastien Bourdais, KVSH Racing. Dallara/Chevrolet. 1m04.5967s
17 Jack Hawksworth, AJ Foyt Enterprises. Dallara/Honda. 1m05.0196s
18 R.C. Enerson, Dale Coyne Racing. Dallara/Honda. 1m04.6576s
19 Spencer Pigot, Ed Carpenter Racing. Dallara/Chevrolet. 1m05.1891s
20 Takuma Sato, AJ Foyt Enterprises. Dallara/Honda. 1m04.8354s
21 Marco Andretti, Andretti Autosport. Dallara/Honda. 1m05.1997s
22 Conor Daly, Dale Coyne Racing. Dallara/Honda. 1m05.1098s

[canamman]

Lap #63 caution got kinda crowded
in the pits. Pit crews need to do a better
job of releasing .

[canamman]

That was a great round! That's how open wheel is meant to be raced.

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by canamman

That was a great round! That's how open wheel is meant to be raced.

Unfortunately I missed it but hopefully get to watch the race on the NBCSN Encore broadcast.

[rwintle]

Well, that was entertaining. Pagenaud monsters Power late in the race, although Power admitted he was "asleep" (his word, not mine) on the re-start. Tough racing with contact, but both drivers seem to think it was fair. Roger Penske's comments after the race were typically understated, about how they'd be talking about it later (or words to that effect).

Aleshin's last pit stop was a total cluster****. He might have had a shot at winning and instead it all gets thrown away - contact plus penalty for unsafe release plus another penalty for hitting a crew member from another team (if I understood the commentary correctly).

Great results from Munoz, Rahal, Pigot, Daly. Sato had a good race going until Bourdais' mistake punted him - at least he salvaged a top ten.

Shame for Enerson - he showed some pace but his engine stalled in the pits. Don't think it was ever really explained(?).

Marco and RHR seem to be nowhere these days.

[fieldodreams79]

I thought the Dixon move was a bit ambitious but no quarter was given by Helio, unlike how RHR gave Helio some room later in the race on a similar move. Helio was a little further along, but seemed a bit early for such things, on both sides.

Will Power was being Will Power with Simon. If it was about half the number of other drivers in the field, that could've ended in tears. But it didn't.

All racing deals and mostly a clean race, except I'm not sure what Seabass was thinking late in the race but glad it stayed green.

And yes, the Aleshin stop was disastrous, to no fault of the driver. Everything was going their way until then. Gutted for him.

[canamman]

Originally Posted by bjohnsonsmith

Unfortunately I missed it but hopefully get to watch the race on the NBCSN Encore broadcast.

Try and catch it. It has a little bit of everything. Great entertainment.
That track really produces the challenges.

[canamman]

Originally Posted by fieldodreams79

I thought the Dixon move was a bit ambitious but no quarter was given by Helio, unlike how RHR gave Helio some room later in the race on a similar move. Helio was a little further along, but seemed a bit early for such things, on both sides.

Will Power was being Will Power with Simon. If it was about half the number of other drivers in the field, that could've ended in tears. But it didn't.

All racing deals and mostly a clean race, except I'm not sure what Seabass was thinking late in the race but glad it stayed green.

And yes, the Aleshin stop was disastrous, to no fault of the driver. Everything was going their way until then. Gutted for him.

Yeah , I bet Dixie would like to get that move as a do over.
Helio giving him a wide open door was wishful thinking.
I held my breath for the start of that race. 3 wide,grass,dust,
YIKES.

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by canamman

Try and catch it. It has a little bit of everything. Great entertainment.
That track really produces the challenges.

I couldn't find the NBCSN Encore broadcast, so it was highlights in the end, which never does any sports event justice. Hopefully IndyCar will put the whole race up on YouTube soon because it looked like a good race, just from the highlights.

[bjohnsonsmith]

Result:

Good to see 4 Hondas in the top 6.

1 Simon Pagenaud, Team Penske. Dallara/Chevrolet. 1h49m59.6875s
2 Will Power, Team Penske. Dallara/Chevrolet. 4.1620s
3 Carlos Munoz, Andretti Autosport. Dallara/Honda. 6.5662s
4 Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan. Dallara/Honda. 7.0196s
5 James Hinchcliffe, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports. Dallara/Honda. 11.1260s
6 Conor Daly, Dale Coyne Racing. Dallara/Honda. 11.8526s
7 Spencer Pigot, Ed Carpenter Racing. Dallara/Chevrolet. 12.8831s
8 Charlie Kimball, Chip Ganassi Racing. Dallara/Chevrolet. 15.0016s
9 Takuma Sato, AJ Foyt Enterprises. Dallara/Honda. 18.0128s
10 Josef Newgarden, Ed Carpenter Racing. Dallara/Chevrolet. 18.5404s
11 Juan Pablo Montoya, Team Penske. Dallara/Chevrolet. 20.6074s
12 Tony Kanaan, Chip Ganassi Racing. Dallara/Chevrolet. 23.9632s
13 Marco Andretti, Andretti Autosport. Dallara/Honda. 24.7606s
14 Alexander Rossi, Andretti Herta. Dallara/Honda. 25.5191s
15 Helio Castroneves, Team Penske. Dallara/Chevrolet. 26.6191s
16 Max Chilton, Chip Ganassi Racing. Dallara/Chevrolet. 26.8199s
17 Mikhail Aleshin, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports. Dallara/Honda. 42.7274s
18 Ryan Hunter-Reay, Andretti Autosport. Dallara/Honda. 53.5383s
19 R.C. Enerson, Dale Coyne Racing. Dallara/Honda. 1 Lap
20 Sebastien Bourdais, KVSH Racing. Dallara/Chevrolet. Spun off
21 Jack Hawksworth, AJ Foyt Enterprises. Dallara/Honda. Contact
22 Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing. Dallara/Chevrolet. Contact

[fieldodreams79]

Originally Posted by canamman

Yeah , I bet Dixie would like to get that move as a do over.
Helio giving him a wide open door was wishful thinking.
I held my breath for the start of that race. 3 wide,grass,dust,
YIKES.

The starts and restarts there are always fantastic at Mid-Ohio. Love that place for IndyCar!

[bjohnsonsmith]

I finally got to watch the race. I rarely watch a sporting event after it's happened but this was worth it. A great road course, with an excellent crowd. It certainly was an intriguing race, with close racing and it's fair share of incident. I was surprised the start wasn't waved off, with Pagenaud so far ahead and if it hadn't been for that pit release, I think Aleshin was on course for a win. Otherwise, this has got to be the best showing for Honda this season on a road course.

[fieldodreams79]

Originally Posted by bjohnsonsmith

I finally got to watch the race. I rarely watch a sporting event after it's happened but this was worth it. A great road course, with an excellent crowd. It certainly was an intriguing race, with close racing and it's fair share of incident. I was surprised the start wasn't waved off, with Pagenaud so far ahead and if it hadn't been for that pit release, I think Aleshin was on course for a win. Otherwise, this has got to be the best showing for Honda this season on a road course.

I had the same thought about the start. They must have thought the rest of the pack was tight enough and Simon went when he was allowed to go. Looked odd for sure.

[JHamilton]

It took me a week, but I finally finished watching the race last night. That was a good one! Mid-Ohio is my favorite round on the Indycar calendar. It was packed as always.

That was an extremely ambitious move by Dixon on Helio and he should know better. Helio would close the door on his mother.

I feel real bad for Aleshin but knew he would have a difficult time winning once the caution came out. It's like watcing a Mazda pitstop in IMSA... here is where it ends.

[fieldodreams79]

The crowds were certainly thick as expected but it's nice to see a packed crowd for this series.

Originally Posted by JHamilton

That was an extremely ambitious move by Dixon on Helio and he should know better. Helio would close the door on his mother.

Yeah he would!