It’s race day at Mid-Ohio, and the grid takes to the track for Round 11 of the 2026 NTT IndyCar season.
After failing to make the Fast 6, Alex Palou ends his run of 5 consecutive pole positions. Arrow McLaren starts on pole with Christian Lundgaard charging past teammate Pato O’Ward in the closing moments of qualifying. Will Power starts from third, as the only Andretti car to make the Fast 6. David Malukas, Christian Rasmussen, and Rinus VeeKay round out the rest of the top 6.
Additionally, prior to the start of the race, Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin received a 6-place grid penalty for an unapproved engine change following the race day warm-up session. The American driver will now start from 15th, having originally qualified 9th.
It’s time to race at Mid-Ohio!
The green flag waves as the grid fires away at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course!
Christian Lundgaard holds his first position as the race gets underway at Mid-Ohio, with teammate Pato O’Ward sitting still in second. Rinus VeeKay has a fast-charging start, picking up P4 from Christian Rasmussen.
It’s 1st vs 3rd in the championship, as Alex Palou and Kyle Kirkwood nearly go wheel-to-wheel in the opening laps of the race. However, Palou holds 6th position, with Kirkwood close behind in 7th.
With 5 laps down out of 90 at Mid-Ohio, Lundgaard leads O’Ward, Malukas, VeeKay, and Power.
Scott Dixon becomes the first driver to pit, coming in on lap 8 and dropping to the rear of the field. In addition to Dixon, Kyle Kirkwood and Nolan Siegel come into the pits to swap out their softer tires.
Alex Palou makes his soft tires work for him, as he charges past a fading Will Power for 4th. Power’s tires continue to fall off quickly as he pits on lap 15 for a new set of hard-compound tires.
Pitting for position
Alex Palou exits the pits just ahead of championship rival Kirkwood on a set of scuffed hard tires. However, the Floridian has the tire advantage and quickly makes his way past the No. 10 CGR. It’s Andretti vs Chip Ganassi once again.
Lungaard and O’Ward still lead the field in first and second, having yet to pit, with Malukas, Rasmussen, and Newgarden rounding out the top 5 on lap 20.
David Malukas is the first of the leaders to pit, coming out into traffic behind Romain Grosjean but, importantly, ahead of Rinus VeeKay.
Shortly after, O’Ward peels into the pits for another set of hard tires. Lundgaard stays out another lap before pitting. Arrow McLaren has 2 back-to-back flawless stops, with Lundgaard and O’Ward maintaining first and second position.
Following the first major pit cycle, Lundgaard continues to lead over O’Ward and Malukas on lap 30.
Halfway there in Mid-Ohio
Alexander Rossi picks up a 2-place penalty for avoidable contact with Dixon’s No.9 CGR. The contact resulted in Dixon sustaining damage to his front wing and right-front tire.
A super-wide moment for Lundgaard at Turn 2 sees O’Ward take the lead by passing into Turns 4 and 5 on lap 43 and quickly build a 7-tenths lead. While the McLarens battled, Palou took his second pit stop of the race, taking an aggressive adjustment to his front wing.
On lap 45, Rinus VeeKay remains the only driver to have satisfied the tire requirements, having run both compounds thus far during the race.
Christian Lundgaard finally swings into the pits on lap 48 and drops to third, having taken a pair of red-walled soft tires. O’Ward and Malukas pit shortly after, both picking up a set of soft-compound tires.
As the sun comes out, the race at Mid-Ohio continues to heat up with Newgarden now leading O’Ward and Lundgaard on lap 50 of 90.
Closing it down
With 30 laps remaining in the race at Mid-Ohio, the top 4 sit separated by only 3.5 seconds: O’Ward, Lundgaard, VeeKay, and Kirkwood.
The final stop of the day for Lundgaard, VeeKay, and Kirkwood leads to a battle on the pit road. Lundgaard wins the battle in pit lane and leads Kirkwood and VeeKay back onto the track.
Pato O’Ward remains out for an additional lap and finds some of his fastest laps of the race, having cleared a slow-moving Dennis Hauger a few laps prior. He fires back out onto the track with a monstrous lead over his Danish teammate.
With 25 laps to go, Power is ahead of O’Ward and Lundgaard, as championship leader Palou pits after a brief race lead.
A stunning move from Rasmussen with his final moments of push-to-pass sees the ECR driver pass Power for 6th.
A clean race at Mid-Ohio
Mid-Ohio is the first race in the last 6 without a caution or red flag for on-track or weather-related incidents, 90 laps of uninterrupted green flag running. Additionally, there has been no car retirement for any reason throughout the race.
Back on top
Having been barred from the podium thus far this season, Pato O’Ward silences the critics with a stunning win at the technical Mid-Ohio circuit! He picks up his 10th career NTT IndyCar Series win. Christian Lundgaard crosses the finish line in second, making a statement about his racing ability as he faces free agency. The podium is rounded out by Kyle Kirkwood, fitting as the United States celebrates its 250th birthday.
Palou, Power, Rasmussen, Malukas, Newgarden, and Siegel round out the rest of the top 10.
