It seemed a foregone conclusion that Alex Palou was going to win on Sunday (July 6) at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course for his seventh win of the season.
Instead, the Spaniard ran off-course and gave the lead and the win up to Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Scott Dixon.
Dixon, saving fuel in the final run, had to keep the stealth-black No. 10 Honda behind him for the final five laps in defense to take his first win of the 2025 NTT IndyCar Series season. He became only the third winner after 10 of 17 races on the calendar.
Alex Palou goes wide and loses the lead to Scott Dixon at Mid-Ohio! pic.twitter.com/VxPiEf9PTI
— INDYCAR on FOX (@IndyCarOnFOX) July 6, 2025
It was Dixon’s seventh win at Mid-Ohio and 59th career IndyCar Series win. The veteran also extended his season win streak to 21 straight seasons.
Dixon employed a fuel-save strategy after Christian Rasmussen ran out of fuel and caught fire after Dixon pitted on lap 30. That caution allowed Dixon to pull off a two-stop strategy, despite the race being extended to 10 more laps this season, from 80 to 90 laps.
“It was definitely a tough race,” Dixon told FOX. “Full credit to everybody at Chip Ganassi Racing. Fantastic cars. [It was] so much fun to try to pull off what we did and do with what we had was fantastic.
“They forgot to take the front wing out on the last stop. I just had to look at the corner, and the car was going to turn. I was just hoping the rear tires were going to hold on.”
Palou finished only 0.4201 seconds behind Dixon in his pursuit to get back past him, narrowly missing out on what seemed to be an assured win.
“Just a stupid mistake honestly,” Palou said. “Mistake by my part. The car was amazing all weekend, all race. Everybody on the 10 car did an amazing job on pit stops and strategy.
“We were running really good but just lost it a little bit on entry and couldn’t get power going on. Nobody to blame but me, just got a little bit wide on entry and lost it completely. It sucks. It hurts a lot. It’s still a good day, but it hurts to lose it like that.”
Christian Lundgaard graced the third step of the podium after running in the podium places all day for Arrow McLaren. Lundgaard earned his fourth podium of the season.
Colton Herta moved his way to fourth and was frustrated after his final pit stop. He was able to stay ahead of fellow two-stopper Pato O’Ward, the winner of Mid-Ohio last season. The Arrow McLarens of Lundgaard and O’Ward were the only Chevrolets inside the top 10.
The Meyer Shank Racing Hondas of Felix Rosenqvist and Marcus Armstrong finished sixth and seventh respectively. Fellow Hondas Kyle Kirkwood, Rinus VeeKay and Kyffin Simpson rounded out the top 10 after running much of the day in the top five.
Simpson’s race fell slightly apart after stalling on the final stop and running into the foot of VeeKay’s right-rear changer getting out of the box, landing a pass-through penalty for the Cayman Island native.
OUCH 😧👍 pic.twitter.com/h63kBAnAHe
— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) July 6, 2025
As the field took the green barreling toward turn 6, Team Penske Josef Newgarden lost his rear tires on braking and collected Graham Rahal, making three straight DNFs in a row for the two-time Indianapolis 500 champion. Fellow Team Penske driver Will Power incurred some damage as well after hitting Scott McLaughlin while trying to avoid the spinning Newgarden.
An on-board look at Josef Newgarden's Lap 1 incident at Mid-Ohio. pic.twitter.com/GXlI5ug8C8
— INDYCAR on FOX (@IndyCarOnFOX) July 6, 2025
Power’s luck would only get worse, as his car caught on fire on lap 12 while coming down pit road, ending his day early. Both Power and Newgarden finished 26th and 27th, respectively. Their teammate McLaughlin finished 23rd, one lap down.
Santino Ferrucci and Conor Daly had a skirmish on the track that led to last week’s podium placer at Road America receiving a three-place grid penalty. Ferrucci got the best of Daly, finishing 16th, while Daly ended the day 19th.
Ferrucci 🆚 Daly
— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) July 6, 2025
The No. 14 has been given a three-position penalty for avoidable contact. pic.twitter.com/Ph1YtvNSQX
Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Results
Next, IndyCar heads for the lone doubleheader weekend of the year at Iowa Speedway. Race one will go green on Saturday, July 12, at 5 p.m. ET. Race two starts on Sunday, July 13, at 1 p.m. ET. Both races will be broadcasted by FOX.
Wyatt Watson has followed motorsports closely since 2007. He joined Frontstretch as a journalist in February 2023 after serving in the United States Navy for five years as an Electronic Technician Navigation working on submarines. Wyatt is one of Frontstretch's primary IndyCar correspondents, providing exclusive video content on site. He hosts Frontstretch's Through the Gears podcast and occasionally The Pit Straight.You can find Wyatt's written work in columns such as Friday Faceoff and 2-Headed Monsteras well as exclusive IndyCar features. Wyatt also contributes to Frontstretch's social media team, posting unique and engaging content for Frontstretch.
Wyatt Watson can be found on X @WyattWRacing