TRACK: MID-OHIO SPORTS CAR COURSE
RACE: INDY 200 AT MID-OHIO
DATE: JULY 2, 2023
JOSEF NEWGARDEN
NO. 2 PPG DALLARA/CHEVROLET
START - 15TH
FINISH - 12TH
POINTS - 3RD (-116)
RACE RUNDOWN: Josef Newgarden and the No. 2 PPG Chevrolet team finished 12th in an uncharacteristic day in Sunday's Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. A two-time winner at the Lexington, OH circuit, Newgarden quickly moved up five positions over the opening lap before settling into the 80-lap event. Needing to be mindful of fuel to have enough to push as hard as necessary at the end of the race, Newgarden could not be as aggressive as he hoped in coming from his 18th-place starting position. In a race that progressed rapidly, the former NTT INDYCAR SERIES Champion had few options in which to drive his Chevrolet to the front. Yet, he was able to make up a few positions over the final laps of the race to bring home a solid finish before heading north to Toronto for the next event.
NEWGARDEN'S THOUGHTS: "It was just a tough day. Not what we wanted on the No. 2 PPG Chevy. Great fight for everybody. Great hustle all weekend trying to figure out what this track and road course package needs to be. Proud of our effort for working through it this weekend, but we just didn’t quite get there. Had a tough Saturday, which led a little bit into a tough race. But for us, it’s just keeping going, and trying to work on it one race at a time. Proud of everyone at Team Chevy and PPG, and we’ll go to the next one and try to be better."
SCOTT McLAUGHLIN
NO. 3 GOOD RANCHERS DALLARA/CHEVROLET
START - 8TH
FINISH - 5TH
POINTS - 6TH (-148)
RACE RUNDOWN: Scott McLaughlin and the No. 3 Good Ranchers Chevrolet team put together another solid weekend in Sunday's Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, finishing fifth for his third-consecutive finish of eighth or better. After starting from the eighth position, the 2022 Mid-Ohio winner survived a first lap incident just behind him to move up to seventh in the opening lap. Unfortunately, he was forced to give that position up on Lap 8 after being penalized for blocking the No. 27 of Kyle Kirkwood. As with every other competitor in the field, McLaughlin and team utilized a two-stop strategy, electing to pit based off the condition of the tires around the tough, 13-turn circuit. He was able to make his Firestone tires last longer than most as he turned some of the fastest laps of the day in the later part of each stint. That allowed him to produce solid in laps that, when the dust settled, helped propel him to a top-five finish.
MCLAUGHLIN'S THOUGHTS: "Yeah, pretty solid day. I think we're capable of a podium today. The Good Ranchers Chevy was really strong, just picked our way through the fight. Got held up there on that last exchange here, annoyingly, but, you know, I think we're in a good spot. I think we're only 30 points out of second now in the championship. So, you know, Palou is doing a really good job at the moment. It's up to us and Chevy and everyone else to work hard and catch up to him. Really proud of the hard work but we just need a little bit more and we're going to be right there. So yeah, good day."
WILL POWER
NO. 12 VERIZON 5G DALLARA/CHEVROLET
START - 7TH
FINISH - 3RD
POINTS - 7TH (-151)
RACE RUNDOWN: The 2022 NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion, Will Power, continued a streak of strong runs with his second podium in the last three races Sunday at the Mid-Ohio Sports Course, coming home in the third position. Power was the highest qualified Chevrolet-powered Dallara, just narrowly missing the Firestone Fast Six on Saturday afternoon. Despite a small off-track excursion in the morning warmup, Power raced his way into the top-five by his first pit stop on Lap 31 where his crew applied Firestone alternate tires. He used those "red' tires to get himself into a podium position with less than 20 laps to go in the 80-lap event. Power’s third place result was his eighth podium in 16 starts at Mid-Ohio.
POWER'S THOUGHTS: "Yeah very solid day. I honestly had no clue where I finished. But oh, wow, third! There were no mistakes all day. We drove really hard. Got the fuel when we needed it and yeah, had a fast Verizon 5G Chevy. Maybe I was a bit slow on my out laps. So, I’ll take a podium any day in this series. Even though it was hot, I never seem to suffer physically these days. I think it's because I've just so attuned to it because I’ve been racing for so many years it just, I rarely feel pain in the car. I probably feel it, but just tune it out."
WHAT'S NEXT:
The NTT INDYCAR SERIES will enjoy a weekend off before heading to the only international event on the schedule at the Honda Indy Toronto on Sunday, July 16.