Race Report: 2020 Honda Indy 200

Session Notes:

• The 75-lap race was slowed by two cautions:
  • Lap 1: Santino Ferrucci went off course and upon returning to the track, made contact with Alex Palou who made subsequent contact with Felix Rosenqvist in Turn 4. Ferrucci was issued a penalty for avoidable contact and had to start from the back of the field.
  • Lap 16: Dalton Kellett went off course at Turn 1 and required assistance.
• Colton Herta's victory marked his first of 2020 and the third of his IndyCar career. His previous wins came at Circuit of The Americas and WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in 2019. Herta was the seventh different winner in 2020.
• The win for the No. 88 Andretti Autosport Honda marked the team's 65th Indy car victory. The 1-2-3 finish for Herta, Alexander Rossi and Ryan Hunter-Reay marked the first 1-2 finish since Rossi won the 2016 Indianapolis 500 over Carlos Munoz. It was the first 1-2-3 finish since the team went 1-2-3-4 with Dan Wheldon, Tony Kanaan, Dario Franchitti and Bryan Herta in April 2005 at St. Petersburg.
• Rossi's second-place finish matched his season-best result and was his third podium of 2020 and the 22nd podium of his career.
• Hunter-Reay finished a season-best third, his first podium of 2020 and 47th podium of his Indy car career.

Session Notes:

• Just after the start of Group 2 qualifying, Will Power spun at Turn 2 and required assistance, bringing out a red flag. Zach Veach also spun to avoid hitting Power.
• Jack Harvey spun and made contact with the tire barrier at Turn 12, damaging his race car.
• Both Power and Harvey were penalized and unable to continue in the session.
• Due to INDYCAR guaranteeing five minutes of green-flag time, the clock was stopped at four minutes, 17 seconds while cleanup continued.
• Upon the session's resumption, Pato O'Ward spun and went off course at Turn 2, bringing out a second red flag and stopping the clock at three minutes, 36 seconds. O'Ward was penalized and unable to continue.
• With less than four minutes on the clock and teammate Marco Andretti on slick Firestone Firehawk alternate tires, Colton Herta turned the fastest lap of the combined qualifying session to earn the NTT P1 Award. It was his first of 2020 and the fourth pole of his IndyCar career. His last pole came at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in September 2019.

Session Notes:

• The track was wet for qualifying, but Race Control noted that there were no streams or puddles on line so tire selection was open to teams.
• Multiple drivers went off course, including Takuma Sato at Turn 6, Alex Palou at Turns 7 and 12 and Ryan Hunter-Reay at Turn 1. Hunter-Reay was penalized his fastest lap for causing a local yellow.
• Charlie Kimball spun and stopped on course in Turn 1, bringing out a red flag and preventing him from continuing in the session.
• Santino Ferrucci's 1:27.4688 was the fastest of the session and guaranteed him a front-row start, the first of his IndyCar career.

Session Notes:

• The race ran free of caution despite multiple off-track excursions, including a spin for Simon Pagenaud and a trip through the grass for Marco Andretti.
• Will Power's victory was the 38th of his career, breaking a tie on the all-time win list with Sebastien Bourdais and ranking him sixth. It was also his 17th victory from pole position, ranking him fourth on the all-time list behind Mario Andretti (24), A.J. Foyt (23) and Sebastien Bourdais (18).
• Josef Newgarden's second-place finish was his fourth podium result of 2020 and the 33rd podium of his career.
• Alexander Rossi finished third, his second podium of 2020 and the 21st of his career.

Session Notes:

• With Group 1 significantly faster than Group 2, Will Power's 1:06.3343 earned the Team Penske driver his 60th career pole. The effort also marked his third pole of 2020 and his fifth at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, the most of any driver.
• Power's NTT P1 Award was the 277th Indy car pole position for Team Penske.
• Ryan Hunter-Reay earned his first front-row start since 2018 at Sonoma Raceway.
• While there were no stoppages during qualifying, Alex Palou was penalized his fastest lap after causing a local yellow that affected another competitor.

Session Notes:

• The only practice session for the doubleheader Honda Indy 200 race weekend was 75 minutes in duration, with teams able to use push-to-pass early and engage in hot pit stops late in the session.
• Action was slowed by one 12-minute red flag period for Pato O'Ward, whose No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet went off course and into the tire barrier at Turn 12. O'Ward exited his race car without injury and practice resumed for the final 28 minutes.
• Ryan Hunter-Reay and Will Power delivered the fastest laps for their respective manufacturers. There were seven Hondas and 3 Chevrolets in the top 10.