2022 Honda Indy 200

Race Notes

• The 2022 Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course was 80 laps on the 13-turn, 2.258-mile road course totaling 180.64 miles. Had inclement weather affected the race, it would have been limited to two hours.
• The pit road speed limit was 45 mph and the pit window was approximately 26–28 laps under green-flag conditions. Cars on alternate strategies could have pitted as early as Lap 10.
• Pole sitter Pato O'Ward gridded drivers' right and would have taken the green flag the third time by the backstretch start line, but the initial start was waved off causing the race's first lap to be run under yellow-flag conditions.
• All cars but those of Felix Rosenqvist, Kyle Kirkwood, Rinus VeeKay, Marcus Ericsson, Josef Newgarden, Christian Lundgaard, Romain Grosjean, Graham Rahal, Will Power, Jack Harvey and Jimmie Johnson started on alternate red tires. All cars were required to use one new set of alternate tires and one set of primary black tires in the race.
• At 12:45 p.m. EDT, the ambient temperature at Mid-Ohio was 80 degrees with 41% relative humidity and partly cloudy skies. The track temperature was 120 degrees according to Firestone engineers.
• At 12:48 p.m., Ohio State tight end and Lexington, Ohio native Cade Stover, the race's grand marshal, gave the command, "Drivers, start your engines." All 27 cars started and rolled on the grid.
• Following the waved-off start, O'Ward led the field to the green flag on Lap 2 and went on to lead 28 of the race's 80 laps.
• Five full-course cautions served to change the complexion of the race:
  • Lap 9: The No. 7 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet of Rosenqvist pulled off course with smoke trailing from the rear of the race car. The incident brought out a three-lap caution period. O'Ward later suffered an engine issue of his own that eventually forced him to retire from the race.
  • Lap 31: The No. 14 AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet of Kirkwood went off course in Turn 9 bringing out a four-lap caution. The top five at this time were Alex Palou, Scott McLaughlin, O'Ward, Colton Herta and Scott Dixon. Subsequent blend line rulings moved McLaughlin ahead of Palou and Herta ahead of O'Ward. Kirkwood was later checked and released from the infield care center.
  • Lap 36: Dalton Kellett initiated a three-lap caution when the No. 4 AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet spun in Turn 2.
  • Lap 54: On Lap 53, Tatiana Calderon pulled a slowing No. 11 AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet off course in Turn 4. One lap later, INDYCAR initiated a three-lap caution.
  • Lap 59: After contact the lap before between Andretti Autosport teammates Alexander Rossi and Grosjean, the Nos. 27 and 28 Honda again made contact on Lap 59 sending both cars off track in Turn 2. Rossi was able to continue but Grosjean went into the tire barrier. The sixth and final caution was also three laps in duration. Leaders at the time were Herta, McLaughlin, Palou, Power and VeeKay.
• Despite leading on Lap 59, Herta had yet to make his second pit stop. After doing so on Lap 60, McLaughlin took the race lead.
• McLaughlin led the field to the green flag on Lap 62 and continued in that position until the checkered flag, leading a total of 45 laps en route to a 0.5512-second margin of victory. The effort marked McLaughlin's second NTT IndyCar Series victory and his second win of 2022. His last win was at St. Petersburg in March.
• Unofficial points after the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio:
  1. Ericsson 321
  2. Power 301 (-20)
  3. Newgarden 287 (-34)
  4. Palou 286 (-35)
  5. O'Ward 256 (-65)
  6. Dixon 254 (-67)
  7. McLaughlin 252 (-69)
  8. Rossi 229 (-92)
     

Session Notes

• Morning warm-up at Mid-Ohio was 30 minutes in duration.
• The session was without any serious incidents and there were no red flags.
• The No. 18 Dale Coyne Racing with HMD Honda of David Malukas was fastest in warm-up with a 1:07.7110.
  

Qualifying Notes

• Qualifying for the NTT P1 Award consists of three segments. In the first round, each group receives 10 minutes of track time. The fastest six cars from each group advance to Round 2 while the remaining cars are assigned positions 13 to 27. Group 1 drivers will occupy the odd-numbered positions while Group 2 drivers will occupy the even-numbered positions based on their fastest lap times. During Round 2, the 12 advancing cars receive 10 minutes of track time with the fastest six advancing to the Firestone Fast Six while the remaining cars are ranked in positions seven through 12 based on their fastest laps. During the Firestone Fast Six, the six cars receive six minutes of guaranteed green-flag time. At the end of session, cars are ranked one through six based on their fastest laps.
• At the start of the session, the ambient temperature at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course was 77 degrees with 40% humidity and partly cloudy skies. The track temperature was 126 degrees according to Firestone engineers.
• All segments of knockout qualifying were without incident. Despite reviewing multiple on-track interactions for possible infractions, INDYCAR Race Control issued only one penalty during qualifying. Will Power was judged to have interfered with Helio Castroneves during Group 1 qualifying, stripping the No. 12 Team Penske Chevrolet of its two fastest laps and the ability to advance.
• Scott McLaughlin, Felix Rosenqvist, Pato O'Ward, Scott Dixon, Colton Herta and Simon Pagenaud competed in the Firestone Fast Six for the NTT P1 Award.
• O'Ward ended the final round of qualifying with the fastest lap: 1:06.7054. The achievement marked the driver's fifth NTT IndyCar Series pole and his first in 2022. O'Ward became the ninth different pole winner in nine races in 2022, matching the 1961 season which was the last time there were nine consecutive pole winners in modern Indy car history. The most unique pole winners ever to start a season was 10 in 1952.
  

Session Notes

• Practice 2 began three minutes later than its scheduled 9:30 a.m. EDT start time due to necessary course preparation following the previous session.
• Forty-five minutes in duration, Practice 2 was held within a 60-minute window. The clock began counting down at 9:33 a.m.
• There were there red flags that paused practice:
  • Two minutes after green, the No. 29 Andretti Autosport Honda of Devlin DeFrancesco went off course at Turn 2. The red flag lasted five minutes and DeFrancesco was penalized five minutes of practice time.
  • At 10:10 a.m., the No. 4 AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet of Dalton Kellett went off course and into the Turn 12 tire barrier. Kellett was later checked and released by the infield care center at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. He was also penalized five minutes of practice time.
  • Six minutes before the end of the 60-minute window, the No. 12 Team Penske Chevrolet of Will Power stopped on course in Turn 4. Because of the clock's expiration, the checkered flag was displayed.
• Colton Herta was the fastest driver of the session with a 1:07.0275.
  

Session Notes

• The first practice of the 2022 Honda Indy 200 race weekend began on time at 3:30 p.m. EDT and was 75 minutes in duration. At the start of the session, the ambient temperature was 92 degrees with 38% relative humidity. The track temperature was 126 degrees according to Firestone engineers.
• Practice paused only once at the 34-minute mark for Takuma Sato, whose No. 51 Dale Coyne Racing with RWR Honda spun and went off course in Turn 1. Sato was penalized five minutes of practice time for causing the six-minute red flag.
• At the conclusion of the session, Josef Newgarden's 1:07.0549 was the fastest Practice 1 lap.