Alex Palou will start eighth in Sunday's The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Presented by the 2027 CR-V Hybrid, ending his streak of five consecutive NTT P1 Awards and two straight poles at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
The championship leader (photo, above) admitted making a mistake entering Turn 1 on his first flying lap in the No. 10 OpenAI Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, costing him a chance to advance. It marked the first time Palou failed to reach the Firestone Fast Six on a road or street course since the 2025 season opener at St. Petersburg.
That race might provide encouragement. He started eighth and won.
"I couldn't really put my best lap together," Palou said. "It's a shame. We had a really fast car, but I was trying very hard. I knew it was going to be very, very tight, but yeah, I overdid it."
Palou had won every pole since the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach on April 21 and entered the weekend with an average starting position of 2.5 through 10 races.
The four-time series champion and 2023 Mid-Ohio winner remains confident he has a car capable of charging forward. He has finished first or second in four consecutive races at the 2.258-mile road course.
"I think there's people that didn't transfer to the Top 12 that could have been in the Fast Six," Palou said. "It's that close. So, for sure (we can win). Looking forward to tomorrow. Shame that we didn't get through."
Collet Continues to Impress
Caio Collet's name continues to surface in NTT INDYCAR SERIES silly season.
The Brazilian has not yet signed a contract to return to AJ Foyt Racing in 2027, though team president Larry Foyt told INDYCAR Radio powered by OnlyBulls that the organization hopes to retain both Collet and Santino Ferrucci if funding allows.
Collet (photo, above) continues making his case on track.
After qualifying ninth at Road America, he followed with an 11th-place qualifying effort Saturday in the No. 4 Combitrans Amazonia Chevrolet, missing the Firestone Fast Six by just over a tenth of a second.
"I think from this morning we made very good progress," Collet said. "Just a tenth of a second away from my first Fast Six. It was a clean lap. Maybe we underjudged the tire pressures a little bit for one lap only, but overall from where we were this morning, it was a good improvement. Looking forward to the race tomorrow."
Collet, 24, earned his first INDY NXT by Firestone victory at Mid-Ohio in 2024 before finishing second there last season.
This year, Collet is battling fellow rookies Dennis Hauger and Mick Schumacher for Rookie of the Year honors.
Hauger starts 25th after crashing the No. 19 Ault Blockchain Dale Coyne Racing Honda during Saturday morning practice.
Schumacher rolls off 16th in the No. 47 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda, earning his best road or street course qualifying performance of the season.
Dixon, Grosjean Frustrated After Qualifying
Scott Dixon (photo, above) has overcome adversity at Mid-Ohio before.
In 2014, the six-time series champion started last in the 22-car field and still won, leading 45 laps after gambling on an alternate strategy.
He will need another recovery drive Sunday.
Dixon lost his two fastest laps after INDYCAR SERIES officials ruled he interfered with Romain Grosjean during the opening round of qualifying.
"We went probably a lap earlier than everybody," Dixon said. "That's when everybody tried to find their spot. We were already on our push laps. The 18 (Grosjean) kept coming, but I'm like, you're going to run into him (Graham Rahal, car in front of Dixon) anyway. It was just another bit of a no-win situation. The two quick laps we had going had to abort, and that was it."
Grosjean was equally frustrated but didn't fault Dixon.
"It's not Scott's fault," Grosjean said. "I don't know what they were doing on the Ganassi pit wall. Two laps in a row he blocked me. I put everything out on the line, all my driving skills, and we're dead last. How much bad luck can a man have?
"We tried so much. That one is hard to swallow."
Dixon starts 23rd in the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, his worst starting position in 23 Mid-Ohio appearances. Grosjean starts 21st, the fourth time in the last five races he has qualified 20th or worse.
Dixon owns a record seven Mid-Ohio victories and won here last season to extend his streak of 21 consecutive seasons with at least one victory. He enters Sunday still seeking his first win of 2026.
Mid-Ohio Rewards Team Strength
Mid-Ohio has long rewarded organizations with multiple fast cars.
Since 1990, the track has produced a series-leading 17 one-two finishes, more than double the next closest venue, Belle Isle, with eight.
Chip Ganassi Racing owns the last three Mid-Ohio one-two finishes and the last three in INDYCAR SERIES history, each coming last season at St. Petersburg, Mid-Ohio and Iowa Speedway 2.
Ganassi also has supplied the runner-up finisher in each of the last four Mid-Ohio races, with Palou finishing second in 2022, 2024 and 2025 and Dixon doing so in 2023.
The trend could continue Sunday, but maybe with a different organization.
Andretti Global topped Friday practice with Kyle Kirkwood and Will Power. Arrow McLaren placed fourth, fifth and sixth in that session before locking out the front row with Christian Lundgaard on pole and defending race winner Pato O'Ward alongside.
HMD Motorsports also showcased its depth Saturday by sweeping the top four finishing positions in the INDY NXT by Firestone race.
Odds and Ends
- Several drivers and teams are celebrating America's 250th birthday with patriotic touches. Graham Rahal is wearing custom red, white and blue driving shoes, while both Ed Carpenter Racing entries feature stars-and-stripes accents on their front and rear wing endplates.
- Sting Ray Robb starts 14th in the No. 77 Juncos Hollinger Racing-Goodheart Chevrolet, matching his second-best qualifying effort of the season. His previous best was 12th at Phoenix Raceway after entering the weekend with a 23.1 average starting position.
- Robb's teammate, Rinus VeeKay, continued his strong weekend by advancing to the Firestone Fast Six for the first time since Barber Motorsports Park in 2025. VeeKay, who was sixth in Friday practice, starts sixth after entering the weekend with a season-best start of eighth at Phoenix Raceway.
- VeeKay's appearance marked the fourth Firestone Fast Six qualification for Juncos Hollinger Racing. The others came with Romain Grosjean fifth at St. Petersburg and Toronto in 2024 and Callum Ilott starting second at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in 2022.
- This was Chevrolet’s 14th pole at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, the first though since O’Ward in 2022.
- Honda leads all manufacturers with 13 Mid-Ohio wins, including two of the last three. Chevrolet has 12, three of such since 2021. Cosworth’s six are next best.
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