Scott Dixon’s fightback this IndyCar season got underway with a solid first hit, with the Kiwi landing fifth spot on the grid for tomorrow’s race at Mid-Ohio.
The IndyCar veteran and a six-time winner at Mid-Ohio starts alongside Alexander Rossi on the third row after neither was able to make much of an impression in the Firestone Fast Six.
Josef Newgarden earned his third pole in a row, topping every session in an imperious performance from the Penske driver.
Newgaden is joined by Colton Herta on the front row, with Marcus Ericsson and Will Power locking out the next line of cars.
For Dixon, who is 53 points behind championship leader Alex Palou, this weekend’s main target is to finish ahead of the Spanish star.
Palou was narrowly bumped from a spot in the Fast Six by Ericsson in Group 2, and he will start seventh.
Scott McLaughlin’s debut run at Mid-Ohio will have him start 14th.
Drivers need to finish in the top six of their Q1 group to advance to the next stage of qualifying.
McLaughlin was seventh in his Q1 group, 0.006s shy of improving to Group 2.
After the times from the other group were recorded, McLaughlin starts from row seven.
Championship protagonist Pato O’Ward had a testing session, citing set-up trouble for his lack of pace that leaves him 20th on the grid.
The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio starts at 4 am NZT, July 5 and is live on Sky Sport.
Mid-Ohio starting grid
| Pos | Name |
|---|---|
| 1 | Josef Newgarden |
| 2 | Colton Herta |
| 3 | Marcus Ericsson |
| 4 | Will Power |
| 5 | Scott Dixon |
| 6 | Alexander Rossi |
| 7 | Alex Palou |
| 8 | Graham Rahal |
| 9 | James Hinchcliffe |
| 10 | Ryan Hunter-Reay |
| 11 | Rinus VeeKay |
| 12 | Sébastien Bourdais |
| 13 | Felix Rosenqvist |
| 14 | Scott McLaughlin |
| 15 | Simon Pagenaud |
| 16 | Ed Jones |
| 17 | Max Chilton |
| 18 | Romain Grosjean |
| 19 | Takuma Sato |
| 20 | Patricio O’Ward |
| 21 | Dalton Kellett |
| 22 | Santino Ferrucci |
| 23 | Jack Harvey |
| 24 | Conor Daly |
| 25 | Jimmie Johnson |
| 26 | Ryan Norman |