IndyCar have today confirmed the postponed Mid-Ohio round will go ahead next weekend, meaning there are now five races left to play out in the championship.
The race was initially made a doubleheader to compensate the cancellation of the Portland round but was postponed from its August 8-9 slot due to pandemic restrictions in Ohio that precluded fans in attendance.
“The NTT INDYCAR SERIES will run at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course next weekend, with doubleheader races scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 12 and Sunday, Sept. 13,” a statement read. “We look forward to an exciting weekend of racing action at an excellent venue.”
What it means for runaway title leader Scott Dixon is he will have to wait that little bit longer to capture a seeming inevitable sixth career championship.
Dixon holds a mammoth 96 point lead over Josef Newgarden, two entire race wins in front considering every driver who completes a race is guaranteed points.
To make that feat ever more unsurmountable for Newgarden, the Kiwi is a six-time winner at Mid-Ohio and is the most recent winner here after his triumph last season.
Even it Newgarden were to win every race left in the championship, top-five finishes by Dixon will still be suffice to clinch the championship.
The remaining two title contenders are sophomore Pato O’Ward and two-time Indy 500 victor Takuma Sato, but both will need miracles if they are to clamber from the brink of defeat and usurp Dixon.
There also a long standing record on the line for Dixon as no driver has won a championship after leading the championship standings for every race since since Sam Hornish Jr. in 2001 and no driver has locked up the championship before the season finale since Dan Wheldon did it back in 2005.
The Mid-Ohio doubleheader will be staged on September 12-13 and will be live on Sky Sport.