You have to go back to mid-April to find the most recent NTT IndyCar Series race which featured a polesitter not named Alex Palou.
The Chip Ganassi Racing driver has taken five consecutive pole positions at five very different venues, and he heads into Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, the host of this weekend's Honda Indy 200, as the two-time reigning polesitter at the track.
But this 90-lap race around the 13-turn, 2.258-mile (3.634-kilometer) natural terrain road course in Lexington, Ohio hasn't been won by the polesitter since Team Penske's Josef Newgarden won it in 2021. Palou has earned five consecutive podium finishes at the track, but only one win in 2023, when he won from fourth on the grid.
Just two other times since 2016 has the race been won from lower than the front row, with Scott Dixon's 2025 victory, which came after a late mistake by Palou allowed his teammate to take the lead, making Dixon the lowest-starting winner (ninth) since Graham Rahal won his home race in 2015.
Because Mid-Ohio is a road course, rather than a street course, IndyCar will not use the new single-car qualifying format for the Firestone Fast Six. This format, which debuted on the streets of Arlington, Texas earlier this season, has only been implemented for street course races.
Follow along with our live qualifying updates from Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
Mid-Ohio IndyCar qualifying: Round 1, Group 1 results
Mid-Ohio IndyCar qualifying: Round 1, Group 2 results
Mid-Ohio IndyCar qualifying: Round 2 results
Mid-Ohio IndyCar qualifying: Firestone Fast Six results
Full Mid-Ohio IndyCar starting lineup
Fox is set to provide live coverage of the Honda Indy 200 from Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course starting at 12:30 p.m. ET this Sunday, July 5. Start a free trial of FuboTV now if you have not yet done so, and be sure to catch all of the action!
