Power
Will Power during Saturday's practice session at Mid-Ohio. (Al Steinberg Photo)
NTT IndyCar Series

Power Tops Mid-Ohio Charts In Practice Two

July 1, 2023

STEAM CORNERS, Ohio – Four of the top teams in the NTT IndyCar Series claimed the top four positions in Saturday’s morning practice session for the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio.

Former Mid-Ohio winner Will Power was the fastest with a lap at 1:06.4905 around the 13-turn, 2.258-mile Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in the No. 12 Verizon Chevrolet for Team Penske.

Click here for the full results.

“The car is good, the car was pretty good yesterday,” said Power, who won at Mid-Ohio in 2020. “I believe the Blacks are faster than the Reds for us. We’ll see. A bit of weather might come into play for the qualifying session.”

There is a chance of rain later Saturday in the central Ohio area.

“We’ll see how the rain tires are,” Power said. “The rain tires are always hit or miss. Some have sat around for a long time and others haven’t.”

Alex Palou of Chip Ganassi Racing was second in the No. 10 Ridgeline Honda at 1:06.7411 followed by Andretti Autosport driver Colton Herta’s 1:06.7791 in the No. 26 Gainbridge Honda.

Palou has a 74-point lead in the NTT IndyCar Series championship standings entering Sunday’s Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio.

Pato O’Ward of Arrow McLaren was fourth at 1:06.794 in the No. 5 Chevrolet with six-time Mid-Ohio race winner Scott Dixon rounding out the top five at 1:06.8289 in the No. 9 PNC Bank Honda.

Former Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio winner Simon Pagenaud had a massive crash in turn four at the 13-turn, 2.258-mile Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Saturday morning’s practice session.

Just 8:14 into the session, Pagenaud’s No. 60 Honda was at full speed when the brakes may have failed on his Meyer Shank Racing machine. It went full bore into the grass and barrel-rolled 6-1/2 times before it came to rest upside down near the tire barrier.

Following this morning’s incident at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, the driver of the No. 60 was evaluated and released by the IndyCar medical team. As per IndyCar protocol, Pagenaud has not been cleared to return to racing today. He will be re-evaluated tomorrow morning.