Pato O’Ward wins the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio – IndyCar Photo
LEXINGTON, Ohio (Sunday, July 5, 2026) – Same papaya, different day.
Different driver, too.
That was Arrow McLaren’s swap at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course where
Pato O’Ward – and not polesitter Christian Lundgaard – won The
Honda Indy 200 Presented by the 2027 CR-V Hybrid, the 11th race of the
NTT INDYCAR SERIES season.
Lundgaard and O’Ward had started the 90-lap race together on the front
row, and they effectively held their positions throughout a caution-free
race except when they pitted. But on Lap 42, O’Ward capitalized on the
polesitter’s wide exit off Turn 2, swiping the lead and holding it the
rest of the way.
The win was the first for O’Ward in nearly a year since he won last
season’s Toronto street race. That was 15 races ago, a drought he
couldn’t accept, especially as Lundgaard has won two races this year,
including the most recent race at Road America.
The win also gave Arrow McLaren its first 1-2 finish in this series.
O’Ward hadn’t even scored a top-three finish this season despite
being fifth in the standings. His best runs had been three fourth-place
finishes and three fifth-place finishes.
“It’s been a year, it’s been a tough one for sure,” the Mexican
driver said. “I think today is just a perfect example of execution. I
waited for the perfect time pounce and from there we just controlled
it.”
O’Ward’s pass of Lundgaard was noteworthy for a couple reasons, not
the least of which stemming from what happens at year’s end. They are
in their second season as teammates, but all signs point to Lundgaard
driving elsewhere next year as Scott Dixon and Felix Rosenqvist join
O’Ward on the team.
That situation made O’Ward’s pouncing opportunity all the more
interesting.
Lundgaard drifted a bit wide on the exit of Turn 2, allowing O’Ward to
size him up and get a better run down the long straightaway that serves
as the race’s starting point. By the time they arrived at the tricky,
right-turning fourth corner, the cars were side by side, O’Ward on the
outside. They touched at least twice at corner exit, and O’Ward had
the preferred line into Turn 5 – and he used it.
By the time the Arrow McLaren twosome charged into Thunder Valley,
O’Ward had the lead. Later, he used a key pass of series rookie Dennis
Hauger to create additional separation leading into the final pit stop.
O’Ward stayed out as Lundgaard, along with two other challengers
pitted, and he then ran two laps longer to pad his lead.
O’Ward’s winning margin was .9877 of a second, earning his second
Mid-Ohio victory in the past three years. This win was the 10th of his
career, almost divided equally by circuit (four on ovals, three on
street circuits, three on road courses).
Lundgaard’s second-place finish continued his strong season on road
courses. In addition to winning races at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and
Road America, he also finished second at Barber Motorsports Park. With
Chip Ganassi Racing’s Alex Palou finishing fifth, Lundgaard drew
within 65 points of the series leader.
Andretti Global’s Kyle Kirkwood finished third, getting a few points
closer to Palou. Their separation is now 56 points, and Kirkwood
overtook Team Penske’s David Malukas, who finished eighth, for second
place in the standings. Lundgaard also jumped Malukas with O’Ward
fifth. The top four drivers are separated by 66 points with seven races
remaining, led by the July 19 Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix
presented by OnlyBulls at Nashville Superspeedway.
VeeKay scored his second fourth-place finish in the past three races
following another such finish last month at World Wide Technology
Raceway.