Alex Palou of Spain continued his recent dominance with a commanding victory at the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio on Sunday in Lexington, Ohio.
The win was Palou’s third straight and fourth this season, having come off back-to-back wins at the Sonsio Grand Prix two weeks ago and the Detroit Grand Prix two weeks prior to that.
After starting from fourth place and using an initially conservative strategy — utilizing Firestone’s slower but more durable black-walled primary tires — Palou eventually steered his No. 10 American Legion Honda to the lead by lap 30 and never looked back from there.
“We had a really fast car,” Palou, 26, told NBC after the race. “We knew we needed to try something different to the guys that started up front. That’s why we started on primaries. Everything went well — strategy, pit stops — and our pace was really good. So yeah, super happy.”
Palou, of Chip Ganassi Racing, led 48 of the 80 laps on his way to his eighth career IndyCar race victory. He is the first driver since 2007 (Sebastien Bourdais) to win four of five races in a season.
“…It’s all about putting everything together,” Palou continued. “We’ve been able to do this quite often this year, hopefully we can keep it going. But honestly, we’ve not been the fastest on all practices or qualifying, it’s just on the race … that’s where it matters.”
Fellow Chip Ganassi Racing driver Scott Dixon — who has won Mid-Ohio six times — finished second, with Team Penske’s Will Power taking third.
Sunday’s win widens Palou’s lead in the IndyCar Series Standings to 110 points over Dixon, who’s now in second place.
–Field Level Media