Honda PR

Honda Racing INDYCAR message points for the Honda Indy 200, Presented by the HPD Ridgeline

Posted on by Patrick Stephan

Honda Indy 200, Presented by the HPD Ridgeline

Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington, OH

12 p.m. EDT Sunday, July 4

NBC and NBC Peacock

IndyCar Radio Network and SiriusXM

Honda at Mid-Ohio

  • Honda-powered drivers and teams have won 16 of 23 races run at Mid-Ohio since the company entered Indy car racing in 1994, including 11 of 18 races run with engine manufacturer competition.
  • Led by race winner Colton Herta, Honda drivers swept the top five finishing positions in the second event of a doubleheader Mid-Ohio race weekend in 2020.  Alexander Rossi and Ryan Hunter-Reay made it a 1-2-3 result for the Honda-powered Andretti Autosport team; with local favorite Graham Rahal and Marcus Ericsson rounding out the top five.
  • With five Honda-powered victories at Mid-Ohio, defending series champion Scott Dixon is the most successful IndyCar Series driver at this track.  Dixon won with Honda in 2007, 2009, 2011, 2012 and again in 2019. His Chip Ganassi Racing teammates, Dario Franchitti and Charlie Kimball, won in 2010 and 2013, respectively, giving the team eight total, and five consecutive Honda victories at Mid-Ohio.
  • Rahal led another Honda 1-2 finish at the 2015 Honda Indy 200, with the late Justin Wilson finishing second after a fierce battle in the closing laps.
  • In the Championship Auto Racing Teams era, Honda drivers won five of the nine races from 1994-2002, more than any other manufacturer.  Alex Zanardi led a 1-2 finish for Target Chip Ganassi Racing in 1996 with Jimmy Vasser second.  Zanardi won again in 1997.  Juan Pablo Montoya led a 1-2-3-4 result for Honda in 1999, being followed to the checkers by Paul Tracy, Franchitti and Vasser.  Helio Castroneves and Gil de Ferran finished 1-2 for Honda and Team Penske in both 2000 and 2001.  
  • American Honda has a long history of involvement in central Ohio and at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.  Honda was the first Japanese company to establish auto manufacturing operations in the United States, opening Honda of America Manufacturing in Marysville, Ohio, in 1982. The company has had an Official Vehicle relationship with Mid-Ohio since 1994.
  • Today, Honda operates multiple manufacturing facilities and a major Research & Development center in Ohio.  Combined, they employ more than 13,000 associates and have the capacity to produce more than 650,000 vehicles and 1.18 million engines annually. 
  • Honda has served as title sponsor of the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio since it returned to the IndyCar Series schedule in 2007.

Manufacturer Competition

  • Honda drivers have scored six victories in the first nine races this season, and leads the Manufacturers’ Championship 738 points to 710 for rival Chevrolet. Honda is seeking its fourth consecutive NTT INDYCAR SERIES Manufacturers’ Championship in 2021.
  • In addition to Helio Castroneves historic win at the Indianapolis 500, Honda race winners this year include Alex Palou last weekend at Road America and at the season-opening Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama; Marcus Ericsson in the first race of the Detroit Grand Prix doubleheader; defending and six-time champion Scott Dixon (Texas Race 1); and Colton Herta (Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg).
  • Palou comes to Mid-Ohio leading the Drivers’ Championship with 349 points to 321 for Pato O’Ward.  Palou’s Chip Ganassi Racing teammate, Scott Dixon, is third with 296 points.
  • Seven wins in 2020 brought Honda the company’s ninth INDYCAR Manufacturers’ Championship, and third consecutive title, with Honda driver Dixon prevailing to win his sixth Drivers’ Championship, highest among all active drivers in the series.
  • Honda’s Indy car win total of 258 in 25 years of North American open-wheel racing – including 14 Indianapolis 500 victories since 2003 – is unmatched by any other manufacturer in the same period.

Where to Watch

  • Television coverage from Mid Ohio on NBC Peacock begins with the opening practice Friday at 2:30 p.m. EDT, and continues through each practice and qualifying of the race weekend.
  • Live NBC Network race coverage of the Honda Indy 200 Presented by the HPD Ridgeline begins at 12 p.m. EDT Sunday, July 4.  Additional coverage can be found on the INDYCAR Radio Network and on Sirius/XM satellite radio.