Newgarden wins at Mid-Ohio

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Josef Newgarden led most of the way in claiming the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on Sunday.

Newgarden held the lead for 73 of the race’s 80 laps and was able to hold off a late charge by Marcus Ericsson, who led a pair of laps, to pick up the win in the race. Alex Palou rounded out the top three. The only other driver to hold a lead in the race was Colton Herta, who finished 13th. He led the race at two separate occasions for a total of five laps. However, when Newgarden moved in front of him on the 58th lap, he would not relinquish that advantage over the remainder of the race.

For Newgarden, this was his second win at Mid-Ohio, as he also took the checkered flag in 2017.

Most of the race was ran smoothly; however, there were a pair of early cautions — with the second of those putting an end to the days of Will Power and Ed Jones on the third lap.

After the race, Palou still holds a lead in the season standings with 384 points. He gained on second place Pato O’Ward, who finished eighth and now has 345 points, and third place Scott Dixon, who was fourth and currently has 328 points. Newgarden (315) and Ericssen (280) are fourth and fifth in the standings.

A number of support races were held, both in the Road to Indy series and in the Stadium Super Trucks.

The trucks ran on both Saturday and Sunday, with Matt Brabham finishing at the top of the nine-driver field both times. On Friday, Jerett Brooks placed second and Aaron Bambach took third. Robby Gordon was the second-place finisher on Sunday, with Bambach placing third once again.

In the Indy Lights series, Kyle Kirkwood was a double winner, as he placed first on both Saturday and Sunday. Danial Frost picked up second place in both races out of 13 drivers, while David Malukas ran third on both days. Both races were 35 laps in length.

With those wins, Kirkwood currently holds a 290-279 lead over Malukas in the season standings.

The two races in the Indy Pro 2000 series had different winners. On Saturday, Christian Rasmussen took first place in the 25-lap race, while Artem Petrov finished second and Jacob Abel ran third. In Sunday’s event, the winner was Hunter McElrea. Petrov placed second again, while third place went to Kyffin Simpson.

Rasmussen currently has 306 points to lead the Indy Pro series, while Braden Eves is second with 267.

The USF2000 series was the only one to hold a race on Friday, as they took the track for competition on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

In the Friday race, Michael d’Orlando finished in first place. Kiko Porto was second and Simon Sikes took third. Porto was first, while d’Orlando was second in Saturday’s competition. Sikes would take third place for the second straight day. On Sunday, d’Orlando ran first again, Sikes was second and Yuven Sundaramoorthy placed third.

Porto currently has a 19-point lead over d’Orlando, holding a 297-278 advantage in the championship standings.

For the second time in his career, Josef Newgarden won Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course’s Honda Indy 200, leading 75 of 80 laps on his way to earning the checkered flag. Newgarden also won in Morrow County in 2017.
https://www.galioninquirer.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/38/2021/07/web1_josefnewgarden2.jpgFor the second time in his career, Josef Newgarden won Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course’s Honda Indy 200, leading 75 of 80 laps on his way to earning the checkered flag. Newgarden also won in Morrow County in 2017. Rob Hamilton | Morrow County Sentinel

Marcus Ericsson finished second in the Honda Indy 200 Sunday.
https://www.galioninquirer.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/38/2021/07/web1_marcusericsson.jpgMarcus Ericsson finished second in the Honda Indy 200 Sunday. Rob Hamilton | Morrow County Sentinel

The Stadium Super Trucks returned to Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course for the second time this year.
https://www.galioninquirer.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/38/2021/07/web1_supertrucks.jpgThe Stadium Super Trucks returned to Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course for the second time this year. Rob Hamilton | Morrow County Sentinel

In the Indy Lights series, Kyle Kirkwood was a two-time winner, as he claimed the checkered flag on both Saturday and Sunday.
https://www.galioninquirer.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/38/2021/07/web1_kylekirkwood.jpgIn the Indy Lights series, Kyle Kirkwood was a two-time winner, as he claimed the checkered flag on both Saturday and Sunday. Rob Hamilton | Morrow County Sentinel

Graham Rahal runs in the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on Sunday.
https://www.galioninquirer.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/38/2021/07/web1_grahamrahal.jpgGraham Rahal runs in the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on Sunday. Rob Hamilton | Morrow County Sentinel

By Rob Hamilton

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Rob Hamilton can be reached at 419-946-3010, ext. 1807. Connect with him on Twitter at @SportsMCS

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