CHEVROLET IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES
HONDA INDY 200 AT MID-OHIO
LEXINGTON, OHIO
TEAM CHEVY RACE ADVANCE
JUNE 30-JULY 2, 2023
MID-OHIO NEXT ON TEAM CHEVY INDYCAR CALENDAR
With 109 wins since 2012 in the 2.2-liter twin turbo direct injected era in 190 events, Team Chevy seeks a fourth victory of the 2023 NTT INDYCAR Series season at Mid-Ohio
DETROIT (June 29, 2023) – The ninth round of the 2023 NTT INDYCAR Series season sees Team Chevy shift to the 13-turn natural terrain Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course near Lexington, Ohio for Sunday’s Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio. Seeing success since 2012 in the 2.2-liter twin turbo direct injected V6 era, Chevrolet has notched to six victories and led the field to the green flag from 10 earned NTT P1 Pole Awards.
With 80 laps on the 2.258-mile track determining the victor, the Bowtie brand aims for a repeat win after Scott McLaughlin, driver of the No. 3 Chevrolet for Team Penske, led 45 of 80 laps last year, and captured the win last season. Additionally, Chevy power commanded all but seven laps in the 2022 event.
Several current Chevrolet-powered drivers have seen success at Mid-Ohio. Josef Newgarden has driven his No. 2 Team Penske Chevrolet to victory twice while teammates Will Power and Scott McLaughlin have each taken their Chevrolet mounts to Victory Lane once at the Ohio track.
“Very excited to head back to the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course,” noted McLaughlin looking ahead to the weekend. “Obviously, as the reigning champ of race day last year, it was a big win for us, for Chevy, for everyone on the car – the Thirsty 3’s. For sure, we’d love to go back-to-back. It would really kickstart the second half of the season. We were really strong in 2022, and that’s really where we made a lot of our points. I have no doubt in my mind we have the pace to do it. It’s a matter of putting things together, and we’ve got great fuel mileage from Chevy. Chevy gives us great power. It’s just a matter of us putting the pieces together. It’s hard to do in IndyCar, but there’s no doubt in my mind our team can do it. We’ll see how we go. We’ll have a good frame of mind heading to one of my favorite tracks this weekend.”
Rob Buckner, IndyCar Program Manager at General Motors, notes the technicalities of competing at Mid-Ohio, as also the importance of a successful result with season reaching the half-way point, saying “Heading to Mid-Ohio this weekend means we have reached the midway point of the 2023 season,” said Rob Buckner, Chevrolet Engineering Program Manager for the NTT INDYCAR Series. “While the track has been a little bit of an up-and-down venue for us, I am confident that some of our road-course success this year can pay dividends this weekend. Coming off of a strong showing at Road America and the win earlier at Barber Motorsports Park – two tracks with some similar features and elevation change – should give our teams a pretty good baseline for rolling off at Mid-Ohio.
“The battles for both the Series’ Manufacturers championship and the driver/owner titles are heating up and remain very much up for grabs,” continued Buckner. “The Chevrolet Motorsports engineers are working closely with our teams to ensure we are in the thick of it until we get to Championship weekend at Laguna Seca in September.”
The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio kicks off with Practice 1 Friday, June 30 at 3:05 p.m. ET, with Practice 2 starting Saturday at 9:45 a.m. ET. Qualifications and the Firestone Fast Six also take place Saturday, starting at 2:45 p.m. ET. A final warm-up will start race day Sunday at 10:30 a.m. ET. All practice and qualifying will be live on Peacock, INDYCAR Radio, and SiriusXM Channel 160. The 80-lap, 180.64-mile race Sunday, July 2 will take the green flag at 1:30 p.m. ET live on USA Network.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING (QUOTES):
Pato O’Ward, No. 5 Chevrolet at Arrow McLaren INDYCAR:
“Mid-Ohio is the exact halfway point of the season. As a team, I feel like we have some unfinished business there because of what happened last year with our cars. I can’t wait to get back and keeping building our momentum.”
Felix Rosenqvist, No. 6 Chevrolet at Arrow McLaren INDYCAR:
“I think we’re all looking forward to getting back to Mid-Ohio to take care of some unfinished business from last year. It was arguably our best weekend of the season leading up to the race; then both cars were struck by unfortunate events. We’re ready to get back and I’m looking forward to enjoying one of the most exciting race tracks in the U.S.”
Alexander Rossi, No. 7 Chevrolet at Arrow McLaren INDYCAR:
“First and foremost, I’m incredibly excited about the upcoming Mid-Ohio race. It has always been a unique challenge with its elevation and high-speed corners. The speed of the team here last year was phenomenal, and we are in the part of the season where we have to capitalize on our opportunities. We have a strong sense of confidence but remain fully aware of the challenges that lie ahead. As always, our goal is to deliver the best possible performance, and we’ll fight for every possible point.”
Gavin Ward, Race Director at Arrow McLaren INDYCAR:
“Back-to-back races at such classic American road courses is pretty cool. Last year, Mid-Ohio brought heartbreaks with our two cars suffering reliability issues after qualifying on pole and running up front. You could say that this year we’re looking for redemption. We’ve had the pace to fight at the front everywhere this year, so we’re quietly confident coming back here with a focus on continual improvement and enjoying the process of building a better race team week-in, week-out.”
Ryan Hunter-Reay, No. 20 Chevrolet at Ed Carpenter Racing:
“We certainly have plenty of positives to build on following the Road America race weekend and the Iowa test. Road America was essentially a multi-day test session for us and the team did a great job considering the circumstances. Mid-Ohio is one of my favorite tracks on the calendar. I’m looking forward to getting back behind the wheel of the No. 20 BITNILE.COM Chevy on a track I know well and have plenty of experience on.”
Rinus VeeKay, No. 21 Chevrolet at Ed Carpenter Racing:
“I am very excited for Mid-Ohio! I was P4 there last year which gives me a lot of confidence, we need a result like that again. Since I am coming back with even more experience, hopefully we can do even better. I can’t wait to drive there. I think we can do well. Being fast is always fun so I am looking forward to having a lot of fun this weekend!”
Santino Ferrucci, No. 14 Chevrolet at AJ Foyt Racing:
“I have raced at Mid-Ohio a lot growing up in FF2000 and have done well here in the past–even in IndyCar with my best start being P2. It’s a really well-flowing track and even more fun in the rain. Mid-Ohio is just hard because there isn’t any room for error. There is no runoff similar to Road America and it’s still a fast track. I think if we have a good car, we should be competitive.”
Benjamin Pedersen, No. 55 Chevrolet at AJ Foyt Racing:
“I love how Mid-Ohio is such a technical track and how much the track changes throughout the race weekend, even from the morning to the afternoon. Mid-Ohio is overall one of the most enjoyable tracks to drive, and you can make a big difference as a driver
through your performance. This track is also very familiar to many of us, as we have been racing here for years through the various ladder systems that compete at Mid-Ohio. So, it’s nice to have had so much experience here throughout my career.”
CHEVROLET AT MID-OHIO (since 2012):
Wins at Road America: 6
2014: Scott Dixon
2016: Simon Pagenaud
2017: Josef Newgarden
2020: Will Power (Race 1)
2021: Josef Newgarden
2022: Scott McLaughlin
Pole Awards at Road America: 10
2012: Will Power
2013: Ryan Hunter-Reay
2014: Sebastian Bourdais
2015: Scott Dixon
2016: Simon Pagenaud
2017: Will Power
2019: Will Power
2020: Will Power (Race 1)
2021: Josef Newgarden
2022: Pato O’Ward
Podiums at Road America by Team Chevy: 14
Laps Led at Road America by Team Chevy: 603
2023 CHEVROLET BY THE NUMBERS:
190: NTT INDYCAR SERIES races as V6 engine supplier since 2012 return to INDYCAR.
109: Wins in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES since 2012.
121: Earned poles since 2012.
7: Manufacturer Championships since 2012.
7: Driver/entrant champions since 2012.
12: Indianapolis 500 victories by Chevrolet at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
5: Indianapolis 500 wins by Chevrolet since 2012 in the V6 2.2-liter twin turbo direct injected era.
26: Wins by Will Power since 2012 – all with Chevrolet power – most of any driver with the same manufacturer.
14: Consecutive seasons with at least one win by Will Power, including the past 11 with Chevrolet power.
9: Wins from the pole by Will Power with Chevrolet power since 2012, most by any driver.
4: Earned NTT P1 Pole Awards by Will Power with Chevrolet at Mid-Ohio since 2012, most by any Chevrolet driver.
44: Pole starts by Will Power since 2012 in a Chevrolet-powered car, most of any driver.
*Will Power’s career total of 68 poles makes him the all-time pole winner in INDYCAR.
About Chevrolet
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, available in 79 countries with more than 3.2 million cars and trucks sold in 2020. Chevrolet models include electric and fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.
