LEXINGTON, Ohio (Friday, July 4, 2025) – Don’t tell Kyle Kirkwood that Alex Palou will waltz to his fourth NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship this season.
Kirkwood, the only driver besides Palou to win a race in 2025, led an eventful opening practice Friday for The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Presented by the All-New 2026 Passport with a top lap of 1 minute, 5.8272 seconds in the No. 27 Andretti Global Honda featuring a special Honda tribute livery this weekend.
“We’re really fast right now,” Kirkwood said. “As long as we continue that, we’ll be in a really good spot. We’ve come here this year with maybe a different philosophy, and it seems to be working out.”
Reigning Mid-Ohio winner Pato O’Ward was second at 1:06.0160 in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. All teams are benefiting from this event being the first anniversary of the INDYCAR hybrid system as, for the first time on a road and street circuit, teams can return to their car setup notes from 2024.
Palou still lurks near the top as he seeks his seventh victory this season, ending up third at 1:06.0409 in the No. 10 Open AI Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. Kirkwood has won three races in 2025 and is second in the championship, 93 points behind Palou.
Two-time Mid-Ohio winner Josef Newgarden made a good start by ending up fourth at 1:06.1791 in the No. 2 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet. Two-time Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge winner Newgarden is a disappointing 17th in the season standings and is looking to jump-start the second half of his season this weekend.
Another driver looking to salvage his season, Marcus Ericsson, rounded out the top five at 1:06.2324 in the No. 28 FOX INDYCAR Honda of Andretti Global. 2022 Indianapolis 500 winner Ericsson is 21st in points.
The tricky, roller-coaster nature of Mid-Ohio caught out a handful of drivers in the 80-minute session, which was split into two groups.
David Malukas backed into the tire wall hard in Turn 9 in his No. 4 Clarience Technologies Chevrolet of A.J. Foyt Enterprises, while Colton Herta backed his No. 26 Gainbridge Honda into the tire barrier in Turn 6. The Andretti Global w/ Curb-Agajanian team was able to fix Herta’s machine so he could return to the track. Neither driver was hurt.
2022 Mid-Ohio winner Scott McLaughlin spun into the gravel in his No. 3 Odyssey Battery Team Penske Chevrolet and continued. Felix Rosenqvist was forced to stop on track due to a mechanical problem in his No. 60 SiriusXM Honda of Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb-Agajanian, adorned with a special livery saluting hard rock icon Ozzy Osbourne and his band Black Sabbath.
Up next is pre-qualifying practice at 10:30 a.m. ET Saturday, followed by NTT P1 Award qualifying at 2:30 p.m. (both sessions FS1, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network). The 90-lap race starts at 1 p.m. ET Sunday on FOX, the FOX Sports app and the INDYCAR Radio Network.
