Felix Rosenqvist backed up his Road America podium with another strong finish in Sunday’s Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio, successfully deploying a two-stop strategy to deliver Meyer Shank Racing’s best-ever result at the team’s home event.
Sporting a striking black and purple Ozzy Osbourne/Black Sabbath livery, Rosenqvist battled back from 15th on the grid after running into traffic that derailed his qualifying attempt on Saturday, showcasing strong race craft throughout round ten of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES.
Rosenqvist joined race winner Scott Dixon as the only two drivers in the top eight to make just two fuel stops in completing 90 laps around the 2.258-mile Mid-Ohio layout, earning a sixth-place finish after fending off three-stopping team-mate Marcus Armstrong over the final tours.
With P6 and P7, the race marked another important success for Meyer Shank Racing as the team – based less than 60 miles from the Lexington track – sealed its best-ever result at its home event. It follows the squad’s outright best-ever two-car result scored in the previous race at Road America, where both cars finished in the top five.
“It’s another strong race for us and it’s great to execute something like that at the team’s home event,” says Felix Rosenqvist. ”The car was really good on the blacks (hard tyres) today. We weren’t really great on the reds (soft), but we got through that stint, lost a little bit, but kept in contention.
”We managed to execute a two-stopper on a day where it was pretty hard to do. It’s a big fuel save. Luckily, the guys on the pit wall put us in a great gap and we managed to have a lot of clean air, and I think that was key. It’s a good comeback. We had a really poor qualifying yesterday and I think the top ten was the goal today, so we definitely made that work.”
Rosenqvist now sits sixth in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES standings heading into the sole double-header event of the campaign next weekend at Iowa Speedway (July 12-13).
RESULTS
NTT INDYCAR SERIES | Rd. 10
Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio
Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (USA)
1: Scott Dixon (NZL), Ganassi, 90 laps
2: Alex Palou (ESP), Ganassi, +0.420s
3: Christian Lundgaard (DEN), Arrow McLaren, +2.122s
4: Colton Herta (USA), Andretti, +7.262s
5: Pato O’Ward (MEX), Arrow McLaren, +10.328s
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6: Felix Rosenqvist (SWE), Meyer Shank Racing, +27.668s
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
NTT INDYCAR SERIES | After 10/17 races
1: Alex Palou (ESP), Ganassi, 430 p.
2: Kyle Kirkwood (USA), Andretti, 317 p.
3: Pato O’Ward (MEX), Arrow McLaren, 305 p.
4: Scott Dixon (NLZ), Ganassi, 282 p.
5: Christian Lundgaard (DEN), Arrow McLaren, 263 p.
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6: Felix Rosenqvist (SWE), Meyer Shank Racing, 259 p.