“I think our team knew that Justin had to save a bit more fuel than us. We had saved quite a lot on our first run and pitted later,” Dixon explained, “so we were able to jump on fuel and I think that was the change there that got us past Justin on the straight as well.
“Breaking twenty [wins] in IndyCar racing, definitely fantastic. We hadn’t had many great results on the road courses or street courses so this was definitely a comeback.”
Justin Wilson had the second fastest car; he took the lead from pole-sitter Ryan Briscoe on lap six when Briscoe ran wide exiting Turn Nine, and opened a five second gap. For the first third of the race, it looked as if Dale Coyne racing was sure to get its second win.
Wilson lost the lead when he came up on lapped driver Milka Duno. Scott Dixon was directly behind Wilson, watching the traffic, and decided to make a move. Dixon drew level with Wilson forcing Wilson to run to the outside. Milka Duno blocked Wilson briefly, forcing him to ease off the throttle. Then Duno dropped to the inside, blocking Dixon, but Dixon was prepared for it. Dixon moved left as Duno went right, giving Dixon a clear road and more momentum while Wilson was still accelerating back to speed.
Dixon owned the race from that point forward. His car worked perfectly and he drove with precision.
The win puts Scott Dixon back in the lead in championship points,
Wilson also drove an excellent race, and seemed guaranteed a podium finish for Dale Coyne racing.
Unfortunately he ran his car dry while entering the pits to refuel, and stalled leaving, as the ethanol had not yet reached the engine. Wilson lost more than thirty seconds on the stop, dropping him from second to thirteenth.
“I was on that in-lap and going into Turn One and the team said ‘Pit, pit pit’ and when I got to the apex I went back on the power and the car just died,” said Wilson. “I realized then we were cutting it a bit fine on fuel. All the way around that lap it just kept cutting out, I came onto pit lane virtually with the engine stopped. I just crawled to my stop. When I went full throttle to leave the pits it just cut out.
“It’s disappointing. The Z-Line Design Furniture car was capable of being on the podium. We were the second-quickest car today. Scott was just unbeatable; that was pretty impressive. But we were right up there behind him. I felt we could have finished second and got ten another good result for Dale Coyne racing, but sometimes things don’t work out how you want them to.”
Penske driver Ryan Briscoe finished second yet again, his sixth second-place finish this season.
Dixon’s teammate at Target-Ganassi, Dario Franchitti, finished third.
"We’re not where we need to be with the Target car yet. Scotty’s got it where he likes it. We tested here a couple of weeks ago and managed to find a balance that Scott likes, but we haven’t got it there for me yet, for the road courses,” said Franchitti. “Until we do, we’re going to struggle a little bit. Once we get it, like we have on the street courses, the Target car’s going to be quick. Scott did a good job today. It was a long, hot day out there, and a little frustrating.”
Graham Rahal also seemed on track to a great finish, as he fought for fourth with Dario Franchitti for most of the race. However on lap 70 he locked up his rear brakes entering Turn Two and went off into the gravel. He rejoined the race but finished only eighth.
Andretti Green Racing had a mixed day. Hideki Mutoh and Marco Andretti finished fifth and sixth, but Tony Kanaan could manage only tenth, while Danica Patrick finished dead last, after being punched off the course by Mike Conway on lap 45.
AGR still holds fifth, sixth, and seventh in the championship standings, but podium finished have been rare for this once powerful team, this season.
| IRL IndyCar Series Drivers’ Championship Standings | |||
| Driver | Points | Gap | |
| 1 | Scott Dixon | 460 pts | Leader |
| 2 | Ryan Briscoe | 457 pts | -3 |
| 3 | Dario Franchitti | 440 pts | -20 |
| 4 | Helio Castroneves | 359 pts | -101 |
| 5 | Danica Patrick | 321 pts | -139 |
| 6 | Marco Andretti | 307 pts | -153 |
| 7 | Tony Kanaan | 294 pts | -166 |
| 8 | Graham Rahal | 289 pts | -171 |
| 9 | Dan Wheldon | 288 pts | -172 |
| 10 | Justin Wilson | 270 pts | -190 |
| Final Results: Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio | ||||||
| Pos. | Driver | Car | No | Laps | Status | Pts |
| 1 | Target Chip Ganassi Racing | 9 | 85 | Running | 52 | |
| 2 | Team Penske | 6 | 85 | Running | 41 | |
| 3 | Target Chip Ganassi Racing | 10 | 85 | Running | 35 | |
| 4 | ABC Supply Co. AJ Foyt Racing | 14 | 85 | Running | 32 | |
| 5 | Formula Dream | 27 | 85 | Running | 30 | |
| 6 | Meijer | 26 | 85 | Running | 28 | |
| 7 | Azul Tequila/Votorantim/KVRT | 5 | 85 | Running | 26 | |
| 8 | McDonald's Racing Team | 02 | 85 | Running | 24 | |
| 9 | US Marines Luczo Dragon Racing | 2 | 85 | Running | 22 | |
| 10 | Team 7-Eleven | 11 | 85 | Running | 20 | |
| 11 | Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing | 06 | 85 | Running | 19 | |
| 12 | Team Penske | 3 | 85 | Running | 18 | |
| 13 | Z-Line Designs | 18 | 85 | Running | 17 | |
| 14 | HVM Racing | 33 | 85 | Running | 16 | |
| 15 | PDVSA HVM Racing | 13 | 84 | Running | 15 | |
| 16 | National Guard Panther Racing | 4 | 84 | Running | 14 | |
| 17 | Menard’s/ Vision Racing | 20 | 84 | Running | 13 | |
| 18 | CURB/Agajanian/Team 3G | 98 | 83 | Running | 12 | |
| 19 | Boost Mobile/Motorola | 7 | 83 | Running | 12 | |
| 20 | Roll Coater/Dreyer&Reinbold | 24 | 69 | Mechanical | 12 | |
| 21 | CITGO/Dreyer&Reinbold Racing | 23 | 56 | Handling | 12 | |
