logo
How to watch the 2025 Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio: Who's the biggest threat to Álex Palou?

How to watch the 2025 Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio: Who's the biggest threat to Álex Palou?

New York Times04-07-2025
The NTT IndyCar title fight may not be over, but Sunday's Honda Indy 200 at Mid‑Ohio could make it feel that way.
Álex Palou enters with 386 points and six wins this season, and a proven touch at Mid‑Ohio, where he won in 2023. He's the clear favorite, though this circuit has been historically fickle with frontrunners, with eight different winners in the last eight years — all of whom return this weekend.
Advertisement
Venue: Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course — Lexington, Ohio
Dates: July 4-6
Watching in person? Get tickets on Stubhub.
Race coverage can also be streamed via the Fox Sports app. Fox is available over the air with a broadcast antenna.
Kyle Kirkwood, who sits second in the standings with 293 points, will debut a special Honda-inspired livery as he looks to gain ground. Pato O'Ward, last year's winner at Mid-Ohio, sits third at 275. Josef Newgarden and Scott Dixon (a six-time winner here) also remain serious threats on the 13-turn, 2.26-mile course. Honda engines have powered all nine winners this season, and Mid‑Ohio has been relatively kind to their camp.
With just over half the season complete, this race could tip the balance. If Palou wins again, his lead could swell to near-insurmountable levels — less a battle, more a coronation march.
BetMGM lists Palou as the outright favorite, with O'Ward and Kirkwood trailing, but Sunday could jolt the standings just as easily as confirm them. Everything points to another high-stakes showdown.
Clear your Sunday morning schedule. This one's appointment viewing.
Betting/odds, ticketing and streaming links in this article are provided by partners of The Athletic. Restrictions may apply. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories before publication.
(Photo of Pato O'Ward: Miguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo / Getty Images)
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

SEC's longest-tenured coach, Mark Stoops back to rebuilding at Kentucky
SEC's longest-tenured coach, Mark Stoops back to rebuilding at Kentucky

Yahoo

time17 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

SEC's longest-tenured coach, Mark Stoops back to rebuilding at Kentucky

Mark Stoops faces his biggest challenge at Kentucky going into his 13th season as the longest-tenured coach in the Southeastern Conference. The Wildcats are coming off a 4-8 record that is their worst since going 2-10 in Stoops' debut season in 2013. Stoops also lost associate head coach Vince Marrow, who had been with him since he came to Kentucky, to in-state rival Louisville in June. Stoops believes he's looked at what went wrong to fix everything. 'We didn't want to just move past it,' Stoops said. 'We had to look at everything, turn over every stone and make sure that we were doing things to the best of our ability. I feel like we've done that.' Stoops has nine starters back. He also went into the transfer portal for 26 more along with 11 incoming freshmen. Stoops' future The coach should be secure at Kentucky with the extension he got in November 2022 enough to keep him around. Stoops hasn't had back-to-back losing seasons since his first three at Kentucky, and he would be due about $37.5 million within two months if officials wanted to make a coaching change. Stoops also likes what Kentucky has done investing in football. He said it feels the Wildcats are on the same playing field as other programs with funding and support for the first time in his tenure. Painful loss Marrow is considered one of the top recruiters in college football. When he left Kentucky, he was Stoops' associate head coach since 2019 and also the recruiting coordinator and NFL liaison. Louisville made him executive director of player personnel and recruiting. When Louisville announced the hiring, Marrow said his ultimate goal is winning a national championship. That's a tough path for Kentucky in the 16-team SEC. New QB Brock Vandagriff retired from football after last season, and Cutter Boley is back after appearing in four games with one start last season. That leaves a big starting job open. Stoops brought in Zach Calzada who led the Football Championship Series with 35 touchdown passes and 3,791 yards passing at Incarnate Word last season. The 6-foot-4, 230-pound Calada is 23-9 as a starter, spending 2022 at AUburn and starting his career at Texas A&M. Whoever wins the job will be helped by having three starters back on the offensive line, though Kentucky needs a new starting center and left tackle. The schedule The Wildcats open with Toledo on Aug. 30 followed by two more home games, including No. 21 Mississippi on Sept. 6. The slate gets tough with a trip to No. 13 South Carolina on Sept. 27 and No. 5 Georgia on Oct. 4. Another open date offers a break before hosting top-ranked Texas on Oct. 18 followed by No. 24 Tennessee and Florida is the final SEC home game Nov. 8. Kentucky goes to Auburn on Nov. 1 and Vanderbilt on Nov. 22 before the regular season finale Nov. 29 at Louisville.

Texas QB Manning says NFL plans not taking shape yet despite grandpa's prediction of 2026 in Austin
Texas QB Manning says NFL plans not taking shape yet despite grandpa's prediction of 2026 in Austin

Yahoo

time17 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Texas QB Manning says NFL plans not taking shape yet despite grandpa's prediction of 2026 in Austin

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — There's so much speculation about Texas quarterback Arch Manning's future, in the media and even within his own family, that it can be hard for him to keep up. On Tuesday, Manning insisted he's not plotting out how long he'll stay at Texas or when he'll enter the NFL draft, despite his grandfather's recent prediction to Texas Monthly magazine that he'll be with the Longhorns through the 2026 season. 'I don't know where he got that from,' Arch Manning said in his first meeting with reporters since SEC media days in mid-July. 'He texted me to apologize about that. I'm really just taking it day by day right now.' Arch Manning has been careful while talking about his future as he leads the No. 1 Longhorns as the full-time starter after playing behind Quinn Ewers the past two seasons. Manning enters this season as the early favorite for the Heisman Trophy, has endorsement deals worth millions and comes from the most famous quarterbacking family in football. Grandfather Archie played in the NFL and uncles Peyton and Eli combined for four Super Bowl victories. Add that together and Arch Manning is shouldering the biggest spotlight of any player in the country. Texas opens the season Aug. 30 at No. 3 Ohio State after losing to the Buckeyes in the national playoff semifinals last season. Manning is also very close to his grandfather, despite any confusion about whether he's destined for one or two seasons as the Texas starter before heading to the NFL. Manning noted Tuesday how Archie is always giving him advice on how to avoid taking big hits to prolong his career. 'Those hits add up,' Arch Manning said. 'My grandfather, he's hobbling around these days. He ends every call with 'get down or get out of bounds.'' ___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college football: and

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store