INDYCAR News in 5 Minutes - Mid Ohio Review & Silly Season - Ep. 39

INDYCAR News in 5 Minutes - Mid Ohio Review & Silly Season - Ep. 39 The Indycar Dad Podcast · Jul 9, 2026

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5:48

Brand

McLaren

McLaren is the racing team the host is talking about. They had a strong result at Mid-Ohio and are also making big driver changes for next season.

Person

Pato

“Pato” is the driver who wins the Mid-Ohio race in this episode. The host says he had a big comeback and passed for the lead.

Topic

mid-Ohio

They’re talking about the IndyCar race weekend at Mid-Ohio. The host summarizes who won and how the race played out.

Person

Renus VK

Renus VK is a driver the host says had a strong weekend at Mid-Ohio. The host also mentions that a slow pit stop hurt his final result.

Person

Kyle Kirkwood

Kyle Kirkwood is one of the drivers who did well at Mid-Ohio. The host mentions his position as part of the race results.

Person

Scott Dixon

Scott Dixon is a top IndyCar driver. The host says he’s moving to McLaren, and that’s a big deal because he’s been successful for a long time.

Person

Felix Rosenquist

Felix Rosenquist is another IndyCar driver making a big team change. The host thinks his simulator experience could help him and McLaren next season.

Concept

“Silly season” is the motorsport nickname for the period when driver contracts and team lineups are in flux. In IndyCar coverage, it’s when big announcements (like confirmed signings) can reshape who’s favored for the next season.

Company

Chip Ganassi Racing

Chip Ganassi Racing is another IndyCar team. The host says Dixon was with them for a long time and that CGR was involved in a legal dispute mentioned in the episode.

Person

Nolan Siegel

Nolan Siegel is mentioned because the host says Rosenquist would take his spot. That’s basically a seat change for next season.

Topic

Indy 500

The Indy 500 is the biggest IndyCar race. The host says teams often care more about winning it than winning the whole season championship.

Concept

2020 28 car

The host is talking about teams starting to develop the next rules-era car for the future season. Drivers can help teams by giving useful feedback during development.

Concept

sim

A “sim” is a racing simulator—basically practice using a computer setup. The host thinks it can help drivers improve and help teams develop the car.

Person

Zach Brown

Zach Brown is mentioned as a key figure at McLaren. The host connects him to how the team is handling money and decisions after a past dispute.

Person

Marcus Armstrong

Marcus Armstrong is a driver the host says is moving to Meyer Shank. The host thinks he’ll be a key driver for them next season.

Company

Meyer Shank

Meyer Shank is another IndyCar racing team. The host says they’re signing Marcus Armstrong for next season.

Person

Christian Lundgaard

Christian Lundgaard is a driver the host says McLaren told he won’t be part of next year’s plans. That likely means he’ll look for another team.

Car

Nissan Serena

The Nissan Serena is a minivan, which is a type of car made to carry a lot of people. It’s usually chosen for family trips or situations where you need more seats and room. It’s not a race car—more of an everyday transportation vehicle.

Term

pit stop

A pit stop is when the car pulls into the pit lane during the race for service, usually tire changes. If it takes too long, you lose time and positions.

Topic

Nashville

The host says the next race is in Nashville. It’s basically the next IndyCar event on the calendar.

LIVE

Indycar Dad: Hi IndyCar family, I'm IndyCar Dad, your host for the IndyCar News in five minutes. I read and watch everything IndyCar from the past week and then try to summarize it for you in five minutes.

⁓ quick updates. The big news ⁓ is that McLaren went 1-2 at mid-Ohio. I was at the race, fun environment. If you've never been to Mid-Ohio, it's kind of down homey and ⁓ inexpensive, I would say.

Anyway, Pato finished first, his first win of the year, in fact his first podium of the year. Lingard second. ⁓ they outpaced and outraced Alex Pillow all weekend and also Kyle Kirkwood and Renus VK beat Alex Pelow in the race.

So the race was a little boring in my opinion. There were no cautions, no big drama. It did have one pass for the lead. Pato actually passed Lundard on track for the lead. So they battled it out pretty fiercely the whole race.

So ⁓ yeah, so that's the big news from the racetrack. The big news in silly season is it is confirmed. That Scott Dixon is going to McLaren next year. And so is Felix Rosenquist. This is a huge move for Dixon.

He's been over 20 years with Chipkanassie Racing. He won six championships with them. And ⁓ so the move is really interesting. There's some other things going on. Dixon's a New Zealander. Bruce McLaren, the founder of McLaren, was a New Zealander.

Dixon's wife lives in England. McLaren's in England. So maybe there's some other reasons they're going over there. But ⁓ it looks like Dixon is reporting. Lungard, although they haven't announced him for the number seven car.

And Felix Rosenquist looks like he's replacing Nolan Siegel. Now the move is likely a push to win the Indy 500, which everyone says the Indy 500 is more important than winning the whole championship. So I think and McMiran's never won the Indy 500.

So I think here's a push. ⁓ I also think there's a push to have strong development drivers in place next season because that's when they'll start developing the 2020. 28 car. So having drivers like Dixon and Rosenquist that have driven multiple different race cars and ⁓ across different series and across multiple different indie cars, you'll have an advantage over teams that don't have those type of guys.

So also I think Rosenquist gets in there too because he's a big sim guy. I know Panto isn't much of a SIM guy. I'm not sure where Dixon falls in that. So I think McLaren is making some ⁓ calculated moves here.

Whether it's the right decision, I don't or not, I don't know. ⁓ also if you remember McLaren won like twenty one million dollars from Chip Ganassi in their lawsuit aga about the Alex Pillow contracts.

Well it looks like Zach Brown took it to heart and is spending that money to make Chip angry. So ⁓ in other contract news, Marcus Armstrong has been announced to be with Meyer Shank next year. He'll be in the sixty car, so I think you can kind of consider Marcus Armstrong Meyer Shank's lead driver for next season.

⁓ Christian Lundgaard has been ⁓ sorta ⁓ told by McLaren he's not going to be needed next year. So this allows him to seek a new ride as well. So that ⁓ them telling everybody, McLaren telling everybody that Lungard won't be back does help Lungard a little bit.

So we'll see though who Chip replaces Scott Dixon with. If he goes with Lungard maybe that would work. But if he he has other choices as well. Chip's always been really good ⁓ talent scout bringing people in from other series also really Serena's VK is out there looking strong.

So you never know. ⁓ that is definitely the silly season seat to watch going forward. In little news, I found my old Fux Rosenquist number six hat and Fux Rosaquist number six t-shirt. So I just saved like $70 for next season, and I'm gonna look all old school.

So that's pretty good. ⁓ results for mid-Ohio. Pato's first, Lim Garge second, Kirkwood third, VK fourth. He would have finished third, but his pit stop was slow. ⁓ you know, j I don't know. I j I feel bad for Renus VK.

Alex Pelow in fifth. Will power, strong showing, Christian Randall. Asmussen, a strong weekend. David Malucas, Joseph Newgarden was ninth with the fastest slap of the race. And Nolan Siegel, top ten. The top rookie is Kyle Colette in 11th place.

He continues to show well. He's still not leading the rookie points, but another strong finish for a strong race for Kyle, this time with a strong finish. I like to do winners and losers as part of IndyCar in five minutes.

Pato's definitely a winner. ⁓ you know, just for 24 hours before mid-Ohio, everybody was saying he was washed up. Then he wins the race and he passes on guard Fair and Square. Renus VK, definitely a winner, proving ⁓ further that this is a very talented driver who has driven for a series of underperforming teams.

⁓ losers. There were quite a few guys at the back of the pack in mid Ohio that are considered top guys. Marcus Erickson had car trouble. He was way at the back. Alexander Rossi was slow all weekend.

Santino Ferrucci was slow all weekend. And he's on the hot seat. Nobody really seems to know if he's going to be back or not next year. ⁓ Louis Foster and Scott Dixon didn't show well either. Mid Ohio was a tough place on some of the teams.

What's next? Nashville's coming up on the 19th. So that's pretty good. ⁓ less than two weeks to go till Nashville. And then there's more ⁓ So there you go, everybody. I'm IndyCar Dad and this is the Indy Car Dad podcast, IndyCar News in five minutes.

0:00

5:48

McLaren

Pato

mid-Ohio

Renus VK

Kyle Kirkwood

Scott Dixon

Felix Rosenquist

silly season

Chip Ganassi Racing

Nolan Siegel

Indy 500

2020 28 car

sim

Zach Brown

Marcus Armstrong

Meyer Shank

Christian Lundgaard

Nissan Serena

pit stop

Nashville

About this episode

Original notes