“It was definitely a tough race,” Dixon said. “We had fantastic cars. But just so much fun to try and pull off what we did and do it with what we had was fantastic. They were supposed to (remove downforce) from the front wing on the last stop. I just had to look at the corner, and the car was going to turn. I was just hoping the rear tires were going to hold on, “said Dixon.

Six-time series champion Dixon crossed the finish line just 0.4201 of a second ahead of Palou’s No. 10 Open AI Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, the closest result this season in the series. Christian Lundgaard placed third in the No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. Colton Herta finished fourth in the No. 26 Gainbridge Honda of Andretti Global w/Curb-Agajanian, while 2024 Mid-Ohio winner Pato O’Ward rounded out the top five in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet.

“Just a stupid mistake, honestly,” Palou said. “A mistake on my part. The car was amazing all weekend, all race. I just lost it a little bit on (corner) entry and kind of really couldn’t get power going on. “Nobody to blame but me. Just got a bit wide on entry and lost it completely.”

Honda scored a perfect run – going 10 for 10 in IndyCar competition. This is a record since the return to multi-manufacturer competition in 2012. Honda sits 214 points ahead of rival Chevrolet in the manufacturers’ championship at 915 to 701. In keeping with Chevrolets woes, IndyCar on the Friday before the mid-Ohio race announced a six-position starting grid penalty for the entry of No. 21 Dallara Chevrolet driven by Christian Rasmussen of Ed Carpenter Racing for an unapproved engine change following a team test at Iowa Speedway Wednesday, June 25.