Fans and analysts alike were ecstatic after Sunday’s Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio, the Verizon IndyCar Series race that featured 114 position passes and zero full-course cautions. Highlights included Scott Dixon and Alexander Rossi battling wheel-to-wheel with championship ramifications and Sebastien Bourdais passing 20 cars without being passed throughout the 90-lap race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
Check out some of the many, many responses to the action on social media.
Oh, there was also that ice-cold move by Josef Newgarden that had fans fired up.
To top it off, there was reaction to Rossi’s hilarious and futile attempt at celebratory doughnuts on the narrow road course.
In short, the Verizon IndyCar Series put on a great show. Esteemed British racing analyst Tiff Needell said it just doesn’t get better than our race at Mid-Ohio.
“The way I see it,” Needell tweeted, “is that if motor racing is going to keep attracting fans and TV viewers, it has to be entertaining racing and right now it doesn't get better than @IndyCar! Proper tracks, wheel to wheel battles and on-board shots that just make you want to climb in the cockpit.”
Longtime motorsports journalist Robin Miller wrote Monday on RACER.com that it was Mid-Ohio’s time to shine:
“Whatever was in the water Sunday afternoon at Mid-Ohio, it was contagious. Not only was it one of the best Indy car shows ever staged at this ol’ girl in the middle of Ohio, it was one of the most competitive road races you will ever see.
“Yeah, yeah, I know there was no dramatic finish because Rossi won by 12 seconds, but in terms of pure, unadulterated, wheel-to-wheel warfare on an undulating, worn surface that opened in 1962 for little sports cars, this was as good as it gets.”
Advance Auto Parts INDYCAR Radio Network turn announcer Nick Yeoman said it was the best race he’s seen at Mid-Ohio.
Ryan Eversley, a driver in the Pirelli World Challenge, asked his sports car followers if they were watching.
They were.
Fans across the board echoed those sentiments.
Sunday boiled down to one word: impressive.
The Verizon IndyCar Series action continues at the “Tricky Triangle,” the uniquely shaped Pocono Raceway that hosts the ABC Supply 500 on Aug. 19. See it in person by visiting PoconoRaceway.com for tickets or watch live on NBCSN at 1:30 p.m. ET.