2016 Honda Indy 200 Analysis: 3 Things We Learned

Simon Pagenaud’s victory in the 2016 Honda Indy 200 proved that he’s not points racing, and two other takeaways from Sunday’s IndyCar action at Mid-Ohio.

The Verizon IndyCar Series championship got clearer in the Honda Indy 200, with all but two of the title hopefuls having problems at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

1. Simon Pagenaud isn’t points racing

At one point during the Honda Indy 200 as Pagenaud was keeping pace and saving fuel, NBCSN analyst Paul Tracy wondered aloud if the current leader was “points racing” – driving to keep his championship lead rather than for the victory.

Pagenaud then promptly disproved that by pushing Power so hard for what both drivers knew was the race lead that the No. 22 and No. 12 cars actually made contact.

It was a gamble that paid off, but it could just as easily have ended up like what happened to Takuma Sato and Sebastien Bourdais on lap 87 – with both of them in the sand.

Firstly, there’s nothing necessarily wrong with not always pressing for the kill, especially if you’re able to save fuel without sacrificing position. Pagenaud kept himself in good shape to make a move at the appropriate time.

But when he made it he also made clear that he’s not resting on his laurels. Like Juan Pablo Montoya before him, Pagenaud has been the obvious favorite for the IndyCar title since the season opener. But Pagenaud only has to turn and ask Montoya how quickly that can change.

Especially with the ultra-aggressive Power chasing him, he’s not leaving anything on the table and that should be fantastic for IndyCar fans.

2. Scott Dixon must have walked under a ladder or something

That’s the only explanation for how the defending IndyCar champion’s season continues to get worse and worse.

The Honda Indy 200 was supposed to be Dixon’s race. He was supposed to win, and win handily, and keep himself in the title conversation. But almost nothing seems to be working out when it counts for the No. 9 Chip Ganassi Racing team and most of it doesn’t have anything to do with Dixon’s actual driving.

First there was the qualifying “miscommunication” that had Dixon in the pits during Round 2 while everyone else drove past him, forcing him to start the Honda Indy 200 from 11th place.

Then there was Helio Castroneves crashing into him, shattering his suspension, knocking him out of the race and handing him a 22nd place finish. Maybe Castroneves should’ve given Dixon more room. Maybe Dixon was making a low-percentage pass borne out of desperation. Maybe both, but the end result was another bad day for Dixon, like a slap in the face after the gut punch that was the Honda Indy Toronto.

All of this is jarring, especially when you remember that it was just last year that Dixon was setting the track record at Mid-Ohio:

3. Schmidt Peterson Motorsports needs Mikhail Aleshin

If anyone needed a hug after the Honda Indy 200 it was Mikhail Aleshin. The young Russian had the victory in hand by ten whopping seconds headed into the last pit stop cycle, until his crew let the No. 7 Schmidt Peterson Motorsports car go at the wrong time.

Aleshin not only clipped one of Montoya’s crew members (thankfully he was okay) but collided with the No. 21 Ed Carpenter Racing car of Josef Newgarden and what should have been an insurmountable lead went up in smoke.

Aleshin’s contract with SMP expires after the 2016 season and team owner Sam Schmidt is already making clear that they want him back. But they don’t just want him back, they need him back.

He has shown, both in IndyCar and at this year’s Rolex 24, that he has serious speed. His performance at the Honda Indy 200 was a statement drive showing that he can hang with the best the league has to offer.

SMP needs a driver who can help kick-start the team to the next level, and the combination of Aleshin and Hinchcliffe could make some real sparks fly. Let’s hope that a deal gets done – and that Schmidt had a stern talking-to with the crew member who let the No. 7 out of the box prematurely.

What were your biggest takeaways from the 2016 Honda Indy 200?