Beyond the Flag
Fansided

IndyCar: DragonSpeed, Ben Hanley won’t compete at Mid-Ohio

By Asher Fair

LE MANS, FRANCE - JUNE 14: The DragonSpeed Oreca of Ben Hanley, Henrik Hedman and Felix Rosenqvist drives during practice for the Le Mans 24 Hour Race at Circuit de la Sarthe on June 14, 2017 in Le Mans, France. (Photo by Dan Istitene/Getty Images)
LE MANS, FRANCE - JUNE 14: The DragonSpeed Oreca of Ben Hanley, Henrik Hedman and Felix Rosenqvist drives during practice for the Le Mans 24 Hour Race at Circuit de la Sarthe on June 14, 2017 in Le Mans, France. (Photo by Dan Istitene/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

DragonSpeed and Ben Hanley are not on the entry list for this Sunday’s IndyCar race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, the Honda Indy 200.

DragonSpeed entered IndyCar for the first time this season, and they entered with the intention of fielding the #81 Chevrolet for Ben Hanley, who drives for the team in the European Le Mans Series, the 24 Hours of Daytona in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and the FIA World Endurance Championship.

They entered the 17-race season with the intention of fielding the #81 Chevrolet for Hanley in five races. Their initial plans were to compete in the race on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida, the race at Barber Motorsports Park, the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the race at Road America and the race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

They made their debut in the season opener on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida, and they made their second appearance in the third race of the season at Barber Motorsports Park. Then, as big underdogs, they qualified for the Indy 500, the sixth race of the season.

But despite their plans to compete in the season’s 10th race at Road America, they did not do so, and they are not on the entry list for this Sunday’s 90-lap race around the 13-turn, 2.258-mile (3.634-kilometer) Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course natural terrain road course in Lexington, Ohio despite the fact that it was the team’s final scheduled start of the season.

According to DragonSpeed, visa issues for several team members caused them to withdraw from this race.

More from IndyCar

As a result, their maiden IndyCar season could be over unless they can come up with a deal to field the #81 Chevrolet for Hanley in one of the season’s final four races. Only two of these four races, the races at Portland International Raceway and WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, are road course races.

Hanley finished in 18th place in his series debut before finishing in 21st in his second start. He was forced to retire from the Indy 500 with mechanical issues on lap 55 of the 200-lap race around the four-turn, 2.5-mile (4.023-kilometer) Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval in Speedway, Indiana, relegating him to a 32nd place finish.

Next. Top 10 IndyCar drivers of all-time. dark

Sunday’s Honda Indy 200 is the 13th race of the 2019 IndyCar season, and it is scheduled to begin at 4:05 p.m. ET. It is set to be broadcast live on NBC from Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course beginning at 4:00 p.m. ET.