2026 INDYCAR Thrustmaster iRacing Pro Series | Race Preview | Race 7 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course

The seventh round of the INDYCAR Thrustmaster iRacing Pro Series will take the 33 top-ranked virtual INDYCAR iRacers back to the road on Thursday night. After the Oval section of the schedule concluded last week, the remaining two races on the calendar will feature road racing, starting with Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course tonight.

Mid-Ohio takes the seventh spot on the schedule after winning the Fan Vote earlier in the season against Barber Motorsports Park. Michele Costantini leads the standings, but can he hang on to become the next champion of the series?

Coverage at Mid-Ohio begins at 8:00 p.m. ET, and will be live on IndyCar’s YouTube channel, as well as across all of iRacing’s social media channels.

TRACK FACTS: MID-OHIO SPORTS CAR COURSE

The Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course ranks among America’s premier road racing facilities. The track has hosted every major American road racing series worthy of the name, including the INDYCAR contingent since as early as 1980.

Constructed near Mansfield, Ohio in 1962, Mid-Ohio originally featured a 2.4-mile, 15 turn layout consisting of a blend of fast, medium and slow speed corners, one long straightaway and several dramatic elevation changes. Although the track was updated over the years, the venue was thoroughly modernized in 1982. In addition to a new garage, paddock and operations tower, the update tweaked the track layout by by-passing the Keyhole chicane, resulting in an optional 2.25 mile, 13 turn circuit.

Both configurations begin with the daunting Turn 1, a blind, 100-plus mph corner, include a roller-coaster series of esse bends known as “Madness” and conclude with a near-360 degree Carousel that has a virtually unlimited number of lines and apexes. More recently, a “short course” was created by connecting the exit of Turn One to the backstraightaway, and there is also a new mini-oval utilizing the Keyhole Hairpin and another 180 degree turn linking the track on the approach and exit to the Keyhole. The layout in play tonight is the standard 2.25-mile, 13-turn Full Course.

LAST RACE: DIOGO PINTO, TEAM REDLINE SCORE ELUSIVE OVAL WIN AT NASHVILLE SUPERSPEEDWAY

With three ovals on the eight-race schedule in 2026, the oval specialists were expected to maximize those three races to have a shot at winning the title. What they likely didn’t expect were the road specialists from Team Redline showing up on Thursday last week with a piece good enough to win the race with the defending series champion, Diogo Pinto.

Michele Costantini (Team VRS) started on the pole position, but fuel strategy was in play right away. Dan Amor (Coanda Esports) led the pack around, sacrificing his fuel mileage in the process. Amor would be about six laps short of halfway, while the rest of the field was right on the number, some saving more than others. That all got thrown out the window with about 45 to go when a caution closed the field back up.

The Team Redline quartet of Pinto, Luke McKeown, Edoardo Leo, and Florian Lebigre all methodically worked their way through the pack, moving as one into the top spots. Through cautions and restarts, Pinto found himself in the lead. McKeown unfortunately found himself wrecked out of contention late in the going, hindering his title chances, but Pinto was able to hold off Costantini in the closing laps for his first win of the season, and first win on an oval in the series.

The top-five in the standings didn’t change, but the points spread out more with two races to go. Costantini has control, but about eight drivers, including Leo in sixth, Pinto in seventh, and Lebigre in eighth still have a real chance at taking this title with the right points gain tonight at Mid-Ohio.

DRIVERS STANDINGS ENTERING MID-OHIO SPORTS CAR COURSE

1. No. 66 Michele Costantini | Team VRS, 182 points
2. No.19 Philip Kraus | Team Hype w/ Powerslide, -15
3. No. 53 Michael Romanidis | Drago Racing Chevy, -26
4. No. 96 Luke McKeown | Team Redline Honda, -37
5. No. 27 Alexander Russell [R] | Powerslide Motorsports, -43

LAST SEASON: EDOARDO LEO BECOMES FIRST MULTI-TIME WINNER IN SERIES HISTORY WITH MID-OHIO VICTORY

While the headlines from last season read that Edoardo Leo dominated and led every lap at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, his teammates, Diogo Pinto, the eventual champion of the series, as well as Gustavo Ariel, on an alternate strategy, kept Leo honest throughout. From the pole position, Leo was able to break away from the chaos behind. Pinto moved up into second, and Ariel was through on his alternate strategy as well. When the strategies flipped during the pit stops, Leo led, but Ariel held the advantage. That was, until a slide from the Brazilian, which allowed both Leo and Pinto to hold on for first and second.

NEXT UP: CHAMPIONSHIP NIGHT AT LAGUNA SECA

It is entirely possible that Michele Costantini could clinch the championship tonight with a mega run at Mid-Ohio, but with how close it is, things will likely come down to next week’s season finale at Laguna Seca. Last season, Diogo Pinto scored his first-career win in the series enroute to winning the title.

All of the action from WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca starts at 8:00 p.m. ET, and will be live on INDYCAR’s YouTube channel, as well as across all of iRacing’s social media channels.

For more information on the INDYCAR Thrustmaster iRacing Pro Series, visit www.iracing.com/indycar-esports/.
For more information on iRacing and for special offers, visit www.iracing.com.

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