Marcus Ericsson was quickly catching the eventual race-winner Josef Newgarden in the closing laps of the Honda Indy 200 from Mid-Ohio on Sunday, but just fell short of earning his second IndyCar win.
Ericsson had preserved his tires nicely in the final stint, and they had enough life left to close in on the two-time champion by nearly a second a lap.
By the time he caught the back of the XPEL Chevy, however, the laps ran out and he didn’t have a chance to mount a real fight for the win.
The second-place result was Ericsson’s seventh top-10 finish of the season, and he is now fifth in the points standings, higher than he’s ever been before.
That consistent performance has given the Swede a welcome bit of confidence heading into the summer break.
“My first win in Detroit a couple weeks back, it was good for me to get my first win in IndyCar,” explained Ericsson after the Mid-Ohio race. “Since then, I felt really strong.
“To finish on the podium today, yeah, it’s definitely good momentum. Good for the confidence. I think it showed today that I can really race with the best in the series.
“Confidence is a beautiful thing when you have it. I think I have some good confidence going now.
“I think that’s the bottom line. Especially in a series like this, when you go up against such great competition, you need to be perfect to be out there and fight for wins and podiums.
“Definitely feel like we’ve taken a step this year. Feel pretty good.
“I’m not a big fan of the breaks, but if there is going to be a break, I think having a result like today is definitely better than having a really bad day.”
Ericsson plans to head home to Sweden during the five-week break to see his family and reset for the final part of the season.
There are six races remaining on the 2021 IndyCar schedule, including three back-to-back weekends on the West Coast to wrap up the season in September.
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