Four races remain in the 2014 IndyCar season and the Championship battle is nail-biting. But it is those outside of the main title fight that could steal the limelight in Ohio.

Sebastien Bourdais must go in to the weekend with confidence. In theory his ‘first win’ in Indycar should loosen him up for more. But has he cracked it on street courses only? Will he still struggle against regular road course front runners?

Despite a very mediocre season, Ganassi’s Dixon and Kannan will figure this weekend. The Target squad are on the cusp of winning again and it is a matter of ‘when not if’. Dixon has won 4 out of the last 7 races at Mid-Ohio and TK has 2 top 10 finishes in the past 3 years.

For the title challengers, we are entering a critical period. With drivers who are, broadly, out of the title race finishing strong, the top 5 are left with a familiar conundrum: maximum attack or play for points?

Both Ryan Hunter-Reay and Simon Pageneud need to start winning again ahead of the Penske’s of Power and Castroneves. The final 4 races will illustrate whether the small Schmidt Peterson team are capable of making the right calls at the right times in a championship battle. Penske’s recent habit of blowing title chances should give SPM hope, but equally demonstrates how difficult it is to win a championship in Indycar, irrespective of heritage or size.

Penske will perform strongly and with fuel mileage likely to be critical, they are sure to figure for the win. Will Power will be fast but Castroneves continues to be smart and canny about his racing.

Once again Indycar is set to deliver a brilliant weekend of action and intrigue at Mid-Ohio.