Aleshin expected to return at Mid-Ohio

In stick and ball terms, Mikhail Aleshin has been benched for a game.

Aleshin watched IndyCar practice from the SPM pits on Friday, where Sebastian Saavedra was at the wheel of the No. 7 Honda that the Russian has been driving the past two years, but it's expected that he will be back in the car at Mid-Ohio in two weeks.

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"We've had one car performing at a high level and one struggling, so I just wanted to shake things up," said co-owner Sam Schmidt of the driver change. "But I fully expect to see Mikhail back in the car for Mid-Ohio."

Aleshin looked strong last summer at Mid-Ohio before being waved into traffic on a pit stop and colliding with another car, ruining his chance at a potential first win.

"I definitely want to come back at Mid-Ohio because I have some unfinished business there," he said. "But it's hard watching somebody else drive my car, I'll be honest."

Saavedra, who hasn't driven an IndyCar since finishing 15th at the Indy 500, was slowest of the 21 drivers on Friday, about 2.0s behind Simon Pagenaud's benchmark lap.