Tag: Pato O’Ward

Josef Newgarden jumped into the stands (again!) to celebrate with fans after close Indy 500 win

Josef Newgarden loves the fans at Indy 500!

Jumping into the stands at the Indy 500 is becoming a habit for Josef Newgarden!

On Sunday, Newgarden finished first in a thrilling Indy 500 race after overtaking Pato O’Ward on the final lap to take home the grand prize. The Team Penske driver is the first in 22 years to win back-to-back Indy 500 championships thanks to his spectacular move on the track.

And after his win, Newgarden replicated his move from last year by jumping into the stands with the fans to celebrate his hard-earned win! Here’s how the moment played out on the broadcast, with Newgarden excitedly jumping out of his car and sprinting to the stands.

What a moment for the 33-year-old driver!

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See Josef Newgarden’s thrilling last-lap pass vs. Pato O’Ward to win his second straight Indy 500

WHAT A FINISH!

For the first time in 22 years, an Indianapolis 500 champion successfully defended his title for back-to-back championships after Josef Newgarden put on a racing masterclass on the last laps of Sunday’s weather-delayed race.

The Team Penske driver won his second consecutive Indy 500 after a hard-fought battle against Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward. With about a dozen laps left in the 500-mile race, Newgarden was fighting 2016 Indy 500 winner Alexander Rossi for the lead, but by the final five laps, it was basically a two-man race between Newgarden and O’Ward.

With five laps left, O’Ward was in front. With four to go, it was Newgarden. O’Ward stole the lead with just one lap around Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and all he had to do was hang on.

Unfortunately for O’Ward, who’s had his heart broken multiple times at Indy, Newgarden pulled off a stunning last-lap move to take the lead and win the 2024 Indy 500.

It was a “220-mile-an-hour game of chess,” as NBC broadcaster James Hinchcliffe described it.

Newgarden joins an exclusive club with this victory as the 11th driver to be a two-time Indy 500 champion. The last time there was a back-to-back winner was 2001 and 2002 with now-four-time winner Hélio Castroneves.

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Indy 500 2024 post qualifying catch up with Pato O’Ward and Marcus Ericsson

Pato O’Ward and Marcus Ericsson join RACER’s Marshall Pruett after Saturday qualifying session at the 2024 Indianapolis 500. Presented by RACER’s Indy 500 Trackside Report is presented by The American Legion. 90 Minutes to Save a Life – Sign up for …

Pato O’Ward and Marcus Ericsson join RACER’s Marshall Pruett after Saturday qualifying session at the 2024 Indianapolis 500.

Presented by
RACER’s Indy 500 Trackside Report is presented by The American Legion. 90 Minutes to Save a Life – Sign up for FREE Suicide Prevention Training from American Legion and Columbia University Lighthouse Project at BeTheOne.org.

 

McLaren fights through a day of Indy 500 qualifying struggles

It was a truly strange day for the team led by Gavin Ward. Kyle Larson’s first qualifying attempt was interrupted when an “engine event” – a fire in the turbo plenum – robbed power from the No. 17 Arrow McLaren/Hendrick Chevy. Callum Ilott’s strong …

It was a truly strange day for the team led by Gavin Ward.

Kyle Larson’s first qualifying attempt was interrupted when an “engine event” — a fire in the turbo plenum — robbed power from the No. 17 Arrow McLaren/Hendrick Chevy. Callum Ilott’s strong qualifying performance was disqualified when the No. 6 Chevy’s left-rear wheel offset was found to be illegal in the post-run technical inspection. Pato O’Ward’s No. 5 Chevy was due to roll out for its first qualifying attempt, but the Arrow McLaren team decided it didn’t like something with the car and kept it in the garage for more investigative work.

Alexander Rossi rolled out and fired the No. 7 Chevy into the fourth-fastest speed in the heat of the day. O’Ward made it out and, as the team declared for the second time in two hours, another “engine event” hampered one of its cars and left him with the second slowest average of the day at that point in time. Larson, with a ready and recalibrated machine at his disposal, flew to sixth. Ilott followed in suboptimal conditions but salvaged a run that placed him 18th.

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O’Ward completed his first proper run at 3:39 p.m. and flirted with being on the second row but lost speed on each of the four laps and fell to 19th.

For Arrow McLaren, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway was the worst kind of roller coaster on Saturday, but it all came good in the end as Rossi (fourth), Larson (sixth) and O’Ward (10th) will run for the pole Sunday in the Fast 12, while Ilott (15th) persevered and was rewarded.

But not before Ward held his breath for what felt like hours on end.

“We feel like we made hard work for ourselves today, but at the end of the day, we were confident that we would get some good [qualifying] runs and be where we think we deserved to be,” the Canadian told RACER. “And that’s where we ended up. You always want more. This team has resilience. It’s just fun to see a team of racers come together who love to do this. This is the coolest day in motor racing.

“I can safely say that, with all my all my experience with everything I’ve seen, I don’t think it’s any better than Saturday when there’s bumping at the Speedway, and it is a chance to get to do what we love to do. Yeah, it was a little stressful at times, but you know, you’ve just got to appreciate you get to do this for a living. I love it man.”

IndyCar completes third practice for 2024 Indianapolis 500, full results

IndyCar has completed the third practice for the 2024 Indianapolis 500. Check out the full results, including lap times and difference!

The third practice of the 2024 Indianapolis 500 had some crazy moments. Linus Lundqvist and Marcus Ericsson suffered two big wrecks that knocked them out of the session. Lundqvist spun exiting Turn 2 and slammed the wall, while Ericsson’s accident occurred in Turn 4. Thankfully, both drivers were seen and released by the infield care center.

NTT IndyCar Series drivers got several laps under their belts on Wednesday, including Conor Daly, who led the way with 86 laps. [autotag]Pato O’Ward[/autotag] led the field with a hot lap of 228.861 miles per hour and a total of 56 laps. Kyle Larson, who is attempting “The Double,” placed 25th at 222.805 miles per hour on Wednesday.

Below, you can look at the results of the third 2024 Indianapolis 500 practice on May 16.

2024 Indianapolis 500 Practice 4 results:

  1. No. 5 Pato O’Ward, Time: 39.3252 seconds, Diff: —–
  2. No. 3 Scott McLaughlin, Time: 39.5925 seconds, Diff: 0.2673 seconds
  3. No. 10 Alex Palou, Time: 39.6624 seconds, Diff: 0.3372 seconds
  4. No. 26 Colton Herta, Time: 39.6776 seconds, Diff: 0.3524 seconds
  5. No. 2 Josef Newgarden, Time: 39.7029 seconds, Diff: 0.3777 seconds
  6. No. 98 Marco Andretti, Time: 39.7257 seconds, Diff: 0.4005 seconds
  7. No. 8 Linus Lundqvist (R), Time: 39.7771 seconds, Diff: 0.4519 seconds
  8. No. 20 Ed Carpenter, Time: 39.8028 seconds, Diff: 0.4776 seconds
  9. No. 12 Will Power, Time: 39.8804 seconds, Diff: 0.5552 seconds
  10. No. 9 Scott Dixon, Time: 39.8872 seconds, Diff: 0.5620 seconds
  11. No. 24 Conor Daly, Time: 39.8914 seconds, Diff: 0.5662 seconds
  12. No. 6 Callum Ilott, Time: 39.9773 seconds, Diff: 0.6521 seconds
  13. No. 06 Helio Castroneves, Time: 39.9900 seconds, Diff: 0.6648 seconds
  14. No. 23 Ryan Hunter-Reay, Time: 40.0104 seconds, Diff: 0.6852 seconds
  15. No. 11 Marcus Armstrong (R), Time: 40.0396 seconds, Diff: 0.7144 seconds
  16. No. 77 Romain Grosjean, Time: 40.0668 seconds, Diff: 0.7416 seconds
  17. No. 7 Alexander Rossi, Time: 40.0676 seconds, Diff: 0.7424 seconds
  18. No. 28 Marcus Ericsson, Time: 40.0727 seconds, Diff: 0.7475 seconds
  19. No. 60 Felix Rosenqvist, Time: 40.1406 seconds, Diff: 0.8154 seconds
  20. No. 27 Kyle Kirkwood, Time: 40.1462 seconds, Diff: 0.8210 seconds
  21. No. 21 Rinus VeeKay, Time: 40.1617 seconds, Diff: 0.8365 seconds
  22. No. 14 Santino Ferrucci, Time: 40.2778 seconds, Diff: 0.9526 seconds
  23. No. 75 Takuma Sato, Time: 40.2802 seconds, Diff: 0.9550 seconds
  24. No. 51 Katherine Legge, Time: 40.2860 seconds, Diff: 0.9608 seconds
  25. No. 17 Kyle Larson (R), Time: 40.3941 seconds, Diff: 1.0689 seconds
  26. No. 78 Agustin Canapino, Time: 40.3979 seconds, Diff: 1.0727 seconds
  27. No. 15 Graham Rahal, Time: 40.4187 seconds, Diff: 1.0935 seconds
  28. No. 4 Kyffin Simpson (R), Time: 40.4564 seconds, Diff: 1.1312 seconds
  29. No. 66 Tom Blomqvist (R), Time: 40.4732 seconds, Diff: 1.1480 seconds
  30. No. 45 Christian Lungaard, Time: 40.5294 seconds, Diff: 1.2042 seconds
  31. No. 30 Pietro Fittipaldi, Time: 40.5544 seconds, Diff: 1.2292 seconds
  32. No. 33 Christian Rasmussen (R), Time: 40.5657 seconds, Diff: 1.2405 seconds
  33. No. 18 Nolan Siegel (R), Time: 40.7416 seconds, Diff: 1.4164 seconds
  34. No. 41 Sting Ray Robb, Time: 40.9109 seconds, Diff: 1.5857 seconds

IndyCar’s fourth practice for the 2024 Indianapolis 500 will be underway at Noon ET on Friday, May 17.

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O’Ward leads halfway through Thursday Indy 500 practice

Thursday’s practice session for the Indianapolis 500 got off to a swift start as drivers used the early 10 am ET start and its cooler ambient conditions to perform qualifying simulations. Andretti Global’s Colton Herta was the fastest of the 10 …

Thursday’s practice session for the Indianapolis 500 got off to a swift start as drivers used the early 10 am ET start and its cooler ambient conditions to perform qualifying simulations. Andretti Global’s Colton Herta was the fastest of the 10 drivers with a no-tow best lap of 223.143mph set in the first 15 minutes of the eight-hour session with the No. 26 Honda. Ed Carpenter Racing’s Rinus VeeKay was second on the no-tow list with a 222.627mph lap in the No. 21 Chevy.

Herta also set the fastest lap among the first runners with a 226.218mph after catching a tow, which stood until Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden nudged the number up to 226.684mph in the No. 2 Team Penske Chevy. Set in the opening 25 minutes, Newgarden’s lap stood as the track got busier and sizable packs of drivers began running together while working on race-day setups.

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Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward took command of P1 at the 45-minute mark with a lap of 228.861mph in his No. 5 Chevy while sitting fourth in a line of cars. O’Ward held P1 through the first 90 minutes, and at that point in time, he was joined by teammate Kyle Larson on track, whose car spent the morning in the Arrow McLaren garage having its Chevy engine changed.

The first crash of the event was produced by Chip Ganassi Racing rookie Linus Lundqvist at 11:31am when he smacked the Turn 2 wall with the No. 8 Honda. The rookie from Sweden climbed from the car without assistance. The right-rear suspension and rear wing bore the brunt of the damage in the contact as his car oversteered and went into the SAFER barrier with the right-rear corner.

O’Ward held firm to P1 after two hours of running and had Penske’s Scott McLaughlin nestled behind in second with a tow-aided 227.316mph in the No. 3 Chevy and Ganassi’s Alex Palou in third with a 226.915mph in the No. 10 Honda.

Arrow McLaren’s Alexander Rossi struggled to launch from his pit stall and came to a stop next to Meyer Shank Racing’s pit boxes. The team would take his No. 7 Chevy back to Gasoline Alley and get to work on resolving an unnamed drivetrain issue.

The order of O’Ward, McLaughlin, and Palou remained unchanged as the halfway point — four hours of running — was completed.

Why is Pato O’Ward so good at Barber Motorsports Park?

Arrow McLaren IndyCar driver Pato O’Ward is a bit of a savant at Barber Motorsports Park. What makes the Mexican so good on the rolling road course? Let’s ask… Check it out below, or click here to view. RACER’s Trackside Report at the Alabama Indy …

Arrow McLaren IndyCar driver Pato O’Ward is a bit of a savant at Barber Motorsports Park. What makes the Mexican so good on the rolling road course? Let’s ask… Check it out below, or click here to view.

RACER’s Trackside Report at the Alabama Indy Grand Prix is presented by Radical Motorsport. As one of the world’s most prolific sports car manufacturers, Radical Motorsport sets out to create a race-bred thrill-a-minute driving experience on the racetrack. Radical Cup North America is the continent’s premier Radical championship offering exhilarating multi-class Le Mans style racing for a fraction of the price. Click to learn more.

O’Ward celebrates belated but welcome St. Pete win

With the disqualification of Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden for his illegal use of push-to-pass power at St. Petersburg, Arrow McLaren has been awarded the victory with Pato O’Ward, who placed second on the road in the No. 5 Chevy. The win represents …

With the disqualification of Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden for his illegal use of push-to-pass power at St. Petersburg, Arrow McLaren has been awarded the victory with Pato O’Ward, who placed second on the road in the No. 5 Chevy.

The win represents a joyous moment for the three-car team which missed out on trips to victory lane in 2023 with O’Ward, Alexander Rossi, and former driver Felix Rosenqvist. It also marks the first IndyCar win at Arrow McLaren for Gavin Ward in the team principal role.

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With Newgarden’s demotion, the No. 2 Chevy Penske driver falls from first to 11th in the championship. Penske teammate Scott McLaughlin, who placed third at St. Pete and was also disqualified, has dropped from 10th to 27th and last in the standings. O’Ward improves from sixth to fourth.

“It’s awesome to get a win and a real strong result for the amount of effort this team puts in,” O’Ward said. “This team is just full of an incredible group of characters and they have been grinding so hard to try and get results like this. And I think it’s the first of many hopefully for me in this role as a team principal. I was hoping to celebrate this first one for me a little bit different way in victory lane with all our team, but when you win, you win. So we will enjoy this.”

Josef Newgarden disqualified from St. Petersburg, Pato O’Ward wins

Josef Newgarden and Scott McLaughlin have been disqualified from the IndyCar Series race at St. Petersburg. Pato O’Ward is the new winner.

In a shocking development, there is a new winner for the NTT IndyCar Series’ opening race at St. Petersburg. On Wednesday morning, the IndyCar Series announced that Team Penske drivers [autotag] Josef Newgarden[/autotag] and Scott McLaughlin have been disqualified for violating Push-to-Pass parameters at St. Petersburg. [autotag] Pato O’Ward[/autotag] is officially deemed the new winner.

Alongside Newgarden and McLaughlin, Team Penske driver Will Power has received a 10-point penalty. IndyCar investigated Team Penske after it found that each driver had the ability to use Push to Pass on starts and restarts during the warmup session in Long Beach. Newgarden and McLaughlin used it at St. Petersburg, while Power did not.

The shocking move has O’Ward, Power, and Colton Herta on the podium at St. Petersburg. Newgarden now sits 11th (-45), while McLaughlin sits 29th (-74) in the point standings. This has a massive impact on the point standings, as Team Penske released a statement accepting the penalties for Newgarden, McLaughlin, and Power.

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Long Beach circuit changes draw rave reviews after first practice

The city of Long Beach received nothing but praise from the two fastest IndyCar drivers on Friday. “Turn 8. That’s the corner,” said Meyer Shank Racing’s Felix Rosenqvist, who was fourth in the No. 60 Honda. Offseason grinding of the bump-laden …

The city of Long Beach received nothing but praise from the two fastest IndyCar drivers on Friday.

“Turn 8. That’s the corner,” said Meyer Shank Racing’s Felix Rosenqvist, who was fourth in the No. 60 Honda. Offseason grinding of the bump-laden corner that feed onto the long back straight made the blast through Turn 8 a pleasantly fast experience as Rosenqvist and former teammate Pato O’Ward found in his No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevy.

“There used to be a bump there last year,” O’Ward said after going P1 with a lap of 1m06.6874s. “You had to wait after the hump, then come into power. Now that the hump is gone, it’s a lot quicker. That is definitely somewhere where I found quite a bit of lap time compared to last year.”

The interesting note to go with O’Ward’s comments is the nearly identical lap he delivered in 2023 of 1m06.6999s in the same Friday session. Although the improvement to Turn 8 certainly helped to shorten the elapsed time it took to get to Turn 9, the track was visibly dirty, which likely conspired to hide the circuit’s full potential.

“Turn 8 was quite a big difference,” Rosenqvist added. “You can carry a ton of speed… I think they’ve done a good job.”

Turn 5, a site of more than a few problems last year, also received some improvements by the city which pleased the Swede.

“They did a curve modification that seemed to work well for us,” he said. “So yeah, all good.”