Tag: Pato O’Ward

So near, but so far for Arrow McLaren at Indy

“Last year, we were like $1 short, and this year, we had $1 in our pocket; we were cruising,” McLaren Racing boss Zak Brown told RACER after his four-car Indy 500 program flexed its muscles and led 76 of 200 laps before its leading contenders Pato …

“Last year, we were like $1 short, and this year, we had $1 in our pocket; we were cruising,” McLaren Racing boss Zak Brown told RACER after his four-car Indy 500 program flexed its muscles and led 76 of 200 laps before its leading contenders Pato O’Ward and Felix Rosenqvist crashed on their own.

Arrow McLaren’s top performer on the day was a visibly frustrated Alexander Rossi, who placed fifth, and behind him, in his Indy 500 farewell, Tony Kanaan had an average day, crossing the finish line in 15th. Minus Rosenqvist’s crash on lap 183 and O’Ward’s overambitious attempt to take the lead from Marcus Ericsson on lap 192, Brown and the Chevy-powered team might have had a say in who won the race.

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“We had a fuel issue on Pato’s car that ended up not becoming an issue at the end, but I think we had those two cars, and Rossi there or thereabouts, but we didn’t get it done,” Brown added. “But I think the upside is we had the cars to win. We were flying and they were having fun. It was like, ‘You lead for a few laps, then you lead for a few laps.’

“They were so hooked up. The results are disappointing, but other than that, what an awesome Indy 500. We were fast and had two cars that were on for the win, and Rossi was right there too.

Brown applauded his team for their year-to-year improvement, led by the engineering-first structure overseen by Gavin Ward.

“Couldn’t be happier,” he said. “We are a threat to win every weekend with multiple cars that are threatening for the championship. It wasn’t a good points day for us, but I couldn’t be happier. I think Gavin and the whole team have stepped up. There were definitely a better team than we were last year.”

O’Ward leads Lundgaard in opening Indy GP practice

Pato O’Ward fired his No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevy to the top of the list in the opening practice session for the Indianapolis Grand Prix, as most of the 27-deep field of drivers completed qualifying simulation runs at the end of the 75-minute outing. …

Pato O’Ward fired his No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevy to the top of the list in the opening practice session for the Indianapolis Grand Prix, as most of the 27-deep field of drivers completed qualifying simulation runs at the end of the 75-minute outing.

Prior to O’Ward’s posting of a 1m09.4981s lap, the Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing team flexed its collective muscles for the first time this season as Jack Harvey and Christian Lundgaard recorded laps that stood atop the session at various points in the overcast morning.

Once the checkered flag waved, it was Lundgaard and the No. 45 Honda that was closest to O’Ward, missing just 0.0007s in the end. Chip Ganassi Racing’s Alex Palou was also fast, holding third with a 1m09.5213s in the No. 10 Honda. Team Penske also weighed in with its most recent winner, Scott McLaughlin, who claimed fourth in the No. 3 Chevy with a 1m09.5465s, and RLL’s Harvey wasn’t far behind in fifth, turning a 1m09.5976s lap in the No. 30 Honda. O’Ward’s teammate Felix Rosenqvist completed the top six with a 1m09.7152s run in the No. 6 Chevy.

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Adversity was kept to a minimum on this busy day where a second practice session and qualifying are on the horizon. Andretti Autosport’s Colton Herta suffered a fire on the left side of the No. 26 Honda’s engine bay during his installation lap; the problem was rectified with four minutes left in the session, which allowed Herta to turn another installation lap before pitting the have the rear of the car inspected.

Josef Newgarden attempted to pull away from pit lane to perform his qualifying simulation, but a clutch issue left him stuck on pit lane. Other than a few instances where drivers touched the wall under braking, there were no incidents or red flags.

UP NEXT: FP2, 1pm ET.

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IndyCar and its drivers call out Long Beach social media abuse

Ranging from unkind words to death threats, more than 1500 comments were aimed at Callum Ilott and his loved ones on social media after he and teammate Agustin Canapino found themselves in an unfortunate on-track sequence during Sunday’s Long Beach …

Ranging from unkind words to death threats, more than 1500 comments were aimed at Callum Ilott and his loved ones on social media after he and teammate Agustin Canapino found themselves in an unfortunate on-track sequence during Sunday’s Long Beach Grand Prix.

Similar levels of online abuse were also produced after a contentious incident between Pato O’Ward and Scott Dixon, which inadvertently created the situation between Ilott and Canapino.

After losing a lap when he hit the wall and broke a wheel and flattened a tire, Ilott used the Lap 20 caution for contact between O’Ward and Dixon to stay out and unlap himself as the rest of the field dove into the pits for service. The only outlier in that scenario was Juncos Hollinger Racing rookie Canapino, who was left out and inherited the lead.

Having pitted for new tires just prior to the race returning to green, Ilott was released from the pits and emerged directly in front Canapino who led the field into Turn 1. Back on the tail end of the lead lap, but with cold tires limiting his immediate pace, the Briton held up the Argentinian and defended his position to avoid going down a lap, and it’s here where the situation began to rapidly devolve online.

Moments later, contact with the Turn 5 wall damaged Canapino’s car and he was forced to pit and seek repairs, and with an enraged fan base aiming its anger at Ilott, a steady wave of toxicity was unleashed on him which continued into Monday.

Contrasting views on the incident responsibility between Arrow McLaren’s O’Ward and Chip Ganassi Racing’s Dixon where the New Zealander blamed the Mexican for the clash and O’Ward refused to accept blame for the contretemps led to more ugliness on social media.

Early in the day, Ilott took aim at Argentinian IndyCar commentator Martin Ponte, who he believes is responsible for the torrent of hatred after blaming him for Canapino’s race-altering dramas.

By Monday evening, the NTT IndyCar Series weighed in with a message of its own in an attempt to cool matters.

Soon after, O’Ward took to social media to ask for a restoration of civility in messages crafted in English and Spanish.

IndyCar’s passionate audience has rarely strayed into the darker side of social media behavior, making the escalating nature of what’s taken place since Sunday a new experience for the series owned by Penske Entertainment.

O’Ward stays ahead in chaotic second Long Beach IndyCar practice

Pato O’Ward laid down a marker ahead of qualifying for this weekend’s NTT IndyCar Series race in Long Beach by topping a bizarre Saturday morning practice session. Teams and drivers were forced to adjust on the fly as it became apparent that an …

Pato O’Ward laid down a marker ahead of qualifying for this weekend’s NTT IndyCar Series race in Long Beach by topping a bizarre Saturday morning practice session.

Teams and drivers were forced to adjust on the fly as it became apparent that an additional curb had sprouted overnight near the exit of Turn 5. The addition of the curb was not communicated to IndyCar or the teams beforehand, and the first indication that it was there came when Callum Ilott hit it and launched into the outside wall. The second indication came just a couple of minutes after Ilott’s car had been retrieved when Rinus VeeKay did exactly the same thing.

“Bottomed pretty hard,” VeeKay said over the radio immediately after the No. 21 ECR Chevrolet’s impact. “I feel like they almost moved the curbing — did they change anything?”

VeeKay escaped with minimal damage and was able to rejoin the session, but Ilott’s morning ended as soon as the No. 77 Juncos Hollinger Chevrolet pounded the wall.

“I was doing the same line yesterday and it was fine,” he said. “I don’t know. If they changed something and didn’t tell us, but that was strange. I didn’t understand what happened other than I took off when I hit the curb.

“If they did (change anything) and they didn’t tell us then they can pay for the damage, because that’s a joke.”

It later transpired that the curb in question had been in place for the track walk on Thursday, but then sustained damage during an IMSA session on Friday and was removed before IndyCar’s practice session later in the afternoon. It was then restored overnight, but it was not deemed necessary to inform the series because the curbing was considered to be a repair rather than a modification.

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As news of the change filtered through the field, drivers initially took a far more cautious approach into Turn 5 before gradually working the curb into their new lines.

With the two curb-induced reds out of the way, the rest of the session passed with nothing more serious than a few harmless lock-ups and spins, and driver concerns instead moved onto trying to find some clear track for a qualifying simulation on the alternate tires.

This caused a few near-misses at the hairpin — one almost took out two Andretti drivers when Kyle Kirkwood checked up hard to avoid rear-ending Romain Grosjean, and then triggered an accordion effect behind him as cars swerved to avoid a pile-up. Later, Kirkwood found himself on a receiving end of a hurry-up message at the same spot in the form of a tap in the rear from Will Power.

O’Ward’s best came during the final scramble on the green tires, and beat closest rival Kirkwood by just 0.0167s — a far cry from the 0.2s advantage that the Mexican had over the field on Friday.

Grosjean was third fastest, another 0.04s down on Kirkwood, while Herta continued a solid morning for Andretti by finishing fourth fastest.

“The session went pretty well for all of us,” Grosjean said. “We’ve got a strong package. I think the track temperature is going to change for qualifying so we have to keep an eye on that, but I think we have a strong car.”

Scott McLaughlin rounded out the top five, bringing Team Penske into the picture for the first time this weekend after all three of the team’s cars struggled to post a representative time on Friday due to traffic.

UP NEXT: Qualifying at 3:05pm

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O’Ward continues blitzing IndyCar field in Long Beach first practice

NTT IndyCar Series points leader Pato O’Ward carried his early-season form into the opening practice session on the streets of Long Beach on Friday. On an afternoon where the field spent the 75-minute session trading hundredths of a second, O’Ward …

NTT IndyCar Series points leader Pato O’Ward carried his early-season form into the opening practice session on the streets of Long Beach on Friday.

On an afternoon where the field spent the 75-minute session trading hundredths of a second, O’Ward popped up in the final three minutes with a 1m06.6999s in the No.5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet that shaded the rest of the pack by more than 0.2s. Scott Dixon, who also kept his powder dry until the last couple of minutes, came closest with a 1m06.9649s.

“We just kept chipping at it,” O’Ward said. “We rolled off strong, but we’ve been making adjustments to get it a bit more in the window, and so far it’s good. We’re going to look into it and see where we can make improvements, but I think we’re in good shape for tomorrow. It’s all about executing; it’s going to be tough.”

Prior to claiming the top spot on the timing screens, the standout moment in O’Ward’s session had been a massive lock-up after catching a bump where new and old asphalt meet at Turn 8 and flat-spotting the heck out of his right-front tire.

He was hardly alone in that regard: True to Long Beach form, the session was peppered with incidents, although unusually almost none of them resulted in car damage. The sole exception was Josef Newgarden, who grated a few layers of carbon fiber off the left edge of his floor with a brush against the wall, but even then he was able to complete the bulk of the session after the damage was patched up with some tape.

“I about did that four or five times,” he said. “Some of the settings we started with were probably aggressive. I’m not too stressed out about it for session one, but it would have been ideal not to ruin that first set of tires. We didn’t want to get bad data (so we parked a few minutes early); we just wanted to be conservative.”

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Up front, Colton Herta enjoyed a brief spell at the top before eventually being shuffled back to third-fastest in the No. 26 Andretti Autosport Honda, just 0.01s down on Dixon’s time.

“It’s sweet,” Herta said. “Car feels great; everything feels fantastic.”

Marcus Ericsson held the top spot for the majority of the afternoon before ultimately finishing fourth-fastest, leaving Romain Grosjean to round out the top five.

On a day when the top of the screens were largely dominated by Honda, Arrow McLaren backed up O’Ward’s P1 with Alexander Rossi in seventh and Rosenqvist ninth-fastest. Juncos Hollinger continued to punch above its weight with Callum Ilott finishing up eighth-fastest, while Rahal Letterman Lanigan had a solid start with Christian Lundgaard 10th-fastest, Jack Harvey 12th-fastest, and Graham Rahal running well inside the top 10 for most of the session before fading back to 16th as the cars around him switched to their second sets of Firestones.

The only red flag of the session came with just under half an hour left on the clock when Helio Castroneves and Agustin Canapino stalled at different points on the track. Both were rescued quickly, and practice returned to green after just a couple of minutes.

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Newgarden takes last shot in Texas shootout

There was Pato O’Ward, and then there was everyone else taking part in the NTT IndyCar Series race at Texas Motor Speedway who were powerless to stop the Arrow McLaren driver who lapped up to second place by lap 161 of the 250-lap PPG 375 event. But …

There was Pato O’Ward, and then there was everyone else taking part in the NTT IndyCar Series race at Texas Motor Speedway who were powerless to stop the Arrow McLaren driver who lapped up to second place by lap 161 of the 250-lap PPG 375 event. But leading strong and leading the last lap are two different things.

More cautions followed, and with a late restart on lap 239 and a wild scramble to the checkered flag, Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden fired past the McLaren driver and went on the secure back-to-back victories at TMS in the No. 2 Chevy after front-running contender Romain Grosjean crashed his Andretti Autosport Honda on lap 249 and the breathtaking race finished under yellow.

Chip Ganassi Racing’s Alex Palou, who fought his way past O’Ward and Newgarden at various points to lead in the latter half of the race, settled for third in the No. 10 Honda.

“I don’t know what else to say but our car was fast​,” Newgarden said​. ​
“​Pato was walking away but we got the tuning back and we were in the position (to win) in the end. We are on the board. We weren’t on the board in St. Pete, but we are on the board.”

If there was a consolation prize for O’Ward, it’s his takeover of the championship lead on the strength of a pair of second-place runs to open the season.

“It’s been a hell of a start to the championship, but it’s a long year,” he said.

Behind Palou, emerging oval specialist David Malukas put on another show as he survived a late gaffe — failing to pit during a caution, which was rectified when another crash quickly slowed the field and allowed him to dash in for fuel and tires — to challenge the podium runners before claiming fourth in his No. 51 Dale Coyne Racing with HMD Motorsports Honda.

CGR’s Scott Dixon finished fifth during a busy day moving forwards and backwards in the No. 9 Honda after starting second, and Penske’s Scott McLaughlin was the biggest riser, improving from 15th to sixth.

Among the crazy three- and four-wide mome​​nts during the race, one of the smallest teams with two of the least experienced oval racers in Juncos Hollinger Racing’s Callum Ilott (P9) and rookie Augustin Canapino (P12) ran ahead and finished ahead of IndyCar champions and Indy 500 winners.

Of those who left TMS in a state of disappointment, Penske’s Will Power fell from eighth to 16th, losing a wheel during one pit stop during a day where his car wasn’t overly competitive. Graham Rahal’s crash — an innocent bystander when Devlin DeFrancesco crashed in front of him — was the worst part of a forgettable weekend for his Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing team as his stablemates Jack Harvey (P18) and Christian Lundgaard (P19) never factored.

The PPG 375 had elements of an old IRL race during certain stages with swarms of drivers passing high and low — sometimes with tires dipped onto the grass — and wheel-banging moments among the leaders as they went full throttle without mercy.

AS IT HAPPENED

Polesitter Felix Rosenqvist led the field into Turn 1 and it lasted one lap as Scott Dixon swept by the next time around. Dixon was passed for the lead on the next lap by Josef Newgarden as Rosenqvist fell to P5. Dixon took the lead back from Newgarden the following lap as close running was the early order of the day.

Lap 9 saw Alex Palou demote Rosenqvist to P6 and the next lap, Pato O’Ward took P2 from Dixon who fell to fourth. Lap 15 saw Newgarden leading O’Ward, Palou, Dixon, Rosenqvist, and Alexander Rossi in P6.

By lap 30, Newgarden held 0.9s over O’Ward as drivers started to stretch out as they went beyond the halfway point in their opening stint. Lapping began on the 33rd tour as Christian Lundgaard and Conor Daly.

The first caution of the race was triggered by Takuma Sato who crashed exiting Turn 2 on lap 49. The Chip Ganassi Racing driver was uninjured after sliding up into the wall and mangling the No. 11 Honda’s suspension.

“I was going too high and got into the gray,” Sato said of his crash.

The first round of pit stops on lap 52 went smoothly, barring a crash between Rossi and Kyle Kirkwood, which bent the front suspension on Rossi’s car, as Kirkwood went from the outside lane to his pit stall — rather than from the inside lane — and drove across the front of Rossi’s car as he was leaving the pits. There was no apparent damage to Kirkwood’s car, but the specter of a penalty was looming.

The lap 61 restart saw Newgarden lead into Turn 1 but Palou soon went to the high side and fought hard for multiple laps before settling for second. IndyCar then announced Rossi, not Kirkwood, would receive a drive-through penalty for the contact.

Palou finally got past Newgarden on lap 67 as Romain Grosjean began hassling O’Ward in P3. Newgarden retook the lead on lap 71. O’Ward took P2 from Palou on lap 75 and the running order was Newgarden, O’Ward, Palou, Grosjean, Dixon, and the surging Colton Herta in P6.

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Lap 95 and leader Newgarden laps teammate Will Power in P18. Kirkwood pits on lap 100 and parks his car with a suspected mechanical issue. Leaders are Newgarden, O’Ward, Grosjean, Dixon, Palou, and Herta in P6.

“We had a rear-right upright failure. It’s in meltdown phase right now,” Kirkwood said.

Lap 110 and Newgarden pits as O’Ward stays out. Palou and O’Ward and Dixon and Grosjean, among others, follow on lap 115.

With the field cycled through, Newgarden’s early stop helped to draw out a bigger lead over O’Ward but O’Ward trimmed the gap down with aggressive passing in traffic. At the halfway point, it was Newgarden, O’Ward, Grosjean, Dixon, Palou, and McLaughlin.

Lap 130 saw O’Ward execute a daring pass in Turn 2 to take the lead. Lap 148 and O’Ward has lapped up through P7 and is holding a giant 5.2s lead over Newgarden.

Lap 150 and it’s O’Ward, Newgarden, Grosjean, Dixon, Palou and Herta in P6. Lap 151 and O’Ward laps Dixon, leaving only four cars on the lead lap. Lap 157 and the gap to Newgarden is 6.7s.

Lap 161 and O’Ward has lapped Grosjean, leaving Newgarden — 7.5s back — as the only other driver on the lead lap. Incredible.

Lap 165 and Newgarden pits. O’Ward follows on lap 169.

Lap 177 and it’s O’Ward by 5.8s over Newgarden, followed by Palou, Grosjean, Dixon, and David Malukas in P6. All behind Newgarden remain a lap down.

Caution on lap 179 as Rosenqvist, exiting the pits, crashed in Turn 4, tagging the rear of the car against the outside wall. He was uninjured in the incident.

Lap 183 and O’Ward and Newgarden pit. Newgarden returns on lap 188 under caution to top up his tank as most drivers will need to save fuel to make it to the finish.

The Lap 194 restart saw O’Ward lead into Turn 1 and Newgarden challenge around the opening corners before falling back to P2 and that’s just what Palou needed to blow by and take the lead. Lap 199 and Newgarden takes the lead from Palou as Malukas holds third.

Lap 200 and the leaders are Newgarden, Palou, O’Ward, Grosjean, Malukas and Herta in P6. Lap 204 and it’s Newgarden followed by Herta and then Herta goes by for the lead as fuel saving is dictating their desire to run at the front.

Lap 209 and Palou is back to the lead ahead of O’Ward, Newgarden, Grosjean, Herta, and Dixon in P6.

The third caution was required on lap 211 after Sting Ray Robb made hard contact exiting Turn 2. Robb said he was OK, but “got his bell rung.” Fuel saving is no longer an issue.

Lap 214 and Palou stays out while O’Ward and Newgarden pits.

The Lap 219 restart featured Palou leading Grosjean, Herta, Dixon, O’Ward, and Dixon in P6.

Lap 221 and Grosjean takes the lead as O’Ward goes around him and Palou for the lead on lap 222.

Fourth caution flies on Lap 224 as Graham Rahal and Devlin DeFrancesco make contact in Turn 3. After understeering into the Turn 2 wall, DeFrancesco drove towards the pits but slid up from the apron into Rahal’s path in Turn 3 which sent Rahal’s car flying before coming down and hitting the wall. Both drivers appeared to be uninjured.

Lap 227 and Grosjean and Dixon pit.

The lap 239 restart featured O’Ward leading Palou, Newgarden, Herta, Malukas, and Scott McLaughlin in P6. Palou takes the lead entering Turn 3. lap 241 and Newgarden takes P2 from O’Ward. Lap 243 and Newgarden takes P1 from Palou and O’Ward challenges him for the lead. Malukas takes P3 from Palou.

Lap 247 and Palou is up to P3 as O’Ward chases Newgarden for the lead. Lap 249 and Grosjean crashes, cementing the win for Newgarden ahead of O’Ward, Palou, Malukas, Dixon, and McLaughlin.

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VIDEO: Texas Walk and Talk with Pato O’Ward

Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward takes a stroll down pit lane at Texas Motor Speedway with RACER’s Marshall Pruett to discuss his dual upbringing in Mexico and Texas, his rise up the junior open-wheel ladder and the difficulties he experienced, the …

Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward takes a stroll down pit lane at Texas Motor Speedway with RACER’s Marshall Pruett to discuss his dual upbringing in Mexico and Texas, his rise up the junior open-wheel ladder and the difficulties he experienced, the detour he took in IMSA, failing to qualify for the Indy 500, rebounding with the No. 5 Chevy, and more.

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IndyCar’s Texas ticket sales boosted by O’Ward

The NTT IndyCar Series’ return to Texas Motor Speedway next week is loaded with anticipation by both parties as their efforts to increase attendance will take center stage. Facing a steadily declining audience in recent years, the 2022 IndyCar event …

The NTT IndyCar Series’ return to Texas Motor Speedway next week is loaded with anticipation by both parties as their efforts to increase attendance will take center stage.

Facing a steadily declining audience in recent years, the 2022 IndyCar event at TMS was witnessed by a noticeably sparse crowd as Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden won the race in what was the final year of the sanctioning agreement between IndyCar and TMS.

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Having executed a new contract for IndyCar to continue racing on the 1.5-mile oval where the former Indy Racing League made its first appearance in 1997, renewed efforts to improve tickets sales have been in the works, and according to the track, an increase in advance ticket purchases has taken place.

Although it’s unclear whether the boost to ticket sales is modest or significant, one track official characterized the positive growth as a “good step in the right direction.”

Adding to the sales figures, Arrow McLaren star and 2021 TMS race winner Pato O’Ward has taken a unique approach to bolstering the crowd at the Dallas Forth-Worth venue which serves as the Mexican’s defacto home race.

Having spent a significant portion of his youth in San Antonio, O’Ward regards Texas as a second home, and with many of his fans found both in state and in his native land, the 23-year-old from Monterrey has partnered with TMS to produce a special ticket package for the April 1-2 PPG 375 event.

“I’ve got over 150 people coming to my suite that are confirmed, and there’s still spaces available,” O’Ward told RACER. “We have space for 30 or 40 more and it’s a mix of Americans and Mexicans. Some are flying in from Mexico just to be part of it.”

Offered directly through his website, O’Ward and TMS created a $399 offer that includes a hat, jersey, garage access, and viewing from a catered suite.

“I wanted to create something that was a great experience for people where they all say, ‘This is a mega deal,’” O’Ward said. “I worked really hard with TMS to be able to do that, and they’ve been really great in making it happen.”

O’Ward and the track also partnered on another ticket offer which has been well-received by the driver’s fans. With the direct efforts of the 2018 Indy Lights champion and the track in mind, it’s easy to envision more IndyCar drivers making connections with their home tracks to create similar ticket packages that cater to the series’ most engaged fans.

“We also did a giveaway, a huge grandstand ticket giveaway, with any article that people bought from my site,” O’Ward said. “It could be a sticker, it could be a hat, it could be a diecast, a mini helmet. Doesn’t matter what you buy on my store: One article equals one grandstand ticket. And I’ve given away over 500 or 600 tickets for the grandstands at Texas and all these people have been telling me it’s amazing, so I’m glad it’s been well-received.

“I’m just I’m doing it because I want to see people there. I want people to go and have a good reason to go because it’s such a great race IndyCar puts on there and I want to help it grow.”