Tag: Pato IO'Ward

Quick Thoughts-Milwaukee Race 1- Pato- monium

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Photo by Kyle McInnes

All of a sudden Indycar oval racing is good again. The gloom and doom following the Iowa doubleheader has vanished like gossamer on windy day.

WWTR had a good race, and this evening’s race also produced a good show. The race ended with Will Power chasing down winner Pato O’Ward. Races always seem more fun when Pato wins. Itb was certainly a poular victory with the fans.

O’Ward, the most popular driver in Indycar and Mexico, dominated the race ince he took the lead, staying at the front for 133 laps. Any other winner would have been overshadowed by third place finisher Conor Daly, who started 25th and gave. Juncos Hollinger Racing their first podium..

O’Ward first took the lead on lap 68, led again from lapo 119-185, and took the lead for good on lap 195. He managed traffic beautifully, keeping Will Power at bay to win by just under two seconds. It was one of O’Ward’s more convincing wins.

Daly- From 25th to 3rd

Juncos Hollinger Racing hired Conor Daly to replace Agustin Canapino for one reason- to get into the Leaders’ Circle. Based on tonight’s result, it looks as if they made the right choice. The 78 is now 21st in entrant point -above the cut line.iiDaly does well on ovals, but tonight was arguably one of the best drives of his career, He started 25th in a car that had not shown except for a few solid qualifying efforts and brought home the team’s first Indycar podium.

Daly admitted in the post race press conference that finances may keep him from keeping htis ride in 2025. JHR would be well served to find a way for Daly to stay. The team has shown improvement this season, and I think Daly could help take another step forward.

Notes

Katherine Legge recovered from a spin and earned a top 20 finish.

Why did the last caution, for debris, require 16 laps?

Power cut Alex Palou’s lead to 43 points as Palou managed a fifth place result. Power shave 11 points from the advantage. Even he cuts 11 points in each of the final two races, Palou still takes his third title.

Power noted in the press conference that Indycar, not NASCAR, should be racing in Mexico.

Results

O’Ward Fastest in Final Practice

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Photo by Kyle McInnes

Pato O’Ward led the evening practice as the Indycar series had its final tune up before this afternoons’ Bommarito Automotive Group 500.

Early in the session Nolan Siegel had a tire come apart on the front stretch. he pulled to the inside ad stopped next to the pit wall. Firestone officials determined that the tire had been cut and that it did not deflate immediately. A serious situation was avoided.

Josef Newgarden led for much of the session, and O’Ward grabbed the top spot in the final 30 minutes.

The practice followed a 30 minute high line session as cars tried to make the second groove usable for the race. It will still be difficult to pass tonight.

Alex Palou and Graham Rahal ((Photo by Kyle McInnes)

The 7:30 start time for the practice would be the ideal for this race to begin. The t excessive heat of the day moderated, and it was pleasant during the second half of the session. Indycar needs to have a true night race again.

Silver Crown

Dakoda Armstrong won the USAC Silver Crown race at WWTR last night. Justin Grant, winner of the BC39 at IMS last fall, was second, and Kalee Bryson scored her first career podium.

I will have a pre race story up in a couple of hours.

Results

Ericsson Fastest Overall; O’Ward Leads Morning Session

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Marcus Ericsson had the fastest overall time of the two day Sebring test session for Indycar. The 2022 Indianapolis 500 winner led the final test round as 12 cars turned laps on the test’s final day. Pato O’Ward led the morning session.

Colin Braun, in his Indycar debut for Dale Coyne Racing, turned a faster lap than Jack Harvey did in the other Coyne car on Monday.

Kyffin Simpson was the fastest rookie driver, ninth overall.

Tuesday Morning Tims:

Results from Tuesday afternoon:

Overall Combined results:

O’Ward Sees Elements of Other Tracks in Detroit

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Photo by Kyle McInnes

Pato O’Ward lwed tody’s opening practice for the Detroit Grand Prix this afternoon. The track proved a challenge for the entire grid as they learned the circuit.

“It’s definitely a unique track, I think it has a lot of characteristics from all the other street courses that we go to in terms of pavements, certain type of corners. Yeah, we rolled off strong,” O’Ward said.

Red flags stopped gthe session six times, including the final one for O’Ward. Many drivers found the runoff areas but were able to keep going.

Arrow McLaren placde all three cars in the top 10 with Felix Rosenqvisy fifth and Alexander Rossi sixth.

Callum Ilott rebounded from a difficult May to finish today ninth.

Indianapolis 500 winner Josef Newgarden was 15th today, trailing eammates Will Power, who was seventh, and Scott McLaughlin in 10th.

Results

Detroit First Practice- Seeing Red

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The opening practice for the Detroit Grand Prix saw several stoppages for cars stalled in runoff areas. Drivers are learning the byumpy narrow track with tight turns.

Pato O’Ward led the session with a lap of 1:03.0773. Scott Dixon was second and Alexander Rossi third. The top 10 cars are within a second of the leader. I will have a report later tonight with full results.

I arrived later than I anticipated, and I had trouble finding my designated parking garage. I ended upparking in another garage farther away. As a result, i have not had time to explore the track.

The media center, however, is one of the nicest I have seen. Maybe this track doesn’t need to be explored.

The split pit lane is wider than I thought and should not cause manyn issues within the pits itself. Blending back onto the track could be tricky. it is a blind exit. If a driver crosses the three foot wide strip separating the righ and left pits, they must drive through and reenter afetr another lap.

Pit assignments

Assignments based on qualifying for the GMR Grand Prix.

Tickets Are Coming

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From IMS:

O’Ward, Rosenqvist Help Send Blue Envelopes
of Indy 500 Tickets to Fans  
   
INDIANAPOLIS (Wednesday, March 8, 2023) – The countdown to the 107th Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge reached another special moment as the highly anticipated blue envelopes featuring Race Day tickets were mailed Wednesday, March 8 from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Ticket Office. The initial ticket mailing also received some assistance as Arrow McLaren teammates Pato O’Ward and Felix Rosenqvist, who finished second and fourth, respectively, in last year’s edition of “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing,” were part of the festivities of shipping more than 150,000 tickets.

The shipments extend to all 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia and 35 countries around the world as race fans eagerly await Indy 500 Race Day on Sunday, May 28. Both O’Ward and Rosenqvist also signed, sealed and sent a couple of envelopes to lucky fans that will set out for their respective homelands of Mexico and Sweden.

“I had no idea the process that it was for the physical tickets to get mailed,” said O’Ward, driver of the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet.

“So, for me, it just screams and yells tradition, and the Indy 500 is all about tradition. I’m really happy that I got to do this, and I got to see what it’s all about. It’s not just a simple email. There’s a lot of meaning to that ticket. People collect them. People have them at home. They keep them at home, and I think that’s very special.”

It takes approximately nine weeks to package all pre-ordered tickets for mailing, from orders the day after the previous year’s race up to current orders. Hard work from employees in the Ticket Office and other Penske Entertainment Corp. departments ensures the ticketing process runs smoothly and on schedule.

A few facts and figures about this year’s initial ticket mailing:

Number of tickets sent: More than 150,000 Race Day tickets (includes Race Day tickets, parking, concert tickets, etc.)

Number of blue envelopes sent: More than 25,000

Number of U.S. Postal Service trays to accommodate envelopes: More than 580

Weight of all ticket envelopes and trays in first mailing: More than 5,000 pounds

Hours needed to fill envelopes by hand: More than 880 person-hours

Number of working days to package envelopes: 43

Number of Penske Entertainment employees who fill envelopes: 43

Number of states distributed: 50

Number of countries distributed: 35 (including the United States)

Federal postal inspectors came to IMS with a large truck for the first mailing. O’Ward and Rosenqvist joined several IMS employees in helping load the trucks.

“Oh, it’s the most physical labor I’ve done in a while,” said a smiling Rosenqvist, driver of the No. 6 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. “It’s pretty awesome. It’s a lot of tickets. When you go into that room, you’re like, ‘Wow.’ It gives you perspective on what a big event the Indy 500 is.

“It’s pretty cool to put a little personal touch to some of the envelopes and just being here with everyone from IMS just helping out. Sometimes you take for granted everything behind the scenes, but just a thing like mailing out the tickets is such a huge project, and I’m happy to be part of it. It’s cool; 81 days out, we’re getting closer.”

Receiving an eagerly awaited blue envelope in the mail is a rite of spring for thousands of fans of “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.” But why are the envelopes blue? In the 1970s, Indianapolis 500 tickets were mailed in brown envelopes with the IMS return address in the upper left corner. In the 1980s, a heavier-stock, gray-colored envelope was introduced to mail the tickets, with just the IMS Post Office box number in the upper left corner. A computerized printer also was used for the first time in the 1980s to print ticket customers’ name and address on each envelope.

When the NASCAR Cup Series was added to the IMS schedule in 1994, the Ticket Office needed a way to distinguish between the envelopes containing tickets for the Indianapolis 500 and the annual NASCAR race, especially if the Postal Service returned the envelope as non-deliverable. So, the IMS Ticket Office decided to color-code the ticket envelopes for each event. Indianapolis 500 ticket envelopes became blue, Brickyard Weekend envelopes became purple, GMR Grand Prix envelopes became green, and ticket envelopes for other IMS events use a variety of colors, including red, cream, gray and yellow.

Tickets for the 107th Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge on Sunday, May 28, the GMR Grand Prix on Saturday, May 13 and all other Month of May events are available at IMS.com/Tickets or via the IMS Ticket Office at 317-492-6700.