Tag: Pato O’Ward

O’Ward Doubles Up in Milwaukee

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Just as David Malukas lit the torch to burn the broom, Pato O’Ward snuffed out the flame and drove past Malukas on the final restart to win both races at the Milwaukee Mile on Sunday.

I just watched the replay of Race 1 (second race of the day). here are some quick thoughts.

The history books had a huge rewrite after the race.

The sense of urgency to complete the race, enhanced by sprinkles of rain at the beginning, made for some great moves and some exciting passing.

The completion oof Race 1 from Saturday quickly became an event dominated by Malukas, who clearly had the fastest car. But on the restart with 24 laps to go, an engine hiccup in the Verizon car allowed O’Ward to get past him and win by more than a second.

Malukas now has six second place finishes in his career without a victory. The consensus going into 2026 was that Malukas would surely win a race in his first year with Team Penske. I hope he takes solace in the fact that Simon Pagenaud did not win a race in his first year with Penske either. Pagenaud turned out to be oretty good.

O’Ward is the seventh driver to win two races in one day, and the first since Rick Mears, who won twice at Atlanta in 1981. Other drivers who have achieved this rare feat are Johnny Rutherford, Al Unser, Bobby Unser, Mario Andretti, and Dan Gurney. That is not a bad club to be as member of.

More history came at the end of the final race of the day as Alex Palou won his fifth IndyCar title in six years and his fourth in a row. Palou joins Serbastien Bourdais as the only driver to win four consecutive championships. Only A. J. Foyt (7) and Scott Dixon (6) have more titles than Palou, But the Spaniard is just 29 years old, three years younger than Foyt was when he won his fifth title.

A third bit of history which FOX gave just a scant whiff of notice to was Rinus VeeKay finishing third for Juncos Hollinger Racing. I believe this is the first podium for the team, and deserved more than showing the team celebrating as they went off the air.

VeeKay was one of Sunday’s best drivers. He fell out of contention in the afternoon race after a slow pit stop. VeeKay had been in the top five most of that race. In the nightcap the driver from the Netherlands took third place from Scott McLaughlin with a brilliant move just three laps from the checkered flag.

FOX- A Tired Crew?

I don’t know, but I can assume that the FOX crew was just as tired as everyone else was by the end of the day Sunday. I though the telecast of the suspended race was one of their worst of the season.

The pit stop timer was an on again, off again thing, missing at the crucial stops of the le4aders. Many teams did a remarkable job of completing stops with no time elapsed.

I didn’t understand their obsession with Josef Newgarden, lingering in the bottom half of the top 10. We didn’t need to see his onboard camera for several laps. There was also an inset of 15th place Kyle Kirkwood which was unnecessary.

I look for an improved show from a refreshed broadcast team next Sunday.

I will have a full weekend wrap up tomorrow.

Quick Thoughts- Milwaukee Race 2

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Pato O’Ward le the race comeback to him after a pit stop bobble and won the Milwaukee Snap-On 250. This race was the one scheduled for today. At 5pm Central Time the conclusion of yesterday’s race will begin. O’Ward was leading when the red flagged.

It was a very entertaining race which featured a lot of passing-333 passes for position out of 728 total, including several for the lead. Several drivers had a shot at the win.

“This is the first time I ever won a race while leading another one at the same time,” Pato joked in the media availability after the race.

Who says Christian Lundgaard isn’t good on ovals? he was a threat all day and worked through traffic very well. I still wonder why McLaren thinks they could not win an Indianapolis 500 with Lundgaard.

Will Power’s frustration continues. He played the pit strategy correctly and was the effective leader waiting for Scott McLaughlin and Scott Dixon to pit. Unfortunately, his chances suffered a fatal blow when Race control caught =him speeding on pit lane. The drive through penalty put Power in 14th at the end of the race.

Kyle Kirkwood looked to n=be in good shape for a run near the end, but his car was not as good after his last stop. he finished sixth, and Kirkwood is now 97 points behind Alex Palou-one point short of the title being out nof reach.

Great run- Rinus VeeKay arguably had the fastest car in nthe first stint. He blasted to the front from the 12th starting spot and passed Palou on lap 100, but a slow pit stop took him out of the fight for the win. His seventh place finish puts him back into the top 10 after not finishing lkast weekend.

Scott McLaughlin drove a very long stint,but ended up finishing second. He made one less pit stop, but it didn’t work out. McLaughlin is in good shape for the next race as he pitted just before the red flag.

This will do it for me. I need to start the drive home in a few minutes. Thanks for following along this weekend. I will have more thoughts on the weekend and a review of the completed race 1 tomorrow.

Results

Papaya Domination

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Some quick thoughts on Mid-Ohio:

Pato O’Ward led Arrow McLaren’s total domination of the weekend. Christian Lundgaard won the pole, but O’Ward passed him on track on lap 42. The duo led a combined 86 of the 90 laps. In addition to O’Ward and Lundgaard finishing 1-2, Nolan Siegel finished 10th.

O’Ward becomes the sixth different driver to win a race in 2026

The most intriguing part of the race was the pit strategy. The entire field opted for a three-stop race, but some pitted at the beginning of the window, and others waited until the end of the cycle. In the end, the early pitters had the4 advantage.

The lack of a caution flag and having cars pretty strung out made for a less than exciting television broadcast for the casual viewer. more on the broadcast later.

Why Rinus VeeKay is not with a bigger, more competitive team is puzzling. He made the Fast Six in qualifying, and he backed it up today by finishing fourth. VeeKay had a good shot at a podium spot for awhile.

Kyle Kirkwood’s early pit stop helped gain his first road course podium. Today was one of Andretti Global’s best days on a natural road course in quite a while. Teammate Will Power started third, dropped back at the start and recovered to sixth at the finish. Kirkwood returns to second in the point standings, just 56 points behind Alex Palou, who finished fifth.

After another strong qualifying effort, David Malukas didn’t have the pace to contend with the McLarens. A long pit stop caused by a balky fuel hose dropped to eighth. Malukas drops to fourth in the standings, just 66 points behind the leader.

Hats off the Scott McLaughlin, who toughed it out all afternoon after his cool suit failed on lap 3. He did finish 16th after starting 23rd.

Lundgaard made the statement he needed to this weekend. I don’t understand why McLaren is letting him go. Tony Kanaan said after the race that the 2027 lineup hasn’t been decided yet, and that Lundgaard is “very much in play.”

I don’t understand why they are playing with Lundgaard’s feelings like this. He is third in points, won two races and a pole. What more does he have to do?

FOX Sports

The nice thing about attending races is you don’t have to watch the race broadcast. The booth does a fine job analyzing the race and keeping viewers informed of what is happening, but several things about the presentation are annoying.

It seems that there was a commercial break every three laps. At times it felt as if they would come out of a break, say, “How ya doin’?” and go to another break. The last break seemed so long that I wasn’t sure they would get back in time for the checkered flag.

Townsend Bell was particularly annoying today. He talked about when cars would “box,” his constant soccer references were more numerous than necessary, his obsession with Davidf Malukas, an American (who knew?), drove me up the wall.

That will do it for me this weekend. I’m still recovering from a bug I picked up at the end of my trip to Ireland. Thanks for following See you in Nashville.

Pato Leads Day 3

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As has been the pattern all week, a driver set the fast time of the day early. Today it was Pato O’Ward’s turn to lead the field with a lap of 227.308 mph. O’Ward is the third different driver to lead at the end of a practice day.

“We got a race run in, we got some qualifying simulations in, and the car is in good balance,” O’Ward said. “Tomorrow when the boost comes up, it does change quite a bit. Yeah, so far it’s been very smooth.”

“Today, we noticed (reaching top speeds) over the course of two corners or like half a lap, but tomorrow you’ll go from the start of the exit of (Turn) 2 to the entry of (Turn) 3 almost like full beans, so it’s cool,” O’Ward said.

O’Ward and his number 5 Arrow team had struggled on Tuesday, but found what6 they needed today.

Tomorrow could be a different story for everyone when the extra boost will increase speeds by 5 or 6 mph.

I don’t want top jinx anything, but we have had 18 incident free hours of running. The only stoppages have been for track inspections and debris.

Conor Dly was 25th Thursday after leading Wednesday and having a spot in the top 10 Tuesday. Kyle Kirkwood was 14th, and Alex Palou, Tuesday’s leader, ended the day with the 25th fastest time.

Alexander Rossi turned the most circuits, 68.

Notes

Attendance has been very strong each of the first three days this week. I’m anticipating an even larger turnout tomorrow on Fast Friday.

David Maluykas took time to sign autographs for fans in Gasoline Alley after he finished a run.

If rain interferes with qualifying on Saturday, I’m interested in what the contingency plans are for Sunday. I hope @Indyca_Wxman can keep the rain away.

Results

Today’s session. combined results, and Practice 3 non-tow results:

O’Ward Wants Win from Pole

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Pato O’Ward has won poles. O’Ward has won races. He has never won a race where he started on the pole. He wants to win the Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix tomorrow. Badly.

“I’m determined to make it happen tomorrow,” he declared.

O’Ward took his first oval pole today with a blistering first lap of 202.932 mph, and he averaged 202.621 mph for the two laps.

For the second week in a row, David Malukas qualified on the provisional pole and had to wait to see if any of the last 10 drivers to make their runs could top his 201.922 mph average.

Last week, Alex Palou, the last driver out, beat Malukas for the pole. This week O’Ward by just under seven tenths of a mile per hour.

A somewhat subdued Malukas said, “We’re gonna get there.”

Series champion Alex Palou will start fourh tomorrow.

Nolan Siegel posted the fast speed in the first group of qualifiers, then Josef Newgarden went to the top spot six drivers later. His time there lasted just five more runs until Malukas bumped him down. Malukas survived eight attempts until O’Ward’s scorching laps.

Notes and Quick Thoughts

All three Mclaren cars qualified in the top 10. Christian Lundgaard starts third, and Nolan Siegel rolls off seventh tomorrow.

Andretti Global dominated qualifying and the race last year with Kyle Kirkwood on the pole and Colton Herta winning the race, but they didn’t have the pace today. Kirkwood qualified 13th and Herta15th.

Christian Rasmussen qualified 16th, but will start 25th after serving an engine change penalty. It will be fun watching him come up through the field.

I can’t imagine the frustration David Malukas is going through to come so close to his first career pole and lose it at the last minute. He doesn’t have another chance for six months at St. Pete.

Silly season rumors continue to swirl. Herta going to F2 seems to be gaining momentum. He told FOX sports that he didn’t know if he will be in the number 26 next year.

I still think IndyCar needs to revamp oval qualifying and have the order based on practice speeds instead of point standings. I don’t think it would have changed much today as O’Ward would have been the last driver on track, and Malukas would have gone sixth from last. Still, with the points leader somewhere mid-session, there could be more drama.

Cars are back on track at 3:30 Central for high line groups, followed by a full practice at 4:30 Central. Both sessions are on FS2.

Race Day at Portland

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Good morning from Portland International Raceway.

Today’s Schedule: Times Pacific.

10:06 am- Indy NXT Race 35 laps or 55 minutes FS1

11:30 am Driver Introductions

12:22 am Green flag- Bitnile.com Grand Prix of Portland 110 laps FOX

Weather- 85 degrees at green flag, climbing to 92 degrees by the end of the race. Track temperature should be around 117 degrees at the start of the race and climb.

Only seven drivers will start on the alternate tires, including the first three starters. All team Penske cars are starting on alternates, and Andretti starts two of their drivers, Kyle Kirkwood and Marcus Ericsson, on the red tires.

My initial pick of Christian Lundgaard still seems pretty solid despite his grid penalty, but I am going to hedge a bit and make Felix Rosenqvist my co choice to win.

Crowning a Champion?

Alex Palou’s chances of clinching the series championship depend on where Pato O’Ward finishes. O’Ward can get a maximum of 53 points today. Plaou needs to end the day with a lead of 108 points. If O’Ward gets max points, Palou needs to finish second. Pato needs to outscore Palou by 14 points to keep the title alive for two more weeks.

Milwaukee Under Water

Heavy rains in Milwaukee have flooded Wisconsin State Fair Park, home of the Milwaukee Mile where IndyCar will race in two weeks. The park is closed today.

I hope everyone in Milwaukee stays safe, and the waters recede safely.

I will be back after the race.

Quick Thoughts- Toronto

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Pato O’Ward won the race by stopping. His Arrow McLaren team called him in to ditch the alternate tires on the early caution on lap 3. The strategy put him in position to take the lead on lap 57, then assume it again on lap 62 after everyone else cycled through their final stops. O’Ward dodged the colliding cars of David Malukas and Felix Rosenqvist on lap 88. I thought he may have had slight contact with one of them.

O’Ward has won two of the last three races and has cut Alex Palou’s lead in the championship to 99 points with four races to go.

The 90 lap race was one of the best of the year. Three cautions in the first 30 laps scrambled pit strategies and made it a thinking man’s race, but in between the yellows, fans saw some excellent racing. There were many battles throughout the field. I don’t recall ever seeing Toronto as racy as it was today.

New Faces on the Podium

Rinus VeeKay returned to the podium for the first time in three years. He finished second after O’Ward won the pit stop battle. The result isvindication for VeeKay, who could not find a ride until just before the season began. It is also a win for Dale Coyne Racing. DCR cars usually hover near the Leaders’ Circle cut line, but VeeKay has the 18 solidly in 11th place. VeeKay has recorded seven top 10s and two top fives in 2025.

Kyfffin Simpson has come close, but today he finally earned the elusive podium. Simpson drove from 13th to third as he held off Colton Herta, who had fresher tires. Simpson has had a solid season. He is 14th in points in his sophomore campaign.

A Tale of Two Seasons

From the opener at St. Pete through the Indianapolis 500, IndyCar races were as uninteresting as I ever remember, There were few cautions, and they all occurred very early in the races. The racing was processional, and drama came only when there was a pit stop miscue.

At Detroit, someone finally remembered to turn on the IndyCar racing switch. The last seven races have been amazing. Timely and untimely cautions, incredible racing for position, and victories in doubt until the end have produced a great summer of action.

There are sadly just four races left for 2025, and let’s hope the trend continues.

FOX

While the network pulled out all the stops for the Indianapolis 500, I am finding their broadcasts a bit tedious. Today a they were once again in commercial when a major crash happened, important pit stops were missed, and not much mention was made of O’Ward’s near miss at the end.

Towards the end of the race there was a one lap break between commercials.

The last two weekends we have seen a tiny peek at a pit stop timer. I saw it once today. If you have it, use it consistently. I would rather the pit stop timer overused than the current overuse of onboard cameras. I wnt to see side by side racing, not the view from a cockpit.

Notes

Finally, a good result for Marcus Ericsson. Ericsson finished fifth, between teammates Herta and Kyle Kirkwood. The 2023 500 winner has had a tough year with disqualifications and unfortunate happenings on track.

Tam Penske’s dismal season continues. Scott McLaughlin left the pits with the left rear wheel not mounted properly and crashed in turn 3 on the out lap. It is the third time this season he has been the first car out of the race. Josef Newgarden once again got caught in the wrong place at the wrong time, as he ended up underneath the car of Jacob Abel. Will Power finished 11th, but he had several incidents of contact throughout the day.

David Malukas salvaged a top 10 after a disastrous final pit stop and a collision with two laps to go. Malukas began to exit the pits before the right rear tire had been secured. He stopped and the crew pulled him back, but the time lost nearly ruined the day.

Kirkwood thought that he threw away the pole yesterday. Today he may have thrown away a win. Team strategy had him in a good spot to contend, but he was spun coming in for his last stop and had to fight his way back to sixth. While he regained third place in the standings Kirkwood is 173 points behind Palou.

Results

Thanks for following along this weekend. One more race this month, then a short break.

Quick Thoughts- Iowa Race 1 Makes the Case for a Return

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Its IndyCar future still remains uncertain, but Iowa Speedway put on a very good race today as we saw a new season winner and Chevrolet may have saved their season.

Chevrolet took a sledgehammer and smashed their losing streak into a million pieces. Pato O’Ward led the three Team Penske cars across the finish line in Race 1 at Iowa Saturday. It was O’Ward’s first win of the season as well as the first win for Chevrolet.

Arrow McLaren is just he third team to score a victory in 2025, and O’Ward is just the fourth driver to win a race.

O’Ward got past Josef Newgarden during the final pit stops and held on through two yellow flags and a restart after a red flag. Today’s finish was the closest at Iowa since 2007.

Quick Thoughts

Team Penske had their best day of the season. Newgarden won pole and led 230 laps. Will Power finished third and Scott McLaughlin ended the day in fourth after starting last. Still, there is probably frustration in nthe Penske camp that the victory eluded them.

Kyle Kirkwood had his worst day of the year. He crashed in practice this morning, then he hit the wall during the race. Kirkwood dropped to third in the points standings.

Nolan Siegel had a great run spoiled by his crash on lap 257. he had a top ten all but clinched.

The yellows seemed to come just in time for pit stops or just after a pit cycle had been completed.

The red flag was appropriate as the wall needed to be repaired. Just happened at a bad time for the leader. O’Ward said he wasn’t worried about the restart after the red flag.

Compared to 2024’s races, this Iowa race was not quite up to the old Iowa races, but it was much better than last year. There were passes, mad dashes off pit lane, and a fight for the lead most of the second half of the race. Let’s hope for more of the same tomorrow.

Weather in Iowa is usually brutally hot. While today was warm, it was definitely the most comfortable I have ever been at this track. Tomorrow’s weather will be similar to today’s.

Tomorrow’s race begins at 12;20 pm. FOX comes on the air at noon Central.

Thoughts on Thermal Qualifying

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Photo by Penske Entertainment

A front row lockout, but not by Andretti, and a Fast Six we are not likely to see again highlighted today’s qualifying session for the Thermal Club Grand Prix.

Pato O’Ward is on pole, and teammate Christian Lundgaard will start alongside tomorrow.

I expected a front row lockout might come from Andretti, who had three fast cars during the practices and advanced all their cars to Round 2. Lundgaard had been quick all weekend, but O’Ward had been lagging somewhat. It was a matter of Pato finally getting comfortable with the car.

“I knew if we could get the car to my liking, I would get it done,” O’Ward said. “I’ve got to thank the guys. We turned it around. We dialed it in after Q1 (first qualifying segment) because I was somewhat happy with it but not perfect. Just made a little bit of an adjustment and as soon as we went out in Q2, I said, ‘I’ve got this.’”

If the McLaren front was a surprise, a bigger shock is that none of the Penske cars advanced out of round 1. Newgarden is their highest starter in 17th. Not since 2021 has the first Penske car started lower than 15th.

Notes

I can’t remember the last time that Will Power failed to advance out of Round 1 on consecutive weekends.

Shout out to Louis Foster. The rookie qualified 10th, ahead of Scott Dixon.

Round 2 will probably hold up as one of the best second rounds of qualifying this season. Marcus Armstrong missed the Fast Six by 0.0728 of a second.

The top four in the Fast Six are separated by less than half a second.

I was glad to see FOX show what tire each driver was on, but the graphic was up for just a few seconds in the middle of each round. The tire graphic is going to be important information for viewers throughout the day tomorrow, and it needs to be up the entire race.

Results