Tag: Pato O’Ward

McLaren Extends O’Ward’s Contract

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Image from Arrow Mclaren Racing

From Arrow McLaren:

McLAREN RACING EXTENDS CONTRACT WITH PATO O’WARD

“McLaren has become home for me, and I am proud that I’ll be racing in papaya for a few more years at least”

Arrow McLaren IndyCar Team logo

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McLaren Racing today announced that Pato O’Ward has signed a multiyear contract extension with the Arrow McLaren IndyCar Team ahead of the 2024 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season.

Pato, 24, is entering his fifth full season in the series, all with Arrow McLaren, and has established himself as one of the sport’s top drivers. Since joining the team, Pato has made 64 race starts and secured four wins, five poles, 20 podium finishes and three top-four finishes in the series championship.

Last season, Pato and the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet finished fourth in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship after claiming seven podiums, including four runner-up finishes. He also became eligible for his super license after reaching the points threshold following the season, leading to his appointment as a 2024 McLaren Racing F1 Reserve Driver. Pato will fulfill his reserve driver duties for the team following the INDYCAR season.

Pato remains one of the most popular figures in the series, driving significant fan engagement through social media and at-track activations throughout the country.

Gavin Ward, Team Principal, Arrow McLaren, said:

“This is a big day for the team and for Pato. It’s been great to see Pato and the team grow together. We’re thrilled to continue racing with him and I look forward to showing the racing world what we can achieve as a group. Having this done and dusted before the start of the season means the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet crew can go into the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg free from distraction and with one goal in mind: to execute each race weekend to the fullest of our potential.”

Pato O’Ward, Driver, No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, said:

“I couldn’t be more excited to sign this deal with the team. I have to thank Zak and Gavin, the partners and all who were involved in making this happen, especially before the NTT INDYCAR SERIES season starts so we can focus on racing and winning. McLaren has become home for me, and I am proud that I’ll be racing in papaya for a few more years at least.”

O’Ward Leads Mid Ohio Practice 1

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In a frenzied practice session, Pato O’Ward turned in the fastest lap of Practice 1, 1:06.4935. Alex Palou was second quick, and Marcus Ericsson was third. The htree drivers are in the top four of the points standings heading into the weekend.

Helio Castroneves caused the only stoppage for an off track incident.

As usual, itwas a busy day at Mid Ohio. I will have more later.

Results

O’Ward Tops Practice 1

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Pato O’Ward turned the quickest lap in the lpening practice for the GMR bGrand Prix this morning. The Arrow McLaren driver posted a lap of 1:09.4981. Five different teams had a car in nthe top 10. Ganassi had three drivers- Alex Palou, Marcus Ericsson, and Scott Dixon finishing third, seventh, and eighth.

Colton Herta came into the pits after his install lap with a fire on the rear side. It was likely caused by an oil leak. The crew fixed the car and they returned to mpit lane with about five minutes left in the session. Herta went out formone install lap.

Romainn Grosjean, one of the favorites to win tomorrow,ended the session in16th.

Rhahal Letterman Laqnigan drivers Christian Lundgaard and Jack Harvey, were second and fifth, respectively. Graham rahal was 13th. the nteam haqd been struggling for speed eaqrly in nthe season. They showed a slight improvement at Barber, and tioday it appears they have found whatnthey need.

New Improved Mounds

The viewing mounds in turns 1 and 2 have a new look. They have been combined into one sweeping mound that is higher, offering a better view. The new mound runs from turn allthe way the exit of turn 2. It slopes downward a bit as you go toward turn 2. It is a great improvement.

Results

O’Ward Stays on Top

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Pato O’Ward retained first place in practice two at long Beach this morning. O’Ward turned the only lap under1:06 of the the weekend with a 1;05.9982 late in the session.

Three minutes into todays practice Callum Ilott hit a new curb and sailed into the tires. Three minutes after practice resumed, Rinus Veekay had the same thing happen to him. The extra curb was not in place during prctice yesterday. It was removed for the IMSA practice and qualifying. The curb was in place for Indycars in 2022. Drivers were not informed of the curb’s placement before the session began.

Andretti Autosport continues to show speed, with Kyle Kirkwood second, Romain Grosjean third, and Colton Herta fourth.

TScott Dixon led the Ganassi cars in seventh, followed by Marcus Ericsson in eightth and Alex Palou in tenth.

There were several wall brushes and some traffic issues during the practice round, which is not surprising with n27 cars on track. The best moment was Kyle kirkwood giving David malukas the tumbs up for ruining his lap.

“Thank you, Malukas,” Kirkwood said on the radio.

Results:

O’Ward Fastest in Friday’s Practice

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Today’s schedue”

All times Eastern

11:45-12:45. Practice. 2. Peacock

3:05 pm. Qualifying. Peacock

5 pm-IMSA race USA and Peacock

Pato O’Ward posted the quickest lap in Friday’s first prcatice for the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. The session saw a lot of slidin, especiay in the bewly paved areaHel;io Castrnv=eves and Agustin canapino brought out the only red fla when they each stalled in different areas the track at nearly the same time.

Andretti Autosport showed its expected streng with Romain Grosjean and Colton Herta leading at various times. Kyle Kirkwood also had some time in the top five.

In addition to O’ward, Arrow McLaren placed Alexander Rossi seventh and Felix rosenqvist ninth.

Chip Ganassi Racing also had a strong day with Scott Dixon second, Marcus Ericsson fourth, and Alex Palou sixth.

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing demonstrated sopme improvement with Christian Lundgaard 10th and Jack harvey 12th. Graham Rahal finished 16th.

Results:

‘Beautiful Chaos’-Quick Thoughts- PPG375

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Wow! Just Wow!

Today’s race was the best Indycar race in a long time. It reminded of the 2015 Fontana race.

David Malukas’s description, which I used in the title, sums it up perfectly.

It was great to see the old Texas race return. Indycar, don’t change a thing for next year.

Indycar got the package right. Cars could race and pass each other, the leaders weren’t stuck behind lapped cars for 20 or 30 laps, and there were battles for the lead virtually all day.

Is Newgarden-O’Ward the rivalry Indycar has needed? Today was the seventh time the duo has finished 1-2 since 2020. Newgarden has won five of those but I think the gap will be closer by the end of this season.

Pato O’Ward had the dominant car. It’s a shame the race ended under caution,but it happens sometimes.

When will Felix Rosenqvist do more than just win a pole at a race?

Another big car repair weekend for Andretti Autosport this wekend. Colton Herta did end up seventh after battling for the lead late in the race.

Juncos Hollinger Racing with another nice race. Callum Ilott earned his second straight top 10, finishing ninth, and Augustin Canapino finished 12th, the same place he finished at St. Pete. Today was canapino’s fiorst oval race ever. He has to be the leading candidate for Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year.

David Malukas continues to be a factor on ovals. He was fourth today and second at Gateway last August. I wouldn’t be surprised if he wins at Iowa or Gateway later this year. Malukas is off to a great start in 2023 with two top 10 finishes.

The 20 laps after the second caution saw some of the best racing I’ve seen anytime. Edge of your seat stuff.

A fine drive today by Alex Palou, who finished third and was fighting for the lead at the end.

It’s a shame more fans weren’t there to witness such a great race. For some reason this track does not do a lot to promote a great product. maybe going back to a night race two weeks after he 500 would help.

Some stats– 482 passes for position, 300 more than the average for Texas. the 26 lead changes were the most at TMS since 2001, 26 races ago.

I will have more to say about this race tomorrow. I want to watch the replay 2or three times first.

The Spell Breaks; O’Ward Wins Iowa as Newgarden Crashes

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Deja Vu left the track with 65 laps to go, destroying any chance of a podium repeat from Saturday and smashing Josef Newgarden’s iron grip on Iowa Speedway. Pato O’Ward, who couldn’t figure out how get around newgarden Saturday, jumped to the lead and held on to win the Salue to Farmers 300.

Some Quick Thoughts

Another huge crowd saw another entertaining race. Not quites as god as Saturday’s race, but still an entertaining event.

Today’s win is the third time Pato O’Ward has won the second half of a double header. His fourth career victory came in his 50th Indycar start.

O’Ward’s last three oval finishes- 2nd, 2nd, 1st.

Has Andretti been replaced by Arrow McLaren SP in the Big Three? This weekend’s results-six of Saturday’s top 10 were from Penske, Ganassi, and AMSP. Today’s top 10 had seven finishers from those three.

Romain Grosjean was the star of the wekend for Andretti with two top 10s- 7th and 9th.

Great Drives-

Jimmie Johnson finishedfifth today. yesterday he led 19 laps before fading to 11th.

David Malukas ended the day eighth and cut Christian Lundgard’s Rookie of the Year lead to four points.

Marcus Ericsson barely hung on to the points lead. He leads Power by eight points and Newgarden by 34. O’Ward is just 36 points behind.

I talked to several fans today who were at Iowa Speedway for the first time.One, a veteran race fan, was amazed at the racing. A couple was attending their first race ever, and they loved it.

I will have more later tonight and a full wrapup tomorrow afternoon. I Need to hit the roiad back home. This was a fantastic weekend, which I will talk about tomorrow.

O’Ward Pole Ties Series Record

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Some quick thought on today’s qualifying. A more detailed story will comer later tonight.

Pato O’Ward is the ninth different pole winner in the nine Indycar races in 2022. The last time nine different drivers won poles for the first nine races was 1961.

O’Ward on track

O’Ward thinks that Will Power would have been a threat for the pole had he not received a penaltty in Round 1 for interference.

The top three in points were eliminated in Round 1. Points leader Marcus Ericsson will start 13th, Will Power lines up21st, and Josef Newgarden will stat 14th. O’Ward sits fourth in point, 45 points behind Ericsson. Tomorrow is a hiuge opportunity for the Arrow McLaren SP driver.

Rookies Shine

Three rookies made the second round and two just missed advancing to the final round.

Kyle Kirkwood earned his best starting spot of the season. He starts ninth, justmissing the Fast Six.

Kyle Kirkwood

David Malukas continues to improve and will be eighth on the grid Sunday.

Callum Ilott starts 10th.

………………………………………………………………………………………….

Scott Dixon has his bestb road course starting position in fifth.

Nice to see Simon Pagenaud make the Fast Six. The Meyer Shank team has struggled in qualifying this year.

Back later with more about today’s very interesting qualifying.

O’Ward Sets Practice 2 Pace

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The kids took over in GMR Grand Prix practice in the second session. The top five drivers are all 25 years old or younger.

Pato O’Ward grabbed the fastest time late in the session from Alex Palou. The top four drivers recorded laps in the 1:09 bracket. The top 23 cars are within one second of O’Ward’s time. Practice had two red flag interruptions, both within the first seven minutes of the session.

Alex Palou was first in the morning practice and second in the afternoon.

Dalton Kellett spun off track into the sand trap and could move. David Malukas went off track to avoid Kellet’s car. Malukas was able to continue back to the pits.

Jimmie Johnson went off track min the same area a few minutes later. The rest of the practice was green.

As I expected, some drivers who were down nthe chart in the morning practice improved their times. Rinus VeeKay was fourth this afternoon after ending the morning session 21st. Veekay was the first driver to turn a lap under 1:10.

Callum Ilott dropped to 19th from second in the just completed round. Christian Lundgaard, fifth in the just completed practice, improved from14th this morning.

Notes

I noticed a few more new things around the speedway.

BMW has a new building in turn three. I am not sure what the building will be used for.

Recycling cans are prevalent throughout the grounds next to trash cans. It’s nice to see some tangible environmental commitment by IMS.

Results: