Pato O'Ward Tag

By INDYCAR DETROIT – Yet again, Scott Dixon created clarity from chaos to win an NTT INDYCAR SERIES race. Dixon provided another master class in devising tactics on the fly with strategist Mike Hull and saving fuel in his No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, prevailing in a caution-strewn Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear on Sunday on the streets of Detroit. SEE: Race Results Six-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Dixon beat fellow Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge winner Marcus Ericsson by .8567 of a second in Ericsson’sRead More

By INDYCAR DETROIT – Alex Palou, one of the smoothest drivers in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, sure has taken a liking to the rough-and-tumble Streets of Detroit circuit since its debut in 2023. Palou opened his defense of his Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear victory last year by leading the first practice for this year’s event Friday with a top lap of 1 minute, 1.7210 seconds in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. SEE: Practice Results Two-time and reigning NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Palou will aim for hisRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor SPEEDWAY, Ind. – As Josef Newgarden celebrated his second straight win in the Indianapolis 500, runner-up finisher Pato O’Ward pulled into his pit box, started to climb from his car and laid his head on the top of the cockpit as he tried to gather his thoughts about coming so close to accomplishing a life-long dream. The 25-year-old Mexican has come close to winning at Indianapolis before, but this time, it just seemed to sting more. Starting the day in eighth-place, O’Ward held steady among theRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor SPEEDWAY, Ind. – For the second year in a row, Josef Newgarden took matters into his own hands in the final lap of the Indianapolis 500, passing Pato O’Ward to secure back-to-back wins in the biggest race of the NTT IndyCar Series. In a race delayed by rain for more than four hours, Newgarden and O’Ward were racing daylight as the laps wound down Sunday, with the two drivers trading the lead over the final seven laps of the race, with fan-favorite O’Ward taking the leadRead More

By Kirby Arnold, Special Contributor SPEEDWAY, Ind. — Defending Indianapolis 500 winner Josef Newgarden of Team Penske led practice Monday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Chevrolet teams dominated the speed chart.  Again.  One day after Penske drivers swept the three front-row starting spots and Chevy-powered cars claimed the first eight positions for Sunday’s race, the story was much the same Monday in race trim.  Newgarden posted the fastest lap at 226.238 mph and, after Colton Herta was second in his Andretti Global Honda, the next five were Chevy cars – Will Power,Read More

By Kirby Arnold, Special Contributor SPEEDWAY, Ind. — Practice for the Indianapolis 500 was a mix of qualifying simulations, race setups and, of course, rain on Thursday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.  Pato O’Ward drove his Arrow McLaren Chevrolet to the fastest speed of the day at 228.861 mph, with Wednesday’s fast runner Scott McLaughlin of Team Penske second at 227.316 on the 2.5-mile track. Alex Palou of Chip Ganassi Racing was third at 226.828.  After two days of rain and little track time since practice began Tuesday, teams put inRead More

By INDYCAR INDIANAPOLIS – Alex Palou started his defense of his 2023 Sonsio Grand Prix victory in the best way possible Friday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, winning the pole for this year’s race. Two-time and reigning NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Palou earned his fourth career NTT P1 Award and his first since the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear last June. His best lap today in the Firestone Fast Six was 1 minute, 9.0004 seconds in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. SEE: Qualifying Results The pole on the 14-turn, 2.439-mileRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Scott McLaughlin is a man on a mission. Coming into the weekend at Barber Motorsports Park, the driver of the No. 3 Team Penske Chevrolet has nowhere to go but up, with only five points to his name after a disqualification in St. Petersburg and a mechanical issue in Long Beach that has him all the way down at the bottom of the cellar in the point standings in 29th — last among any driver that has started a race in 2024. WithRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Josef Newgarden is out to defy his critics. After a trying week in which he and Team Penske have been dealing with the aftermath of their St. Petersburg disqualifications, the No. 2 team did what they do best in the opening practice for the Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix at Barber Motorsports Park, topping the Friday afternoon session. While the session got off to an inauspicious start, with Newgarden spinning off track in Turn 14 in the opening minutes of the 90-minuteRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – And now for the rest of the story. Ahead of Sunday’s Children’s of Alabama Grand Prix at Barber Motorsports Park, Team Penske has been busy trying to put out the fires after two of their three cars were disqualified for tampering with the Push to Pass system in the season-opening race in St. Petersburg. But many in the NTT IndyCar Series paddock aren’t buying the explanations that have been put forth for the team’s transgressions. Across the board from Andretti Global to ChipRead More