Pato defeated Palou mano-a-mano at Mid-Ohio
Pato O’Ward – Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio – Photo by Chris Owens
By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio
Arrow McLaren ace Pato O’Ward says he has “massive respect” for Alex Palou, the two-time/reigning NTT IndyCar Series champion from arch-rival Chip Ganassi Racing.
Alex Palou, Pato O’Ward and Scott McLaughlin – Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio – Photo by Chris Owens
“It’s always been a pleasure racing against him, to be honest,” O’Ward said Saturday during a post-qualifying presser at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, where Palou had pipped him for pole position by 0.0024-seconds. “You always know that you can race him really hard, but you know that you’re going to get the same in return. I think that’s very valuable when you’re going 200-something miles an hour.”
Case in point: Sunday’s The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Presented by the 2025 Civic Hybrid. O’Ward and Team Principal Gavin Ward matched tire strategies with Palou & Co. for 80 laps/180.64-miles en route to an excuse-free victory.
“Yeah, no, that’s how you want to win,” said O’Ward, a 25-year-old native of Mexico with family ties to San Antonio. “That’s how I want to win.”
Pato O’Ward – Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio – Photo by Chris Owens
O’Ward slid his No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet sideways through the final corner of the 2.258-mile/13-turn natural-terrain layout in Lexington, Ohio, to hold off Palou and his No. 10 Ridgeline Lubricants Chip Ganassi Racing Honda by 0.4993-seconds _ closest finish this season on a road or street circuit.
Fittingly, the inaugural race of INDYCAR’s Hybrid Power Unit Era was decided between two of its largest talents with personalities to match.
“I’ve had to fight so freaking hard to win,” said O’Ward, whose fan base is as loyal, animated and Papaya Orange colorful as any on tour. “It feels so sweet because it wouldn’t have been the same, like (if) Palou got an MGU (motor generator unit) fault or whatever and we just took the win. That’s not the same. I was excited to have this challenge and like truly prove it to all of us and just do it.”
Pato O’Ward – Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio – Photo by Paul Hurley
It was Pato’s sixth career series victory and second this season. But he inherited win No. 5 weeks after the season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg (Fla.) in March when Josef Newgarden _ who crossed the line first ahead of O’Ward _ was disqualified by INDYCAR officials in April after it was discovered that Team Penske illegally had used the push-to-pass system.
“This feels like the first win of the season,” O’Ward said. “I know St. Pete we were P2 and ultimately ended up getting the win because Penske cheated. And yeah, the (Indianapolis) 500 was two corners short (as runnerup to Newgarden). But we really pushed it. I was pushing so hard. Watching Palou kind of trying to run away with it in the first stint, I said, ‘No way, no way!’^”
Indeed, this race evolved into a tale of tire strategies involving Firestone Firehawk’s primary and alternate rubber. Pole-winner Palou and O’Ward both began the race on Firestone’s primary tires. Palou established his superiority quickly on the harder, more durable rubber, building a lead of approximately six seconds before O’Ward’s first pit stop at the end of Lap 27. O’Ward opted for the softer, grippier Firestone alternate tires on his first stop, and Palou followed suit on his stop one lap later and stayed out-front after the first pit cycle concluded.
Pato O’Ward – Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio – Photo by Paul Hurley
“For some reason they are so quick on the primes, the Ganassi cars,” O’Ward said. “They’re in a different stratosphere. But I knew as soon as we got the reds on, that was my chance to close the gap and ultimately beat him.”
Palou built a lead of 4.2-seconds over O’Ward by Lap 43. But O’Ward’s car rallied on the red-sidewall Firestone alternates. O’Ward trimmed the lead to just five-tenths-of-a-second by Lap 54 and the race of dueling strategies was on.
“We couldn’t make the alternate tires last,” said Palou, a 27-year-old native of Spain. “Pato started catching us and I couldn’t really do anything. I just destroyed my front tires.”
O’Ward made his second and final stop for new Firestone primary tires at the end of Lap 54, while Palou pitted a lap later for scuffed Firestone primaries. Those stops were crucial. O’Ward’s was clean, while Palou stumbled exiting his pit box and lost a second.
Alex Palou – Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio – Photo by Paul Hurley
“We had a slow stop,” Palou said. “I couldn’t really engage first gear. Maybe I was trying to get it too fast, so probably my fault. Anyways, good race. Had fun. Good, solid day.”
That slight delay dropped Palou just behind O’Ward when Alex exited the pits on Lap 57 _ and O’Ward kept the lead for the remainder of the race.
“I’m super-stoked,” Pato said. “I’m so proud of the team. All my No. 5 guys, they’ve been working so hard. It just feels like we’ve had heartbreak after heartbreak after heartbreak and we’ve obviously had a tough battle trying to figure out this new tire this year. Yeah, it feels so good to give this to them. I know they’re as happy as I am and we earned it. No one gave it to us. We had to earn it.”
Palou recorded his eighth top-five finish in nine races to expand his points gap. Palou now leads second-place Will Power by 48 points. Native Australian Power, another two-time series champ, finished 11th in the No. 12 Verizon Business Team Penske Chevrolet. O’Ward, meanwhile, climbed to third in the standings, 70 points behind Palou.
Native New Zealander Scott McLaughlin completed the podium in third in his No. 3 Sonsio Team Penske Chevrolet.
“This weekend really has been very smooth,” O’Ward said. “Like, we executed in qualifying. But as soon as we were done in P2, I told the guys, ‘This is the best car that you’ve given me all year.’ Like, I have something to battle with.”
That said, O’Ward made it a point to eliminate any mistakes inside the cockpit on a day during which he competed without a cool-suit. “I have to say, it’s the first race in my career where I didn’t really have a chance to kind of take a seat when I got out of the car,” O’Ward said. “When I was doing the NBC interview, quickly after that I had to take a seat. I don’t use the cool-suit. I know a lot of these guys do. It just gets so warm in there, so warm and it’s so physical. It’s a lot more physical than I thought.
“We were fuel-saving the whole race but it felt like a full-push. It really did and every lap was just all about not making any mistakes because Palou wasn’t making any mistakes, either. I knew we had to be pretty much perfect to have an opportunity.
“But yeah, we beat him on the same strategy, same everything, which makes it feel obviously that much sweeter because that No. 10 car has been the car to beat, and it still is the car to beat all year. They’ve been very, very strong; very strong driver with extremely strong team. That’s who we’re chasing at the moment.”
O’Ward said the win with Chevy’s Hybrid Power Unit has, at least temporarily, rebooted the team’s trajectory on road-courses, where Palou has been dominant. Sunday’s race marked the launch of INDYCAR’s long-awaited Hybrid Power Unit Era, a first-of-its-kind collaboration between the Indianapolis-based sanctioning body and OEM partners Chevrolet and Honda. The unit pairs the existing 2.2-liter twin-turbocharged V-6 internal combustion engine with ground-breaking supercapacitor hybrid technology.
“This year it’s been more of a tough battle, I would say, in road-courses, which usually have been our strong suit,” O’Ward said. “So now with the hybrid, with the extra weight, I just think the way we work together and to kind of really extract the most out of this new package was very refreshing. I think it’s a great boost for all of us to kind of drive us forward.
“This is race No. 9, so we barely got over halfway (on the schedule). There’s still so much racing to go. I know I’m very strong in ovals and there’s a lot of ovals left. I have a lot of faith in the team that they’re going to give me a good car to battle it out in those, and yeah, I think the next one to really try and maximize a lot of points on the table is Iowa. It’s a repave, it’s different and we need to stay on top of it.”
Next up is a double-header this weekend at Iowa Speedway, as “oval season” begins with six of the last eight races on circle tracks. The Hy-Vee Homefront 250 presented by Instacart is set for 8 p.m. (EDT) Saturday, July 13, with the Hy-Vee One Step 250 presented by Gatorade at noon on Sunday, July 14. NBC, Peacock and the INDYCAR Radio Network will provide live coverage of both races.
Team Principal Ward marked not only the win but the two-year anniversary of his move to Arrow McLaren from CGR.
“It’s nice to have a win this season that we can celebrate the day-of,” Ward deadpanned, referencing the belated Streets of St. Pete victory. “I was thinking in the closing laps how big this would be for the team. This team has worked so hard throughout the offseason on the hybrid program _ drivers, engineers, mechanics, everybody. Every single person on this team has put in so much work.
“It’s been the busiest year in the history of this team, and it’s been a heck of a slog these last few months. It’s great to show what the team is capable of. It was a beautifully executed drive by Pato, and a beautifully executed race from the stand and in pit lane.”
O’Ward, in turn, was pleased to offer his single-minded boss a bit of relief. “Man, what can I tell you? Gavin has got a lot of passion,” Pato said. “He’s got a lot of passion for what he does and for racing and just for building a very strong race team.
“This probably feels as strong (for Ward) as it feels for me because really, our last _ my last win, not counting St. Pete _ really was Iowa. Gavin was present but it was shortly after he joined the team. This is truly the first one that we’ve all been able to…well, to really live.
“I think Gavin has got a whole group of people behind him that also trust him, where he’s taking this team. He’s definitely brought a different view to how to approach certain things, but it’s not going to change in one day to another. It takes time. It takes money, just like everything. We can’t go play race cars without a chunk of money. But yeah, we’re here to win.
“It made me so happy seeing their faces at the podium now. I could really tell that they know I drove my ass off because they can tell in the telemetry. And honestly, that’s what they should expect because that’s what I expect from myself. Ultimately there’s nothing like having a team of people behind you that truly trusts you 100 percent and they know when you do have that chance, you will make it happen for them.
“That’s always been what I strive for and what I want to give to them. Sometimes it just…we need to look at our realities, and sometimes kind of bring that bar down a little bit to get to that objective and then bring it back up.”
O’Ward also gave a shout-out to his fans, including his ever-present Tex-Mex contingent.
“I always say Pato fans are the best,” O’Ward said. “It’s very cool to see and a very grateful, fulfilling feeling going to the different markets. A lot of Papaya walking around, a lot of No. 5 jerseys and people excited. That’s why we do this. At the end of the day, we’re in entertainment. My goals and ambitions are obviously always to strive forward in my career and just try and make _ bring something to motorsports that maybe wasn’t there, I would say.
“I’ve tried to kind of dip my toes in different areas to enhance a fan’s experience at a weekend. I can’t do it everywhere because ultimately _ it would be great to make it a business, but it’s not as easy as that _ and sometimes I just end up spending my own money, and they’re chunks. There’s thousands and thousands of my own money that…I want people to see what INDYCAR is and what it can bring to them, just like some people follow soccer, some people follow basketball. Why not follow racing?
“It’s definitely been frustrating lately because I haven’t given them that reason to, like, just go crazy. I think the Indy 500 was obviously the closest that we’ve been. But it feels really special to see such a group of people that’s behind me and whether it’s good or bad weekends, a good chunk of them are always behind us, and that’s very special.”
Texas-based A.J. Foyt Racing’s Santino Ferrucci recorded a much-needed 10th-place result in the No. 14 Sexton Properties Chevrolet.
“A solid day for us here at A.J. Foyt Racing,” said Ferrucci, a resident of Dallas. “Honestly, the boys did a phenomenal job in pit lane and I could not have done it without them. We had the right strategy and great pit stops so all I did was drive the car. We had a great setup on the Sexton Properties Chevrolet and had pace and were able to move it forward.”
Ferrucci, who started 21st in the 27-car field, earned the “Biggest Mover” award for gaining the most positions via a two-stop strategy. The Connecticut native scored his sixth top-10 in nine starts for the team based in Waller, Texas.
Teammate Sting Ray Robb started 25th and finished 16th in the No. 41 Goodheart/Pray.com A.J. Foyt Racing Chevrolet. That result tied his best career finish of 16th, which he earned in this year’s Indy 500.
“Really happy with the result,” Robb said. “Considering where we started the weekend, that was really good. The team, honestly, it was all up to them. I didn’t pass hardly any cars on-track. It was all in the pit cycle. So good in and out-laps, good pit stops, great strategy. That’s how we moved the Goodheart/Pray.com Chevrolet forward.
“Super-proud of Santino as well. Another top-10 result for him is really good. I pretty much just watched him the whole race. Tried to hook a tow rope up to the back of his car and let him pull me along. But I think that with a few more little changes here and there, we could be in the top-10 alongside him. So hopefully that’s coming soon.”
Caio Collet left no doubt. Brazilian rookie Collet led all 35 laps from pole to earn his first career INDY NXT by Firestone victory Sunday in the Grand Prix at Mid-Ohio. Collet drove his No. 18 HMD Motorsports entry to a 6.8091-second victory over runner-up Louis Foster of Great Britain in the No. 26 Copart/Novara Technologies car fielded by Andretti Global.
“We couldn’t have asked for a better weekend,” said Collet, a 22-year-old native of Sau Paulo, Brazil. “We led every session, pole position, fastest lap. I think the car was great since Friday. The first lap, I felt really, really good. I managed to put the weekend together and I’m really, really happy.”
Jacob Abel finished third in the No. 51 Abel Construction entry fielded by Abel Motorsports.
Rookies filled three of the top-five finishing positions on the 2.258-mile/13-turn Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Callum Hedge placed fourth in the No. 17 HMD Motorsports car, followed by fellow first-year driver and teammate Christian Brooks in the No. 39 HMD Motorsports machine.
Collet put on a command performance, earning the “grand slam” of leading both practice sessions, winning pole and the race and completing the race’s fastest lap. He never was threatened, both at the start and on the only restart of the day on Lap 4.
Foster stayed in touch during the first half and was within 1.2-seconds at the halfway mark. But Collet pulled away over the second half, building a gap of 3.4-seconds by Lap 29 as Foster and Abel struggled with tire wear. Collet also produced the fastest lap of the race during his final five trips around the repaved natural-terrain layout.
While Foster’s two-race win streak ended, his lead increased in the championship standings via his sixth consecutive top-two finish. Foster leads with 386 points, followed by Abel with 345 and Collet with 315.
Five races remain this season for INDYCAR’s developmental series, with four on ovals. Next event is the first oval race of 2024, the Iowa 100 on Saturday, July 13, at Iowa Speedway.
Neither Foster, Abel nor Collet _ the top-three drivers in the standings _ have an oval win in INDY NXT. Collet will make his first career oval start Saturday in Newton, Iowa, and knows his status as a championship contender hinges on his quick adaptation to turning exclusively left.
“I’ll answer that question next Sunday at this time and see how my first oval race goes,” Collet said.
Results of The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Presented by the 2025 Civic Hybrid NTT IndyCar Series event on the 2.258-mile/13-turn Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio, with order of finish, starting position in parentheses, driver, engine, laps completed and reason out (if any):
- (2) Pato O’Ward, Chevrolet, 80, Running
2. (1) Alex Palou, Honda, 80, Running
3. (6) Scott McLaughlin, Chevrolet, 80, Running
4. (4) Colton Herta, Honda, 80, Running
5. (5) Marcus Ericsson, Honda, 80, Running
6. (7) Alexander Rossi, Chevrolet, 80, Running
7. (9) Christian Lundgaard, Honda, 80, Running
8. (14) Kyle Kirkwood, Honda, 80, Running
9. (8) Christian Rasmussen, Chevrolet, 80, Running
10. (21) Santino Ferrucci, Chevrolet, 80, Running
11. (15) Will Power, Chevrolet, 80, Running
12. (3) David Malukas, Honda, 80, Running
13. (24) Toby Sowery, Honda, 80, Running
14. (19) Felix Rosenqvist, Honda, 80, Running
15. (10) Linus Lundqvist, Honda, 80, Running
16. (25) Sting Ray Robb, Chevrolet, 80, Running
17. (11) Marcus Armstrong, Honda, 80, Running
18. (18) Graham Rahal, Honda, 80, Running
19. (20) Rinus VeeKay, Chevrolet, 80, Running
20. (16) Nolan Siegel, Chevrolet, 80, Running
21. (23) Kyffin Simpson, Honda, 80, Running
22. (22) Agustin Canapino, Chevrolet, 79, Running
23. (12) Romain Grosjean, Chevrolet, 79, Running
24. (27) Pietro Fittipaldi, Honda, 79, Running
25. (17) Josef Newgarden, Chevrolet, 79, Running
26. (26) Jack Harvey, Honda, 79, Running
27. (13) Scott Dixon, Honda, 40, Mechanical
Race Statistics
Winner’s average speed: 116.071 mph
Time of race: 1:33:22.6191
Margin of victory: 0.4993-seconds
Cautions: 1 for 2 laps
Lead changes: 4 among 3 drivers
Lap Leaders
Palou, Alex 1 – 28
McLaughlin, Scott 29 – 30
Palou, Alex 31 – 55
McLaughlin, Scott 56
O’Ward, Pato 57 – 80
NTT IndyCar Series point standings _ 1, Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing, 329; 2, Will Power, Team Penske, 281; 3, Pato O’Ward, Arrow McLaren, 259; 4, Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing, 258; 5, Colton Herta, Andretti Global, 249; 6, Kyle Kirkwood, Andretti Global, 234; 7, Alexander Rossi, Arrow McLaren, 226; 8, Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske, 224; 9, Felix Rosenqvist, Meyer Shank Racing, 192; 10, Josef Newgarden, Team Penske, 186; 11, Christian Lundgaard, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, 182; 12, Marcus Ericsson, Andretti Global, 180; 13, Santino Ferrucci, A.J. Foyt Racing, 174; 14, Romain Grosjean, Juncos Hollinger Racing, 151; 15, Marcus Armstrong, Chip Ganassi Racing, 142; 16, Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, 139; 17, Linus Lundqvist, Chip Ganassi Racing, 128; 18, Rinus VeeKay, Ed Carpenter Racing, 125; 19, Christian Rasmussen, Ed Carpenter Racing, 104; 20, Pietro Fittipaldi, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, 103; 21, Kyffin Simpson, Chip Ganassi Racing, 97; 22, Augustin Canapino, Juncos Hollinger Racing, 94; 23, Sting Ray Robb, A.J. Foyt Racing, 92; 24, Theo Pourchaire, Arrow McLaren, 75; 25, Jack Harvey, Dale Coyne Racing, 75; 26, Tom Blomqvist, Meyer Shank Racing, 46; 27, Nolan Siegel, Arrow McLaren, 45; 28, Callum Ilott, Arrow McLaren, 39; 29, David Malukas, Arrow McLaren, 32; 30, Luca Ghiotto, Dale Coyne Racing, 27; 31, Helio Castroneves, Meyer Shank Racing, 26; 32, Conor Daly, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing-Cusick Motorsports, 21; 33, Kyle Larson, Hendrickcars.com Arrow McLaren, 21; 34, Takuma Sato, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, 19; 35, Toby Sowery, Dale Coyne Racing, 17; 36, Ed Carpenter, Ed Carpenter Racing, 14; 37, Tristan Vautier, Dale Coyne Racing, 12; 38, Colin Braun, Dale Coyne Racing, 10; 39, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing-Cusick Motorsports, 6; 40, Marco Andretti, Andretti Herta with Marco & Curb Agajanian, 5; 41, Katherine Legge, Dale Coyne Racing with Rick Ware Racing, 5.
