Pato O’Ward – Indianapolis 500 Practice – Photo by Paul Hurley

By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio

Arrow McLaren ace Pato O’Ward shot to the top of the speed chart early during Day 3 of practice for the 110^th Indianapolis 500, with the promise of increased horsepower and speeds beckoning on “Fast Friday.”

O’Ward turned his best lap of 39.5939-seconds/227.308 mph around the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway in traffic with the benefit of an aerodynamic tow during the first 35 minutes of Thursday’s six-hour session.

It was O’Ward’s fastest lap of the week and third-fastest overall, trailing the 228.080 mph run by Conor Daly of Dreyer & Reinbold Racing and the 228.026 mph circuit by reigning Indy 500 champion Alex Palou of Chip Ganassi Racing. Those laps were recorded in cooler conditions on Wednesday.

“We got a race run in, we got some qualifying simulations in and the car is in good balance,” said O’Ward, who is aiming to qualify the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet for his seventh Indy 500. “Tomorrow when the boost comes up, it does change quite a bit. Yeah, so far it’s been very smooth.”

A two-time Indy 500 runnerup who finished third in “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” last May, O’Ward’s speed also ranked seventh on the “no-tow” list. On Friday, the Chevrolet and Honda twin-turbocharged V-6 engines powering the 33-car field will feature approximately 100 additional horsepower via increased boost levels. That additional boost _ which also will be available during PPG Presents Armed Forces Qualifying on Saturday and Sunday _ is the real-world equivalent of warp speed.

“What I think is a pretty cool feeling is when you map-out from your prep map into the full-boost,” said O’Ward, a 27-year-old native of Mexico with family ties to San Antonio, Texas. “When you see the data and you just see the thing just skyrocket, it’s really cool. It really is cool.

“Today, we noticed (reaching top speed) over the course of two corners or like half-a-lap. 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.”

Teams and drivers will shift their focus to “full-beans” on Friday in four-lap/10-mile qualifying simulations during practice from noon-6 p.m. (EDT, noon-3 p.m., FS2; 3-5 p.m., FS1; 5-6 p.m., FS2; FOX One, INDYCAR Radio powered by OnlyBulls).

Four-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves was second-fast Thursday at 226.977 mph in the No. 06 Cleveland Cliffs Honda of Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb Agajanian.

Castroneves paced a banner day for Ohio-based MSR, with all three drivers placing in the top-four. Native New Zealander Marcus Armstrong was third-fast at 226.841 mph in the No. 66 Acura Honda followed by Felix Rosenqvist of Sweden at 226.626 mph in the No. 60 SiriusXM Honda.

“I just mentioned to my other guys, like, ‘You guys went too fast on the prep,’^” said Castroneves, the popular Brazilian who turned 51 on Tuesday. “It’s like, ‘No, no, just because tomorrow it’s going to go so much faster.’^” The Indy 500 is scheduled to be the only start of the 2026 season for “Spiderman,” who won his fourth 500 in 2021 for MSR.

SEE: Practice Results

Alexander Rossi, winner of the landmark 100^th Indy 500 in 2016 as an NTT IndyCar Series rookie, completed the top-five at 226.364 mph in the No. 20 Java House Chevrolet of Ed Carpenter Racing. Rossi  and his crew rebounded after an engine change late Wednesday afternoon.

O’Ward reiterated that his body of work this week has the No. 5 Chevy in the “right window” heading into a hectic weekend of revised time trials.

“Yeah, yeah, I think we’re definitely in a good (position),” O’Ward said. “The starting point, I think, has been one of the best balances that I’ve had, at least with the first few qualifying sims we’ve done into a qualifying weekend.

“I have had it in the past where it feels good on the low boost, but then you put the higher boost and things do change. We’ll see what we’ve got tomorrow. Hopefully it will be good enough to have our first run in a high boost in the window to just pepper it in a little bit. Yeah, so far, it’s been good and smooth.”

O’Ward added he expects his rivals from both engine suppliers to showcase varying strategies when it comes to engaging INDYCAR’s hybrid system. “You might see like engine camps doing more similar things,” O’Ward said. “So, you might see Chevys doing something similar and you might see Hondas doing something else.

“To start off the runs, you probably will see more of a variance, then I think everybody will probably pay attention to what the fast cars are doing, and they’ll probably just apply that.”

Asked if the week’s progress had left him impatient heading into pole qualifying on Sunday, O Ward said, “No, I love the whole process. I love the whole month. Like the practice days, going into qualifying, like the whole thing of having qualifying its own weekend, I love that. Like I think it’s a great way for us as well.

“Like, I really enjoy watching as well, and it’s cool to see big runs, big numbers and then going out there yourself and trying to beat that and match to keep on transferring. It’s a whole part of the event. I love it.”

Palou, Tuesday’s fastest driver at 225.937 mph, was second Wednesday at 228.026 mph and 22^nd Thursday at 223.230 mph after 56 laps in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. A 29-year-old native of Spain, Palou is the four-time/reigning NTT IndyCar Series champion, winner of three of the season’s first six races and current point-leader.

Palou is driving a different Honda-powered Dallara chassis than he wheeled during the Indy 500 Open Test on April 28-29 at IMS, as well as a different machine than the one he drove to his first career oval victory in last year’s Indy 500.

Meanwhile, rookie Caio Collet of Brazil led the two-car, fulltime contingent from Waller, Texas-based A.J. Foyt Racing in seventh at 225.793 mph after 46 laps in the No. 4 Combitrans Amazona Chevrolet. Collet, 24, has moved from 30^th to 18^th to seventh on the chart this week.

Foyt teammate and Dallas resident Santino Ferrucci was 27^th overall Thursday at 222.504 mph after 32 laps in the No. 14 Homes For Our Troops Chevrolet. Ferrucci, 27, ranked ninth Wednesday at 225.594 mph and was 18^th Tuesday at 222.930 mph.

Frenchman Romain Grosjean placed eighth Thursday at 225.786 mph after 64 laps in the No. 18 Bmax.IO Honda of Dale Coyne Racing. A former Formula One regular, Grosjean, 40, was fifth on the chart Wednesday and ninth Tuesday in his return to IMS after a one-year absence from INDYCAR.

New Zealander Scott Dixon ranked ninth at 225.542 mph in the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. Dixon was sixth on Wednesday’s chart at 226.572 mph. A six-time series champion, Dixon, 45, won the 2008 Indy 500.

Two-time Indy 500 champ Josef Newgarden was 23^rd at 223.026 mph after 32 laps in the No. 2 Shell Fuel Rewards Team Penske Chevrolet. The back-to-back Indy 500 winner in 2023 and 2024, Newgarden ranked eighth at 225.964 mph on Wednesday. The 35-year-old native of Nashville, Tenn., was fourth at 225.121 mph on Tuesday.

Series rookie Mick Schumacher of Switzerland continued to prep for his second career oval-track race with a top speed of 221.902 mph after 54 laps in the No. 47 ENVE Honda fielded by Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. Schumacher recorded his top speed of the week at 222.256 mph on Wednesday.

“It was a positive day,” said Schumacher, the 27-year-old son of seven-time Formula One World Driving Champion Michael Schumacher of Germany. “We got through a lot of our program and the qualy sims (qualifying simulations) at the end were very fun. I learned a lot with lots to still to digest and understand.”

Two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Takuma Sato of Japan was the fastest car Thursday without benefit of an aerodynamic tow. Sato’s best “no-tow” lap was 223.828 mph in the No. 75 Amada Honda of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing _ fastest solo lap of the week.

“It was a solid, good day,” said Sato, a 49-year-old native of Tokyo. “It was good preparation for Fast Friday and qualifying. There were a lot of things on our list to check for the race setup but, for now, we needed to concentrate on the qualifying package and it worked really well. The conditions today are almost perfect and it’s only Thursday but it was looking good.”

Sato competed for RLLR fulltime in 2012 and from 2018-2021, and won the Indy 500 with the organization founded by 1986 Indy 500 champion Bobby Rahal in 2020.

Scott McLaughlin was second on the “no-tow” list at 223.738 mph in the No. 3 Pennzoil Team Penske Chevrolet, successor to the famed “Yellow Submarine” in which Johnny Rutherford of Fort Worth, Texas, won his third Indy 500 in 1980 driving for Jim Hall of Midland, Texas.

“Solid day today in qualifying (trim),” said McLaughlin, a 32-year-old native of New Zealand. “Overall, the Pennzoil Chevy feels pretty strong in race, and now qualifying trim. Always a nervous sort of energy before you drop it in qual trim. We’ll find out again tomorrow when we turn up the boost. Overall, the Chevy power feels good and the car feels in a nice spot. We’ll see what we have come tomorrow.”

Rinus VeeKay of The Netherlands led the way through the speed trap at the Start/Finish line, crossing the famed “Yard Of Bricks” at 239.347mph in the No. 76 WedBush/JHR/DRR Chevrolet.

All 33 cars entered this year combined to turn 1,469 incident-free laps Thursday, lowest total this week as teams started to focus on qualifying simulations. Rossi turned a session-high 68 laps.

The 110th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge is scheduled for Sunday, May 24 (10 a.m. EDT, FOX, FOX Deportes, FOX One, INDYCAR Radio powered by OnlyBulls).

IMS’ massive grandstands have been sold-out for Race Day. Fans can visit IMS.com and check IMS social media feeds for updates on all ticketing-related information on remaining Race Weekend experiences.

NTT IndyCar Series Point Standings _ 1, Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing, 237; 2, Kyle Kirkwood, Andretti Global, 210; 3, David Malukas, Team Penske, 185; 4, Christian Lundgaard, Arrow McLaren, 182; 5, Josef Newgarden, Team Penske, 162; 6, Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing, 148; 7, Pato O’Ward, Arrow McLaren, 148; 8, Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, 141; 9, Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske, 141; 10, Marcus Armstrong, Meyer Shank Racing, 123;

11, Felix Rosenqvist, Meyer Shank Racing, 116; 12, Marcus Ericsson, Andretti Global, 112; 13, Alexander Rossi, Ed Carpenter Racing, 110; 14, Will Power, Andretti Global, 107; 15, Dennis Hauger, Dale Coyne Racing, 100; 16, Rinus VeeKay, Juncos Hollinger Racing, 94; 17, Kyffin Simpson, Chip Ganassi Racing, 93; 18, Santino Ferrucci, A.J. Foyt Racing, 90; 19, Louis Foster, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, 86; 20, Nolan Siegel, Arrow McLaren, 76;

21, Caio Collet, A.J. Foyt Racing, 70; 22, Romain Grosjean, Dale Coyne Racing, 69; 23, Christian Rasmussen, Ed Carpenter Racing, 65; 24, Sting Ray Robb, Juncos Hollinger Racing, 55; 25, Mick Schumacher, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, 54.

FOX SPORTS’ 2026 NTT INDYCAR SERIES BROADCAST SCHEDULE/(RACE WINNER)

Note _ All times Eastern

Sunday, March 1 _ Streets of St. Petersburg, Fla., (Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing)

Saturday, March 7 _ Phoenix Raceway, Avondale, Ariz., (Josef Newgarden, Team Penske)

Sunday, March 15 _ Streets of Arlington, Texas, (Kyle Kirkwood, Andretti Global)

Sunday, March 29 _ Barber Motorsports Park, Birmingham, Ala., (Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing)

Sunday, April 19 _ Streets of Long Beach, Calif., (Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing)

Saturday, May 9 _ Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road-Course, (Christian Lundgaard, Arrow McLaren)

Sunday, May 24 _ 110^th Indianapolis 500, Indianapolis Motor Speedway Oval, 10 a.m.

Sunday, May 31 _ Streets of Detroit, 12:30 p.m.

Sunday, June 7 _ World Wide Technology Raceway, Madison, Ill., 9 p.m.

Sunday, June 21 _ Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wis., 2 p.m.

Sunday, July 5 _ Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington, Ohio, 12:30 p.m.

Sunday, July 19 _ Nashville Superspeedway, Lebanon, Tenn., TBA

Sunday, Aug. 9 _ Portland (Ore.) International Raceway, 4 p.m.

Sunday, Aug. 16 _ Streets of Markham, Canada, Noon

Sunday, Aug. 23 _ Freedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington, D.C., TBA

Saturday, Aug. 29 _ The Milwaukee Mile Race 1, West Allis, Wis., 2:30 p.m.

Sunday, Aug. 30 _ The Milwaukee Mile Race 2, West Allis, Wis., 1 p.m.

Sunday, Sept. 6 _ WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, Monterey, Calif., 2:30 p.m.

Note _ Dates and times subject to change.

2026 INDYCAR NXT BY FIRESTONE SCHEDULE/(RACE-WINNER)

Sunday, March 1 _ Streets of St. Petersburg, Fla., (Nikita Johnson, Cape Motorsports Powered by ECR)

Sunday, March 15 _ Streets of Arlington, Texas, (Max Taylor, Andretti Global)

Saturday, March 28 _ Barber Motorsports Park, Birmingham, Ala., (Nikita Johnson, Cape Motorsports Powered by ECR)

Sunday, March 29 _ Barber Motorsports Park, Birmingham, Ala., (Alessandro de Tullio, A.J. Foyt Racing)

Friday, May 8 _ Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road-Course Race 1 (Enzo Fittipaldi, HMD Motorsports)

Saturday, May 9 _ Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road-Course Race 2 (Tymek Kucharczyk, HMD Motorsports)

Sunday, May 31 _ Streets of Detroit

Sunday, June 7 _ World Wide Technology Raceway, Madison, Ill.

Saturday, June 20 _ Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wis., Race 1

Sunday, June 21 _ Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wis., Race 2

Saturday, July 4 _ Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington, Ohio, Race 1

Sunday, July 5 _ Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington, Ohio, Race 2

Sunday, July 19 _ Nashville Superspeedway, Lebanon, Tenn.

Sunday, Aug. 9 _ Portland (Ore.) International Raceway

Sunday, Aug. 30 _ The Milwaukee Mile, West Allis, Wis.

Saturday, Sept. 5 _ Weather Tech Raceway Laguna Seca, Monterey, Calif., Race 1

Sunday, Sept. 6 _ Weather Tech Raceway Laguna Seca, Monterey, Calif., Race 2