O'Ward keeps hopes alive
Mexican Pato O'Ward eked out his second IndyCar win in three weeks in Toronto yesterday, keeping alive his underdog chances to win the season championship.
Alex Palou rode a dominant start to the season to a 129-point lead in the points race.
After the Spaniard finished 12th yesterday, O'Ward has sliced that deficit to 99 with four races to go.
O'Ward started in 10th but led 30 of 90 laps in his No5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet and beat Dutchman Rinus VeeKay by 0.4843sec.
Kyffin Simpson, of the Cayman Islands, was third, his first podium finish in two IndyCar seasons.
"I knew I had a great car under me to race with and the guys nailed it on the strategy," O'Ward said in his post-race interview.
That strategy was for O'Ward to start the race on his alternate set of tires before moving to his primary tires early on lap 3.
"I was feeling so good on the [primary] tires all weekend, really. We were just struggling to get the alternates to work in qualifying. Sadly, that's the one you need to transfer," O'Ward said.
Palou, conversely, started on his primary tires from the No2 position. The seven-time winner this year led 37 laps but faded down the stretch.
Scott Dixon was the best of the three New Zealand drivers, finishing 10th.
Marcus Armstrong briefly ran second before finishing 14th, while Scott McLaughlin's race ended shortly after an early pit stop when a wheel detached and he slammed into the wall.
— APL/Field Level Media
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Pato O'Ward. PHOTO: Kristin Enzor-USA TODAY NETWORK Mexican Pato O'Ward eked out his second IndyCar win in three weeks in Toronto yesterday, keeping alive his underdog chances to win the season championship. Alex Palou rode a dominant start to the season to a 129-point lead in the points race. After the Spaniard finished 12th yesterday, O'Ward has sliced that deficit to 99 with four races to go. O'Ward started in 10th but led 30 of 90 laps in his No5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet and beat Dutchman Rinus VeeKay by 0.4843sec. Kyffin Simpson, of the Cayman Islands, was third, his first podium finish in two IndyCar seasons. "I knew I had a great car under me to race with and the guys nailed it on the strategy," O'Ward said in his post-race interview. That strategy was for O'Ward to start the race on his alternate set of tires before moving to his primary tires early on lap 3. "I was feeling so good on the [primary] tires all weekend, really. We were just struggling to get the alternates to work in qualifying. Sadly, that's the one you need to transfer," O'Ward said. Palou, conversely, started on his primary tires from the No2 position. The seven-time winner this year led 37 laps but faded down the stretch. Scott Dixon was the best of the three New Zealand drivers, finishing 10th. Marcus Armstrong briefly ran second before finishing 14th, while Scott McLaughlin's race ended shortly after an early pit stop when a wheel detached and he slammed into the wall. — APL/Field Level Media
