Pato O'Ward looking to change his Indianapolis 500 thirst for victory by finding a cow to milk
Associated Press
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — IndyCar driver Pato O'Ward understands winners drink milk at the Indianapolis 500.
He just doesn't want a small oversight to cause him any more race day consternation. So during Thursday's media day, O'Ward said he plans to participate in a superstition that he hopes will end the tough spills he's endured in his first five Indy 500 starts.
Pole winner Robert Shwartzman recounted how after last weekend's qualifying, he took part in the rookie tradition of milking a cow — and the role it's believed to play in who quenches their thirst in victory lane.
'The woman, she came to me and said, 'The people who didn't milk the cow, they never won the Indy 500,' and they were like (did not finish). It's bad luck,' Shwartzman said. 'Whoever milks the cow. Alexander Rossi did it. He won the 500. You have to milk the cow.'
Shwartzman described his personal experience with a 'very calm, cute' cow named Indy.
O'Ward never got his chance to squeeze an udder because his rookie start came in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the race was run in August with no fans and the milking tradition was put on hold.
Since then, he's finished sixth, fourth, second, 24th and second.
Two-time race winner Takuma Sato claimed he never took part in the tradition, but that didn't seem to impress O'Ward, who eventually asked: 'Are they always ready to just...?"
Finally, after Shwartzman suggested O'Ward wait until next year to make it right, O'Ward said he wasn't content to have yet another race day spoiled. He wanted to milk a cow immediately.
The Indiana Dairy Association was quick to offer help.
'We know some farmers who know some cows who can make that happen,' the group posted on X. Playing hooky
Ryan Hunter-Reay brought a special guest to the dais Thursday — his oldest son, Ryden.
The soon-to-be-sixth-grader wore a baseball cap, shorts and, of course, No. 23 socks to honor his dad, the 2014 Indy 500 winner.
Spending race week in Indianapolis was only part of the treat for Ryden Hunter-Reay. He also got to miss his last week of school.
'I think it's better (here),' he said when asked about his absence from class.
And who does he think will win Sunday's race?
'My dad,' he said. Feeling better
Colton Herta canceled his local Community Day appearance Wednesday because he was under the weather.
By Thursday, he was feeling well enough to show up for his media day interview.
While Herta seems to be on the mend or Sunday's race, he would feel much better with a higher starting spot. He qualified 29th Saturday, just 4 1/2 hours after crashing on his first qualifying attempt. He'll start 27th because of the penalties assessed to two Team Penske cars.
At least he's comfortable in the backup car his team scrambled to set up Saturday.
'It's just like being in the other car, they patched everything pretty perfectly, which for me has never happened before, so it was a surprise,' Herta said. 'It filled me with a lot of confidence, made it easier to get back to work.' Drive for five
Helio Castroneves is the fourth and most recent member of Indy's four-time winners club. His quest to become the race's first five-time champion has been overshadowed by Kyle Larson's second attempt at running the Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600 on the same day, and by the Team Penske scandal.
The longtime Penske driver who now drives for Meyer Shank Racing will start 22nd after moving up two spots on the starting grid because of the penalties assessed to his two ex-teammates. It's the third-lowest starting position of his 25 career Indy starts after he qualified 28th in 2020 and 27th in 2022.
The 50-year-old Brazilian also is completing his own double this season by competing in the Daytona 500 and the Indy 500 in the same year.
'This place has been good to me, this place is amazing and I'm trying to get something special, to rewrite history,' Castroneves said. 'So we're going to have hard work to do, but I feel like we're going to be up front very soon.'
___
AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
recommended
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
20 minutes ago
- New York Post
Kirk Cousins sounds resigned to his sad Falcons fate
Kirk Cousins might have already accepted his football fate. Cousins was at the Falcons' mandatory minicamp on Tuesday and seemed to know that his days as a starting quarterback in the NFL might be over. 'Obviously, you'd love to play,' Cousins told reporters. 'But I'm not gonna dwell on things that aren't reality.' Advertisement Cousins, 36, is coming off one of his worst seasons in the league in his 13-year career. He started in 14 games for the Falcons, throwing 18 touchdowns and 16 interceptions with a QBR of 50.4 Advertisement His season came to an end after being benched for rookie quarterback Michael Penix Jr. in week 16, as the Falcons missed out on the playoffs. It's expected that Cousins will become Penix's backup this year, as Atlanta might be left with the 36-year-old quarterback at the start of the 2025 season. Many thought the Falcons would wait until the June 1 deadline to cut the $180 million quarterback, but that deadline has come and gone, and Cousins is still in Atlanta. 3 Kirk Cousins at Falcons minicamp. AP Advertisement That leaves the only option for both parties — a trade. Nevertheless, even that seems less likely with each passing day. 3 Kirk Cousins and Michael Penix Jr. together at Falcons minicamp. AP The Steelers were the last team that desperately needed a quarterback but now have their guy in Aaron Rodgers. Advertisement Cousins said he's not looking at the past and hopes the Falcons have success this year. 3 Kirk Cousins in action at Falcons minicamp. AP 'Certainly there were conversations in January, February, March, even April, but we're moving forward now,' Cousins added. 'Those are things we talked about months ago. Now we need to move forward. Right now, it's about the situation I'm in and being the best I can be and hopefully, in February, we as an organization are holding up the Lombardi Trophy.'
Fox Sports
24 minutes ago
- Fox Sports
Brendan Donovan leaves Cardinals' loss early with toe discomfort
Associated Press ST. LOUIS (AP) — St. Louis Cardinals utilityman Brendan Donovan left Tuesday night's game against the Toronto Blue Jays with left toe discomfort. Donovan, who has mainly played second base this season but was the leftfielder on Tuesday, left the game after striking out on a nine-pitch at-bat in the eighth inning in the Cardinals' 10-9 loss. 'It's kind of the joint in his big toe,' Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said. 'You can see that last at-bat, he couldn't even get off his backside there. It was hurting him pretty bad so we took him out.' Donovan received treatment but did not have an x-ray after the game. He is considered day to day. 'I was running around in the outfield, and it just started bugging me, and then it kind of just got progressively worse, and then it just got real grumpy at me,' Donovan said. Donovan said that there wasn't one moment that he hurt it, that it was more of a repetitive use injury. 'It's on my left foot, so kind of that foot that I tend to rotate off of,' Donovan said. 'I think that's kind of what led to me coming out of the game. … Just kind of sleep on it, reevaluate it tomorrow, and then go from there.' It would be a blow to the Cardinals if Donovan misses any time. Donovan won a Gold Glove as a rookie in 2022 and is putting together his best season at the plate hitting .310 with four home runs and 26 RBIs as the No. 3 batter in the St. Louis order. 'Donny's a big part of what we're about here,' Cardinals starter Miles Mikolas said. 'You know, the way he can move around the diamond and obviously, you know, be a really consistent anchor in that lineup as far as driving the ball and getting on base and driving runs in. You know, that's a bridge we'd have to cross if that happens.' ___ AP MLB: recommended
Hamilton Spectator
26 minutes ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Brendan Donovan leaves Cardinals' loss early with toe discomfort
ST. LOUIS (AP) — St. Louis Cardinals utilityman Brendan Donovan left Tuesday night's game against the Toronto Blue Jays with left toe discomfort. Donovan, who has mainly played second base this season but was the leftfielder on Tuesday, left the game after striking out on a nine-pitch at-bat in the eighth inning in the Cardinals' 10-9 loss . 'It's kind of the joint in his big toe,' Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said. 'You can see that last at-bat, he couldn't even get off his backside there. It was hurting him pretty bad so we took him out.' Donovan received treatment but did not have an x-ray after the game. He is considered day to day. 'I was running around in the outfield, and it just started bugging me, and then it kind of just got progressively worse, and then it just got real grumpy at me,' Donovan said. Donovan said that there wasn't one moment that he hurt it, that it was more of a repetitive use injury. 'It's on my left foot, so kind of that foot that I tend to rotate off of,' Donovan said. 'I think that's kind of what led to me coming out of the game. … Just kind of sleep on it, reevaluate it tomorrow, and then go from there.' It would be a blow to the Cardinals if Donovan misses any time. Donovan won a Gold Glove as a rookie in 2022 and is putting together his best season at the plate hitting .310 with four home runs and 26 RBIs as the No. 3 batter in the St. Louis order. 'Donny's a big part of what we're about here,' Cardinals starter Miles Mikolas said. 'You know, the way he can move around the diamond and obviously, you know, be a really consistent anchor in that lineup as far as driving the ball and getting on base and driving runs in. You know, that's a bridge we'd have to cross if that happens.' ___ AP MLB:
