Paddock Buzz: Pato O'Ward Finds Sweet Spot on Front Row

Fox Sports

19-05-2025

INDYCAR
Pato O'Ward delivered exactly what he set out to achieve in qualifying for the 109th Running of the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday.
With a four-lap average of 232.098 mph in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, O'Ward secured third place on the starting grid, the outside of the front row, just as he had envisioned and told his family beforehand.
'This is literally what I want,' O'Ward said. 'I told my family yesterday, actually, that my goal is to be on the outside of the front row.'
Although he would welcome the NTT P1 Award, O'Ward expressed satisfaction with his personal-best qualifying result at the Indy 500, his previous best being fifth in 2023. Making it into the Firestone Fast Six was especially meaningful, given how tough and unpredictable the conditions were throughout PPG Presents Armed Forces Qualifying weekend.
It was a tumultuous lead-up into the Firestone Fast Six, with multiple crashes underscoring the difficulty of the conditions.
Kyffin Simpson crashed heavily in Friday's practice. Kyle Larson found the SAFER Barrier in Turn 3 late that day. Marcus Armstrong crashed in Saturday morning's pre-qualifying practice session, and Colton Herta crashed in his initial qualifying attempt. Scott McLaughlin crashed Sunday morning.
'All my competitors that strap into these cars, especially this year, it's been a very gnarly month in terms of accidents,' O'Ward said. 'We're taking these cars so on the edge. I had mine just right there, this last run, getting wiggly into (Turn) 1, and you're playing with fire there.
'I mean, the saves, you can maybe do last year, but you can't do that anymore. You're just flirting with basically almost going to the hospital.'
O'Ward has two runner-up finishes in the last three Indy 500s and finished second in the May 10 Sonsio Grand Prix on the 2.439-mile, 14-turn IMS road course. He looks forward to his view sharing the front row at the start with Robert Shwartzman (No. 83 PREMA Racing Chevrolet) and two-time '500' winner Takuma Sato (No. 75 AMADA Honda for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing).
'We're right there,' O'Ward said. 'We had a very quick car all month, and we're going to continue to have it in the race. So now we can work on that and see what we can make happen.'
Team Penske Ends Tough Day without Qualifying Attempt
Both Josef Newgarden's No. 2 Shell V-Power NiTRO+ Team Penske Chevrolet andWill Power's No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet failed pre-qualifying technical inspection due to an unapproved body fit on the rear attenuator, which violated Rule 14.7.8.16 of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES rulebook.
NTT INDYCAR SERIES President J. Douglas Boles spoke to a select group of assembled media and explained the situation.
He said Power's car initially passed through tech inspection, but INDYCAR Technical Director Kevin "Rocket" Blanch flagged a possible issue with the rear attenuator. After a few more cars passed through, Newgarden's car came through inspection and had an identical rear attenuator.
This confirmed that the issue wasn't isolated, prompting further scrutiny.
'As the cars roll through tech, obviously they a lot of things get inspected,' Boles said. 'From the moment you get to tech, and any time after tech, even if you pass tech, scrutineering can come, you still have to follow the rules. So, that is not unusual. It doesn't happen often, but it's not unusual for that to happen.'
Two options were given to the team. The first was to proceed with qualifying, with the understanding that if either car placed in the top six, it would fail post-qualifying tech and be subject to car impound and further penalties. The second option would be to withdraw the cars from the Top 12 Qualifying session, which would place them at the back of the Top 12 based on the rulebook (Rule 8.5.13.2.6).
Team Penske opted to withdraw both cars, avoiding an automatic disqualification after the session.
Since Newgarden and Power qualified in the top 12 on Saturday, they are still eligible to start in the 11th and 12th positions based on their Saturday speeds.
McLaughlin, also from Team Penske, crashed his No. 3 Pennzoil Team Penske Chevrolet in Sunday's practice session. He will start 10th, also based on his Saturday qualifying speed.
VeeKay Snags Last Spot in '500'
Rinus VeeKay, who had previously secured five consecutive top-seven starts in the Indianapolis 500, including second, third, and fourth-place efforts, faced a stunning reversal of fortune this weekend. He failed to qualify in the Top 30 on opening day and was forced into Sunday's Last Chance Qualifying.
VeeKay, driving the No. 18 askROI Honda for Dale Coyne Racing, was joined in Last Chance Qualifying by Marco Andretti (No. 98 MAPEI/Curb Honda for Andretti Herta w/Marco & Curb-Agajanian), Marcus Armstrong (No. 66 SiriusXM/Root Insurance for Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb-Agajanian) and rookie teammate Jacob Abel (No. 51 Miller High Life Honda for Dale Coyne Racing).
VeeKay's first run was 227.740, placing him last in the session. With minutes to spare, VeeKay withdrew his time at 6:12 p.m. ET and made another attempt. His second four-lap run was slower, averaging 226.913.
Abel launched his final attempt at 6:17 p.m. ET, clocking in at 226.394 – not fast enough. Abel was the only driver to miss the 33-car field.
'Just my first time having to risk it all for starting in the '500,' VeeKay said. 'This is far more gut-wrenching and nerve-wracking than running for the pole.'
Team owner Dale Coyne said he's more sad than happy.
'That's what makes Indy,' Coyne said. 'If it were easy, it'd be no challenge. It hurts a lot.'
Coyne underscored Sunday being one of the most emotionally complex and agonizing aspects of motorsports for a team owner, especially a high-stakes environment like Indy.
'It's as though somebody's playing chess with yourself,' Coyne said. 'You know what the other strategy is, but now you've got two queens on the board. You don't know what the hell they're thinking, and we ended up where we ended up.'
VeeKay was relieved but sad knowing good friend Abel wasn't in the field, too. He rued having to be the one knocking out Abel, preventing him from the special moment of making his first Indy 500 start.
'Unfortunately, he has to wait another year,' VeeKay said.
Ericsson Rebounds from Last Year's Near-Miss
Marcus Ericsson of Andretti Global endured a brutal Indy 500 one year ago, crashing during practice on the Thursday before qualifying and being forced into a backup car. He barely made the field as a Last Chance Qualifier and started 32nd, only to be collected in a Turn 1 crash on the opening lap, ending his race in last place.
Over the last 12 months, the 2022 Indy 500 winner and 2023 runner-up kept his sights on redemption. Now he's delivering.
Ericsson qualified his No. 28 Allegra Honda ninth (231.014) in the Top 12 Qualifying session.
'Proud of the effort,' Ericsson said. 'What a bounce-back from last year. We can win from there next Sunday.'
Rosenqvist Caps Wild Day for MSR
Michael Shank, along with Meyer Shank Racing co-owners Jim Meyer and Helio Castroneves, experienced the full emotional spectrum Sunday at IMS. The team's two drivers were at opposite ends of the qualifying drama – one fighting for the pole, the other fighting just to make the race.
Armstrong suffered a crash in Saturday morning practice, which killed his chances of locking into the top 30. Two qualifying attempts later in the day fell short, sending him to Last Chance Qualifying.
There, he delivered when it mattered most, with a four-lap average of 229.091 mph to securing the 32nd starting spot.
'Happy that's over because that was a tough two days,' Armstrong said. 'But we're in the race, and I've never been so happy to be starting almost last. We'll see what magic we can make happen on Race Day.'
At the other end of the pit lane, teammate Felix Rosenqvist put in one of the top performances of the weekend, advancing to the Firestone Fast Six in the No. 60 SiriusXM Honda. He ended up qualifying fifth with a speed of 231.987, despite puzzling over why his final run was slower than his Top 12 Qualifying speed that was quickest in the session.
'This place is weird like that,' Rosenqvist said. 'It tricks you. It's never over until it's over. I feel like we were right on the edge, like as trimmed out as we could be, comfortably or uncomfortably. It's never comfortable around here, especially this year.'
Interestingly, the last time a Swede started fifth at Indy – Ericsson in 2022 – he went on to win.
'Fifth is good. I like fifth,' Rosenqvist said, hinting at optimism for Race Day.
Odds and Ends Seven of the last eight Indy 500s were won from a top-eight starting spot. The only exception was Newgarden, who started 17th en route to his first win in 2023. NTT INDYCAR SERIES points leader Alex Palou starts sixth in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. He started sixth and finished second in the 2021 race. The '500' field average is 231.207, the third-fastest '500' field in history, trailing only 2023 (232.184) and 2024 (231.943). The cars return to Race Day boost levels Monday with a two-hour practice from 1-3 p.m. ET, airing live on FS1, the FOX Sports app and the INDYCAR Radio Network.
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