Latest news with #O'Ward
Fox Sports
19 hours ago
- Automotive
- Fox Sports
Questions Linger For 2026 INDYCAR Schedule: Which Tracks Should Be Added?
As NASCAR has made some announcements about its schedule over the last several weeks, the INDYCAR paddock is awaiting word on several races for next year. Should INDYCAR return to Iowa Speedway after a sparsely attended doubleheader weekend? Will INDYCAR go to Mexico City? Those questions remain top of mind for 2026, a year for which one new event — the Grand Prix of Arlington in March — has already been announced. New events often generate buzz and excitement. The race around the Cowboys and Rangers stadiums should be a sight to see. Mexico City would be a second new race for 2026 and also an incredible sight. A Mexico race has been a major priority with the popularity of Pato O'Ward, who is optimistic about having a race at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. But going to Mexico City is more than just about O'Ward. It would be the lone place where INDYCAR would race on the same circuit as Formula 1, giving fans an idea of the similarities and the differences between the two series. One of the world's biggest cities, Mexico City would provide the exposure INDYCAR needs to help the brands of the sport's biggest names beyond O'Ward. As far as Iowa, it is a NASCAR-owned track that has been rented out by INDYCAR to host events. In other words, the track owner doesn't pay a sanction fee and then makes money by selling tickets. Instead, INDYCAR has handled the ticket sales to cover its costs of renting the track. Sponsorship revenue can also cover those costs, and after Hy-Vee ended its sponsorship of the Iowa doubleheader, that obviously impacted the weekend with no big concerts and in-market activations. It would be nice to see how Iowa could do with a single-race weekend (rather than a doubleheader). With it being so close to one of sprint-car racing's most iconic tracks (Knoxville Raceway), it only seems right that the fastest open-wheel cars race nearby. But that might be more of a desire of the heart than a sound business decision. INDYCAR needs to have ovals, and preferably a variety of them, so if Iowa is dropped, where would INDYCAR go next? Could that be Homestead? Could that be Richmond? Could that be Phoenix? All of those are owned by NASCAR and they have had INDYCAR races in their track history. Richmond would fill in a much-needed hole in the schedule, which currently doesn't have a race in the mid-Atlantic or the Northeast. A return to Pocono, where INDYCAR has seen its share of injuries and loss, is unlikely. Watkins Glen (another NASCAR-owned track) doesn't seem to be in the conversation. Thermal won't be on the 2026 race schedule. Having races at the private club near Palm Springs was intriguing, but the race lacked that big-event vibe. It makes for a great potential testing facility but not necessarily a great location for a race. INDYCAR is at its best as the anchor for a big event where people want to come and hang with friends and see fast cars. And then also the place where die-hard fans can come see and root for their favorite drivers (or against the ones they dislike most). So it needs diverse places. It needs diverse facilities. Hopefully the 2026 schedule has all of that. Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR and INDYCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass. recommended Item 1 of 1 Get more from the NTT INDYCAR SERIES Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more in this topic
Otago Daily Times
3 days ago
- Automotive
- Otago Daily Times
O'Ward keeps hopes alive
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
Fox Sports
3 days ago
- Automotive
- Fox Sports
Instant Recall: Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto
INDYCAR Tire selection in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES can go a long way in deciding the outcome of races, and there is no better example than the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto. Pato O'Ward and his Arrow McLaren strategists opted, like many of the drivers in Sunday's 90-lap race at Exhibition Place, to begin with a set of the less-preferred alternate Firestone Firehawks, and they switched out of them just as an early caution came. Meanwhile, series leader Alex Palou and his Chip Ganassi Racing crew, started with a set of the more durable primary compound, and then they were committed to them when that caution came at Lap 3. Palou's camp surely knew that O'Ward was gaining an early advantage. Ultimately, that moment didn't send O'Ward to victory lane or reduce Palou to finishing 12th, but it certainly set the stage for both eventual scenarios to unfold. Palou did his best to remain in contention, staying with that first set of primaries until Lap 40, but he was already boxed in. He still needed to use the alternates and O'Ward didn't. The decisions helped O'Ward slice 30 points off Palou's series lead. Palou still leads the season standings by a staggering 99 points – that's nearly two full races with four events to go – but a third consecutive championship and fourth in five years isn't the Spaniard's lock that it seemed to be a few days ago. Still, O'Ward will need a lot to break right for him to claim his first series title. Palou has two race wins each at the next two venues – WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca and Portland International Raceway – while O'Ward won last year's race at The Milwaukee Mile. O'Ward also finished second in last year's race at Nashville Superspeedway – he was nine positions ahead of Palou in the return to that oval track – so he has that to be optimistic about. Simply put, O'Ward needs to gain similarly on Palou in three of the four remaining races and hold serve in the fourth. That's a big ask, but as O'Ward noted, anything is possible. Palou knows that, too. As for other takeaways from the street fight in Toronto: · The competition in this race was fierce and certainly worth the watch, with 226 on-track passes, the most for the event since 2014 and the fourth-most ever. A great majority of those overtakes – 201 – were for position, the most in the event since 2019. · In another example of making the right strategy call, Dale Coyne did it again, and driver Rinus VeeKay did the rest in a second-place finish. After starting a strong ninth, VeeKay led 16 laps, his first laps led on a street circuit or road course since this event in 2022 -- that was 1,068 days ago. Don't look now, but VeeKay is 11th in the standings and on the charge. · Kyffin Simpson continues to improve in his second season with Chip Ganassi Racing. This third-place finish was the highest of his career. Yes, strategy contributed to the result, but Simpson was plenty racy. · Andretti Global got mired in traffic with all the various pit stop strategies in play and couldn't defend its 1-2 finish of a year ago. But the team finished 4-5-6 with Colton Herta, Marcus Ericsson and Kyle Kirkwood, arguably its best group result of the year. · Kirkwood has to be kicking himself. He might have had a better chance had he qualified better than sixth. In that Firestone Fast Six session, he grazed the wall in Turn 2 but thought he had enough time to pit for additional fuel. But time ran out, and he didn't get to post a competitive lap time. He said that's two potential poles he has thrown away, the other coming in Detroit in June. · Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing's Graham Rahal had another strong Toronto run, finishing seventh for his seventh in the top 10 in his last nine races. He has now been top 10 in this event five consecutive years. · PREMA Racing continues to make gains. Callum Ilott was furious that other drivers kept creating local yellows in qualifying, and he finished that disjointed second round in the 11th position. He had a strong race, finishing eighth, and rookie teammate Robert Shwartzman ran as high as fifth in the middle part of the race. · There is no rest for the weary. The fifth race of this month is Sunday at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. For the truck drivers, it's a 2,733-mile trek from Toronto to the Monterey track, and that doesn't factor in a likely stop at team headquarters to regroup. The first practice for the Java House Grand Prix of Monterey is at 5 p.m. ET Friday (FS2, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network). Sunday's 95-lap race is at 3 p.m. ET on FOX. recommended Item 1 of 3
Fox News
3 days ago
- Sport
- Fox News
'Championship Is Not Over': Pato O'Ward Puts The Pressure On Alex Palou
TORONTO — Pato O'Ward had a comfortable lead over the final third of the race on the streets of Toronto, so he could have let his mind wander. He could have taken just a moment — maybe a second — to wonder how much he could cut into Alex Palou's championship lead on Sunday afternoon. But he didn't look to see where Palou was running. He didn't ask. That's how far the gap was coming into the race, and when he heard he had cut Palou's lead from 129 points to 99, O'Ward wasn't going to let the big hill that he still must climb ruin an afternoon where he earned his second victory in the last three races. Palou, who has seven wins this year, finished 12th. "It's only, like, [down to] 99," O'Ward said. "It's a good chunk. His good weekends are days like [mine] today. We need to make sure that we continue to have days like today. Not just one but a few. "I think we're going to keep this conversation going until Nashville. That's my goal." To keep the conversation running until the season finale at Nashville, O'Ward would need to be within 54 points of Palou. One of Palou's best tracks comes next weekend at Laguna Seca Raceway. Then the final three races are at Portland International Raceway, The Milwaukee Mile and Nashville Superspeedway. Palou won't be able to clinch at Laguna Seca. He would have to be 108 points ahead of O'Ward after Portland to clinch and 54 points ahead of O'Ward after Milwaukee to seal his third consecutive title and fourth overall. O'Ward is the only driver even remotely in the championship hunt. Kyle Kirkwood sits third in the standings at 173 points behind and Scott Dixon is 174 points behind. "Obviously, we're at a time in the championship where we're going to have to get a little bit more into the conversation of getting our elbows out because that's what I had to do today just to open the doors to having a chance to win this race," O'Ward said. "That's the only way we're even going to catch a whiff of making him sweat a little bit." Those elbows out included contact with Will Power. INDYCAR reviewed the move to see if O'Ward could have avoided it, as Power had slight contact with the barrier after knocking wheels with O'Ward. Pato was cleared of any wrongdoing and INDYCAR ruled it a racing incident. He felt bad for Power but also said the driver who is on the outside of two-wide in that corner is risking contact. "The problem is that it's such a fine line that you're battling with," O'Ward said. "You don't want to lose any positions. "When you're going through where you're full opposite lock [of the way you're turning], we basically hit square. When you hit tire to tire, both of our wheels got out of our hands. You had to, like, gather it back up." Power rallied back to finish 11th, one spot ahead of Palou. Today, Palou was a victim of strategy. He started on the primary tires early and then needed to run on the alternate tires longer than other drivers. He led early but then was mired in traffic for the second half of the race. "I chose the strategy," Palou said. "There [with the strategy] is what we did wrong today. I was pushing for that strategy. I thought it was going to give us the best opportunity to win. "The car was really fast. I wanted to be up front, trying to avoid being trapped in traffic. It happens. We knew it was going to be a risky strategy." McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown said if it weren't for Palou, many would look at O'Ward as having a great season. He also said he believes in miracles. "Championship is not over," Brown said on the FOX broadcast prior to the race. "A miracle might need to happen. But miracles can happen. That's what makes the sport exciting." What the team must work on now is entering every race with full faith that they can pull off a win. Toronto, for example, typically hasn't been one of the better tracks for O'Ward. "I think the biggest challenge Pato and I have is to make everybody believe that no matter what, especially in INDYCAR, every time you take the green flag, that is an opportunity," said team principal Tony Kanaan. "We had a pretty good and intense meeting last night. I said, 'We got to believe it.' Days like this, it makes a big difference in our people. I think you give them an extra boost of confidence that we can do it, we can take the next step." That next step is more three-week stretches for O'Ward where he is battling for the win no matter the track. "You need a car that you can attack with and that you can pass people," O'Ward said. "I feel like you can't just always rely on strategy. If we just relied on strategy today, I think maybe we would catch a whiff of a podium. "But that's not enough. You need something to be able to really fight your way forward … It feels really good to earn it today. It really does. Especially in a place that's been a very tough weekend, basically every time we come here." Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR and INDYCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Photo Gallery: Pato O'Ward wins IndyCar race in Toronto
Mexico's Pato O'Ward has always enjoyed the sights and sounds of Toronto, it's just the IndyCar Series race around Exhibition Place he didn't like, struggling year after year on the street course. O'Ward finally won the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto on Sunday, for the seven-year veteran's first victory in Canada. A pep talk from Arrow McLaren team principal Tony Kanaan to the crew the night before, some solid strategy, and a little bit of luck made the win happen. Rinus VeeKay of the Netherlands finished second and Kyffin Simpson of the United States placed third. Defending champion Colton Herta, who started in pole position on Sunday, was closing in on Simpson with a handful of laps to go when a caution solidified the podium. Here are some scenes from the race weekend. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 20, 2025.
