Latest news with #PatoO'Ward
Indianapolis Star
20 hours ago
- Automotive
- Indianapolis Star
IndyCar race at Toronto continues TV ratings lull as Fox's struggles in first year continue
IndyCar's summer lull in the TV ratings game continued this weekend north of the border with a Toronto street race that captured an average audience of 734,000 viewers — the series' fifth consecutive race that failed to reach an average audience of 800,000 fans during the sport's busiest competitive stretch of the season. Sunday's noon Fox broadcast marked the first time the race had been shown to anything but a streaming-only audience since 2019, when it aired on NBC Sports Network and delivered an average audience of 504,000. Dating back to at least 2016, IndyCar's annual visit to Toronto hadn't been watched by an average audience higher than 530,000 (2016, CNBC), and Sunday's race audience was the largest since ABC's 2012 broadcast (1.129 million). The sub-750,000 average audience from Sunday's race won by Arrow McLaren's Pato O'Ward marks the eighth Fox network IndyCar race broadcast that has failed to reach even 800,000 this year, though the calendar has hit above 1 million four times. For comparison, NBC aired eight points-paying IndyCar race broadcasts a year ago, and only two failed to reach 800,000. Of those six that did, two (including the Indy 500) grabbed average audiences above 1 million. During NBC's tenure as IndyCar's exclusive media rights partner, the network registered 10 race broadcasts on network TV with average audiences below 800,000, not counting the pandemic-altered 2020 season. Of those 10, six of those were races up against the first couple weeks of the NFL season, meaning only four failed to eclipse 800,000 during an overlapping timeframe to IndyCar's Fox calendar. No NBC IndyCar season ever had more than one sub-800,000 average audience network race broadcast in a single season. Through 12 non-Indy 500 IndyCar network TV broadcasts on Fox in 2025, the series' new media rights partner sits at 829,833 in terms of its average viewership throughout a race broadcast. That number sits below NBC's 38 network broadcast from 2019-24 (excluding 2020 races, 500s, weather-altered races or ones that ran up against the NFL) of 998,342. When including those race broadcasts that went up against the opening weeks of NFL seasons, that figure drops to 935,408. Insider: Failure at Iowa sparks latest 2026 IndyCar schedule question: Will Penske Entertainment be able to promote? Strictly up against NBC's slate of non-500, non-NFL-conflicting network points-paying race broadcasts a year ago (of which there were 6), this year's Fox slate (minus its Indy 500 figures) trails 932,833 (2024, NBC) to 829,833 (2025, Fox), in terms of average race audiences. When including last year's season finale that ran up against Week 2 of the NFL season, that 2024 NBC figure dips to 868,571, still nearly 40,000 viewers ahead of Fox. Last weekend's IndyCar race at Toronto saw no formal in-race head-to-head competition with the NASCAR Cup series, with IndyCar's race ending just before 2:10 p.m. and NASCAR's green flag falling just after 2:15 p.m., though TNT's pre-race coverage of the Cup race began at 1:30 p.m. Sunday's head-to-head battle for IndyCar will be much more severe, with Cup's Brickyard 400 on TNT set to take the green just after 2 p.m. With IndyCar's estimated green flag time of just after 3:20 p.m., both races are slated to run head-to-head throughout the entirety of IndyCar's race broadcast.
Fox Sports
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Fox Sports
Who Is Pato O'Ward? A Boxing, Cooking, Mexican Living Life On The Edge
Pato O'Ward is the most popular driver in INDYCAR. His international presence and outgoing personality is infectious. For instance, to see the joy of him milking a cow at Indianapolis in the days leading up to the Indy 500 will make anyone smile. So what makes the native of Monterrey, Mexico, tick? Well, the Arrow McLaren driver loves to win, as he has done two of the last three INDYCAR races. But he also loves to go fast — whether that is in the race car or other phases of his life. O'Ward sat down with FOX Sports ahead of his weekend win in Toronto to give some insight into who he is off the track. Who is Pato O'Ward? Who is Pato O'Ward? I am a 26-year-old Mexican racing driver for a pretty badass brand called McLaren. And I am a fan of anything that has to do with adrenaline — cars, airplanes, motorcycles. What else? My drink of choice is tequila. And I like living life on the edge. How would your friends describe you? Unhinged. Definitely honest. Loyal. And you can always count on the truth when you ask me something — it doesn't matter if it's going to be a good or bad answer. Do people still think you're Irish? Yeah, sometimes actually. I'm the Mexican-Irish guy. They ask me because they say you don't look Mexican, because apparently I'm not like tan enough. So then I say, "It must be the Irish." Your first name is Patricio not Patrick? Patricio. My great-grandfather was Patrick. And then I'm No. 4. My dad's No. 3, so my kid's going to be No. 5. We'll see how that works. And it's your great-grandfather who was Irish? Yes, he was the Irishman. Very redhead as well. A ginger. You didn't get any of that? No, I've got some ginger for sure. If I let my beard grow out, it's definitely red. Do you still do any boxing for training? Oh yes, I do. I love boxing. I don't box in Indy. I box in San Antonio. Great trainer. I've known him for more than a decade. I used to go there when I was in high school and I was trying to lose weight. I still go train with him, and it's probably my favorite way of training. It's just different every time. So if you got on a fight on the track, would that be considered, like, illegal, because you're a boxer? No. They say a boxer's hands are weapons, but I'm not quite to that level. So I think I would be able to use it to my advantage. Do you fight? Do you have a boxing bag? I don't have a heavy bag at my house, but I've sparred before — actually just with my cousins and I, typical boys. We just moved the cars from the garage, and we made a ring and we just bought gloves and the face things, and we just sparred. I actually have a video where I thought my cousin's back was going to snap because he was [bent over], but that was funny. I don't know if [McLaren Racing CEO] Zak [Brown] should see that? He probably wouldn't want to see you get hit in the face? Yeah. I need my face. And my hands, too. And you are a foodie, right? Massive foodie. I went to a fabulous restaurant yesterday here in Toronto, called the Amal. Mediterranean. Can you cook? I can cook. Don't expect homemade pasta sauce from me, but I can do any steak. I can do quesadillas, tacos, handmade tortillas. I can do great guacamole. I can do chicken, I can do rice. I want to learn how to do a proper risotto, like a truffle risotto. But I'm not so fancy yet. I only know how to do the simple things. Eggs any style. Do you like to cook? I like to cook, I love my kitchen, and I love to cook in my kitchen. Whenever I moved from my apartment to my house, that was one of the biggest, most exciting things that I was doing because then it meant that I wouldn't stink up the whole place when I was cooking. But here's the thing, if you're an adrenaline guy, cooking takes patience. How do you handle doing it right? I can't follow recipes. I get overwhelmed by recipes, kind of like when I get overwhelmed by emails. I will never answer an email, very rarely, and if I do, it's going to be in a text style. I don't follow recipes. The problem here in America is that they make such a simple, delicious dish, most of the time, a very non-simple dish when it just tastes great with just some salted lemon or whatever. And so whenever I want something like that, and I like to know what I'm putting in my body, I like to cook it because it's the only way to really know what you're putting in your body. I really learned how to enjoy it. I feel like you appreciate a meal more because you know what's gone into it. But I live in extremes. Bob, I'm either like, at 15,000 rpm, or I'm at, like, 3,000 rpm. I don't really live in the middle. What city has the best food on the circuit? Wow, you got me there. Toronto is big. Like Toronto is the most international city in the world. You've got literally everything you're looking for. There's good sushi, there's good Mediterranean, there's good Italian, there's good everything. But if it wasn't Toronto, I would probably go — it's from where we race, right? — L.A. has got some great stuff. But I'm going to go with Toronto. And if Mexico City were added with that, Mexico City would be No. 1? Mexico City would be No. 1. Yeah, by far, probably? Oh yeah. So if there's any reason to go to Mexico City, should be that? Fast race cars. Beautiful culture. And fabulous food. And how much do you identify with Mexico and Mexico City considering you were born in Monterrey but kind of grew up in San Antonio, right? So I was born and raised in Monterrey for the first 11 years of my life. Then I moved to San Antonio, Texas. There's still a big part of San Antonio that's very Latin. A lot of Mexicans were there at the time when I went as well because Monterrey got a little bit ugly. But I've always said that doesn't matter where I am in Mexico. It feels like home. I could be in Puerto Vallarta. I could be in Guadalajara. I can be in Monterrey. I can be in Mexico City. Puebla. Like it doesn't matter where in Mexico, it all feels like home to me. And it goes back to something that I live by: Home isn't a place but rather who's there. And that's what I miss most about my heritage and just growing up in Mexico is the language, the food, the people. They're very nice people and it's really a beautiful place. So, every time I go on a vacation and it's a beach, 98 percent of the time you're going to run into me in Mexico. And the tequila is better? The tequila there is phenomenal, I can say that. And I've got the cure after having a tequila with [sponsor drink] Electrolit. They hook us up with the recovery process. 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. Meet the stars of INDYCAR: Who Is David Malukas? The Gen Z Driver, Master Meme-Maker & Video Game Lover Who Is Kyle Kirkwood? Meet The Beach-Loving, Nirvana-Listening INDYCAR Star Who Is Marcus Armstrong? The Kiwi's Love For NFL, 'Talladega Nights' & Podcasting Who is Alex Palou? Indy 500 champ on sushi, owning a coffee shop & needing sleep recommended Item 1 of 3 Get more from the NTT INDYCAR SERIES Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more in this topic
Otago Daily Times
2 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
Yahoo
2 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.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Who won the IndyCar race in Toronto? Complete results, leaderboard, crashes as Pato O'Ward chases Alex Palou
Pato O'Ward picks up his second win in the past three IndyCar Series races and cuts into Alex Palou's points edge on the streets of Toronto. O'Ward, who started 10th, wins the 90-lap event under caution over Rinus Veekay, who turns in a season-best performance. Kyffin Simpson completes the podium with a career-best finish, improving 10 positions from his start. Pole-sitter Colton Herta takes 4th. Palou finishes 12th after starting 2nd but retains a points lead of almost two full races over Palou with four remaining. Before today, O'Ward had fared poorly on this track. He had a feeling today would be better when a "bird dropped a load" on his car during the morning warm-up. Marcus Armstrong comes in 14th after starting 3rd, and Louis Foster tumbles to 21st after starting 7th. Team Penske has another rough outing: Will Power finishes 11th, while Josef Newgarden (24th) and Scott McLaughlin (26th) crash out. The series heads to Sonoma for a road-course race next weekend. Nathan Brown is your best IndyCar follow, and keep up with coverage throughout the season with IndyStar's motorsports newsletter. Look at next year: IndyCar working to finalize Mexico City for 2026 schedule IndyCar at Toronto leaderboard, complete results Pato O'Ward Rinus Veekay Kyffin Simpson Colton Herta Marcus Ericsson Kyle Kirkwood Graham Rahal Callum Ilott David Malukas Scott Dixon Will Power Alex Palou Christian Lundgaard Marcus Armstrong Conor Daly Robert Shwartzman Sting Ray Robb Nolan Siegel Felix Rosenqvist Christian Rasmussen Louis Foster Devlin DeFrancesco Jacob Abel Josef Newgarden Alexander Rossi Scott McLaughlin Santino Ferrucci (did not start) IndyCar leaderboard, crashes, highlights at Toronto There was plenty of jockeying back in the pack during the closing laps. Lap 88: Felix Rosenqvist and Nolan Siegel crash. Caution. Lap 78: David Malukas, who had been running 3rd, has a rough pit stop and falls to 15th. IndyCar leaderboard at Toronto, Lap 70 Pato O'Ward (by 2+ seconds) Rinus Veekay David Malukas Kyffin Simpson Colton Herta Marcus Ericsson Kyle Kirkwood Graham Rahal Felix Rosenqvist Callum Ilott Lap 59: Pato O'Ward pits and comes out ahead of Rinus Veekay. Lap 58: Leader Rinus Veekay pits, and Pato O'Ward takes P1. Lap 55: Alex Palou pits under green for fuel and primary tires. He comes out in 18th, but a later caution could put him back into contention. IndyCar leaderboard at Toronto, Lap 48 Rinus Veekay Pato O'Ward Kyffin Simpson Conor Daly Robert Shwartzman Graham Rahal Felix Rosenqvist David Malukas Christian Lundgaard Marcus Ericsson Lap 43 restart: Rinus Veekay leads the field, followed by Kyffin Simpson and Conor Daly. Will Power hits the wall but resumes without a caution. He loses 15 places. That's a lot of contact for the Team Penske cars today. Lap 42: Alex Palou and Scott Dixon pit under caution. They file out in 16th (Palou) and 18th (Dixon). They hope to complete the race with one more pit stop, while others may need two. Lap 37 restart: Multi-car pileup after Jacob Abel hits the wall. His car comes to rest on top of Josef Newgarden. Caution. Lap 35: Alex Palou and Scott Dixon stay out while most of the field pits. Kyle Kirkwood spins entering pit road after getting tapped by Marcus Armstrong. Lap 30: Alexander Rossi has a shredded right rear tire after making contact with the wall. Caution. Lap 28: Alex Palou leads David Malukas by 3+ seconds. Louis Foster is in 3rd, another 3 seconds back. IndyCar leaderboard at Toronto, Lap 20 Alex Palou David Malukas Louis Foster Scott Dixon Christian Lundgaard Josef Newgarden Robert Shwartzman Alexander Rossi Pato O'Ward Marcus Ericsson Lap 18 restart: Alex Palou leads Louis Foster and David Malukas. Lap 15: Christian Rasmussen hits the wall after contact with Will Power. Caution. Lap 8 restart: Alex Palou leads, with Rinus Veekay 2nd and Louis Foster 3rd. Lap 4: Several drivers pit under caution. Colton Herta wins that race off of pit road. Kyle Kirkwood must give up 3 positions after being out of line at the start. Lap 3: Several drivers who started on alternate tires pit to get primary tires. Scott McLaughlin hits the wall. His left rear tire was not fully attached after his stop. Caution. Lap 1: Colton Herta leads. Marcus Armstrong and Kyle Kirkwood pass front-row starter Alex Palou. IndyCar at Toronto tire choices Santino Ferrucci is out after crashing at the end of warm-up session A.J. Foyt Racing driver Santino Ferrucci crashes at the end of the warm-up session, and after about an hour of trying to repair the car, the team announces Ferrucci is out today. He had qualified 23rd. Team boss Larry Foyt said Ferrucci suffered a hand injury, though it wasn't broken. Chip Ganassi Racing doesn't send its cars onto the track for the warm-up. IndyCar starting grid at Toronto for the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Row 1 1, Colton Herta 2, Alex Palou Row 2 3, Marcus Armstrong 4, Will Power Row 3 5, Graham Rahal 6, Kyle Kirkwood Row 4 7, Louis Foster 8, Marcus Ericsson Row 5 9, Rinus Veekay 10, Pato O'Ward Row 6 11, Callum Ilott 12, Nolan Siegel Row 7 13, Kyffin Simpson 14, Scott McLaughlin Row 8 15, David Malukas 16, Felix Rosenqvist Row 9 17, Scott Dixon (6-spot grid penalty after qualifying 11th) 18, Josef Newgarden Row 10 19, Christian Lundgaard 20, Robert Shwartzman Row 11 21, Conor Daly 22, Christian Rasmussen Row 12 23, Santino Ferrucci 24, Alexander Rossi Row 13 25, Sting Ray Robb 26, Devlin DeFrancesco Row 14 27, Jacob Abel Who is leading IndyCar? 2025 IndyCar results Alex Palou, has won seven races, Kyle Kirkwood three, and Scott Dixon and Pato O'Ward one each. Palou's 129-point lead over second-place O'Ward is more than two races of max points. IndyCar expert picks, predictions for Toronto from IndyStar's Nathan Brown Will Power and Colton Herta are tied for 8th with 244 points. Who comes out of Toronto ahead? We've seen it twice this year, and it's largely been the case the last couple years: The Andretti Global street course package is on another level, as we saw last year with Herta and teammate Kyle Kirkwood ran 1-2 for all but four laps of the 85 run on the streets of Toronto (with those four solely coming through pit exchanges). Herta won the last race here and has two poles and three podiums in his last three starts at Toronto. Though there's always a chance that disaster strikes, I'm going to take the odds on Herta. Santino Ferrucci and David Malukas, A.J. Foyt teammates, are tied for 10th with 237 points. Who comes out of Toronto ahead? Although Ferrucci has finished six of the eight road or street course races better than Malukas, the performance I saw across at the Detroit Grand Prix weekend (other than Malukas' tap to the rear of Alex Palou that earned Malukas an essentially day-ending penalty) leads me to think he has an edge. If he can keep his nose clean and this race doesn't deliver too much chaos — like the ways in which Ferrucci flipped the script for his podiums at Detroit and Road America — I like Malukas this weekend. Josef Newgarden and Christian Rasmussen are tied for 14th with 207 points. Who comes out of Toronto ahead? Before a mechanical failure ended his day at Detroit, Rasmussen was on for an incredibly strong showing — and then again, Newgarden had to fight hard just for a 9th-place finish there. Both these drivers — and their cars and teams — have shown volatility lately, in terms of results. So give me the veteran driver and more historically successful team. I don't think it's that ever-elusive 2025 win Newgarden continues to hunt, but a top-10 is reasonable, and I'm marginally less confident Rasmussen can match it. IndyCar Series schedule at Toronto (All times ET; all IndyCar sessions are on IndyCar Live, IndyCar Radio and Sirius XM Channel 218) IndyCar schedule at Toronto on Sunday, July 20 8:30 a.m.: IndyCar warmup, FS1 Noon: IndyCar race, Fox Where can I watch the IndyCar race at Toronto? TV: Coverage begins at noon ET, Sunday, July 20, 2025, on Fox. Green flag is scheduled for 12:22 p.m. Will Buxton is the play-by-play voice, with analysts James Hinchcliffe and Townsend Bell. Kevin Lee and Jack Harvey are the pit reporters. How can I stream the IndyCar race at Toronto? Fox Sports app. Watch free with a Fubo trial How can I listen to IndyCar race at Toronto? IndyCar Nation is on SiriusXM Channel 218, IndyCar Live and the IndyCar Radio Network (check affiliates for each race) Will it rain during the IndyCar race at Toronto? Sunday: Partly cloudy and highs in the upper 70s. IndyCar push-to-pass, tire allotment for Toronto Push-to-pass: 200 seconds total in increments of up to 20 seconds. Tire allotment: Five sets primary and five sets alternate to be used during the event weekend. Rookie drivers may use one additional set of primary tires. Teams must use one set of primary and one set of new (sticker) alternate tires for at least two laps in the race. 2025 IndyCar Series schedule The 2025 IndyCar Series schedule includes 17 races, all televised on Fox. (Times are ET; %-downtown street course, &-road course, *-oval) March 2, St. Petersburg, Florida % (Winner: Alex Palou) March 23, Thermal, California & (Winner: Alex Palou) April 13, Long Beach, California % (Winner: Kyle Kirkwood) May 4, Birmingham, Alabama & (Winner: Alex Palou) May 10, Indianapolis & (Winner: Alex Palou) May 25, Indianapolis 500 * (Winner: Alex Palou) June 1, Detroit % (Winner: Kyle Kirkwood) June 15, St. Louis * (Winner: Kyle Kirkwood) June 22, Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin & (Winner: Alex Palou) July 6, Lexington, Ohio & (Winner: Scott Dixon) July 12, Newton, Iowa * (Winner: Pato O'Ward) July 13, Newton, Iowa * (Winner: Alex Palou) July 20, Toronto %, noon July 27, Monterey, California &, 3 p.m. Aug. 10, Portland &, 3 p.m. Aug. 24, Milwaukee *, 2 p.m. Aug. 31, Nashville *, 2:30 p.m. IndyCar drivers for 2025 (Team and drivers; *-Indianapolis 500 only) A.J. Foyt: Santino Ferrucci, David Malukas Andretti Global: Colton Herta, Kyle Kirkwood, Marcus Ericsson, Marco Andretti* Arrow McLaren: Pato O'Ward, Nolan Siegel, Christian Lundgaard, Kyle Larson* (with Rick Hendrick) Chip Ganassi: Kyffin Simpson, Scott Dixon, Alex Palou Dale Coyne: Jacob Abel, Rinus VeeKay Dreyer & Reinbold: Ryan Hunter-Reay*, Jack Harvey* Ed Carpenter: Alexander Rossi, Christian Rasmussen, Ed Carpenter* Juncos Hollinger: Conor Daly, Sting Ray Robb Meyer Shank: Felix Rosenqvist, Marcus Armstrong, Helio Castroneves* Prema: Callum Ilott, Robert Shwartzman, Romain Grosjean (reserve) Rahal Letterman Lanigan: Graham Rahal, Louis Foster, Devlin DeFrancesco, Takuma Sato* Toby Sowery (reserve) Team Penske: Josef Newgarden, Scott McLaughlin, Will Power IndyCar Series 2025 points championship points (Through 12 of 17 races) Alex Palou, 515 points Pato O'Ward, 386 Scott Dixon, 342 Kyle Kirkwood, 335 Christian Lundgaard, 300 Felix Rosenqvist, 298 Marcus Armstrong, 267 Will Power, 244 Colton Herta, 244 Santino Ferrucci, 237 David Malukas, 237 Scott McLaughlin, 234 Rinus Veekay, 211 Josef Newgarden, 207 Christian Rasmussen, 207 Alexander Rossi, 194 Kyffin Simpson, 191 Conor Daly, 184 Graham Rahal, 169 Marcus Ericsson, 164 Nolan Siegel, 156 Louis Foster, 150 Robert Shwartzman, 145 Sting Ray Robb, 120 Devlin DeFrancesco, 115 Callum Ilott, 111 Jacob Abel, 88 Takuma Sato, 36 Helio Castroneves, 20 Ed Carpenter, 16 Jack Harvey, 12 Ryan Hunter-Reay, 10 Kyle Larson, 6 Marco Andretti, 5 This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: IndyCar complete results, leaderboard, crashes, starting grid at Toronto
