Latest news with #PatoO'Ward
Fox Sports
a day 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
Indianapolis Star
2 days 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
3 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
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
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.
