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A year ago at that time, Pato O’Ward by Arrow McLaren had a dream.
When he closed his eyes at night, O’Ward told PK Press Club Digital that he would dream of crossing the finish line at Indy 500 before the rest of his competition.
“I continue to run several Indy 500 in my head. It’s crazy,” he said last May. “You try to tone it as much as you can, but this race … It’s different from anything else.”
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Arrow McLaren’s driver, Pato O’Ward, n ° 5, gives a boost to a group of children on Tuesday May 13, 2025 during training for the 109th series of Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. (Imagn)
The dream seemed about to come true when “the biggest racing show” saw O’ward led with a tour to go as far as Josef Newgarden steals from behind and passing the McLaren Black and Orange car to leave with victory.
Instead of celebrating the victory at “The Brickyard”, O’Ward was sprawled on his vehicle while his team tried to console him. For the second time in three years, O’Ward was a finalist.
Pato O’Ward by Arrow McLaren, confident when he dreams of the first Indy 500 victory: “We have a shot”
“I mean, at that time, it was a moment that many emotions somehow exploded in a bottle, and they were really uncontrollable,” he recently told PK Press Club Digital before the big race on Memorial Day weekend. “It was a very raw scene of what it is to be right there, but just miss it. It happened a few times, that is why I think it was such a heavy emotion.
“I devote and do everything for this moment, and sometimes it’s right there, but I don’t quite get it. It’s just the human side, I would say.”
Despite the results of recent years in Indianapolis, O’Ward’s optimistic perspective on his profession did not hesitate to enter this year’s race.
“I mean, this time last year, I had about three [did not finish] At this point, “he said, laughing.
“It is one of the only months all year round when you can really enjoy the present, and you are not focused on the future, you are not focused on the past. You just focus on where you are. This is a very incredible experience.”
Arrow McLaren SP Driver Pato O’Ward, # 5, crosses the secondary finish line on Saturday May 10, 2025 during the Sonsio Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. (Imagn)
The bite of defeat is something that almost never leaves the mind, even a full year after that. However, with each failure, an opportunity to learn comes, and that is exactly what O’Ward obtains from the arrival of last year.
“You must be at the front in the last passage,” he said when he asked what he had learned from last year’s finalist arrival. “The last passage is super important, but also a race that can turn a turn to another just because of a falling yellow flag. There is a lot of different strategies, and it is a race that constantly wants you to be flexible, agile. You have to adjust the sails, rather than going against.”
In five starts this season, O’Ward is still looking for his first victory, although he has two first and three TOP-10. Consequently, it is currently classified fourth in the classification of the Indycar NTT series.
Perhaps his best race of the year occurred at the Indianapolis Grand Prix in 2025 last weekend, ending the finalist behind Alex Palou.
While O’Ward does not currently dream of celebrating with his team Arrow McLaren, kissing the famous brick court and churinging milk, as it is the custom for the champion, it is in his mind somewhere.
This moment is what continues to drive it, in particular knowing how close it was to realize this dream.
The driver of Arrow McLaren, Pato O’Ward, # 5, reacts after finishing second on Sunday, May 26, 2024 in the 108th series of Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. (Imagn)
“I think that in this stage, it is a combination of many different things, but that is not a reason like” hey, we were lucky to have these opportunities. “No, we put ourselves in these opportunities, and we won the position of having these opportunities,” he said. “I think only gives me peace of mind with my main team. We know how to do this, we know how to get in position to win this race.
“I think that, basically, it gives us a lot of confidence in us, we do not seek something in which we have never been or that we do not seek something that has not done.”
The Indy 500 will be broadcast on May 25 on Fox with pre-coverage from 10 a.m. he. It will also be available to broadcast live on Foxsports.com and the Fox Sports application.
