O’Ward shifts his focus and picks up victory
Pato O’Ward made a conscious decision to stop worrying about his IndyCar contract and Formula One aspirations and focus on his current job.
The effort first earned him a pending contract extension, and on Sunday, O’Ward picked up his first win of the IndyCar season.
The popular Mexican used a strong outside pass of pole-sitter Rinus VeeKay after both pitted for fresh tires to take the lead then drive away for the victory at Barber Motorsports Park. It is the third win of O’Ward’s career and broke a Team Penske stranglehold on the IndyCar results.
Penske drivers Scott McLaughlin and Josef Newgarden swept the first three races of the season, all while O’Ward was pouting over his teamfriendly contract with Arrow McLaren SP. O’Ward wanted more money, wanted more assurances McLaren has him in its F1 pipeline, and his frustration spilled over onto the track.
But on the eve of the Long Beach Grand Prix two weeks ago, the 22-yearold decided he didn’t want to throw his season away over hurt feelings. He dug deep for a fifth-place finish at Long Beach, huddled with McLaren head Zak Brown on the terms of extension, then showed up in Barber ready to win some races.
His shot came after a pit stop with 28 laps remaining when VeeKay and O’Ward pitted at the same time. VeeKay came out ahead but O’Ward hunted him through the first four turns then used a brave move — and his push-to-pass — around the Dutchman to seize control of the race.
The win kept Chevrolet a perfect 4 for 4 as IndyCar heads next to Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
“Man, it sucks to be at war within your own team, right? So I’m glad there’s been more positive talks for the future,” said O’Ward, who has agreed with McLaren on principle on an extension.
Alex Palou, the reigning IndyCar champion and defending race winner at Barber, finished second for Chip Ganassi
Racing and reclaimed the points lead.
VeeKay faded to third for Ed Carpenter Racing.
“I was so much looking in my mirrors that I forgot to use my push-to-pass,” VeeKay said of not using a burst of extra horsepower to hold off O’Ward.
Rain postpones NASCAR Cup race at Dover: Martin Truex Jr. has the blueprint for how to win at Dover Motor Speedway on Mondays.
Step 1, rain on Sundays.
Truex can win for the third time at the Monster Mile on the unconventional race day after rain stopped the action only 78 laps into the 400-mile race Sunday. Truex raced to his first NASCAR Cup win June 4, 2007, at Dover and 12 years later used another rainout to take the checkered flag on May 6, 2019.
It’s the fourth time out of 104 career Dover races it will run on a Monday.
With a green flag start just after 3 p.m., and no lights at the concrete mile track, NASCAR faced a tight window to reach the halfway mark needed for an official race. So they’ll fire the engines again at noon Monday with Hendrick Motorsports teammates Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott starting 1-2. Ryan Blaney is third, Truex is fourth and William Byron fifth.