“Very long time coming,” was Pato O’Ward’s message to his crew after producing a masterful efficiency to show the tables on Alex Palou and safe his first on-track victory since Iowa in 2022.
Though the Arrow McLaren driver was credited with the win in St. Petersburg after Josef Newgarden was disqualified, there was no satisfaction taken from the consequence because it didn’t include a visit to victory lane. On Sunday on the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio, the Mexican seemed to be enjoying for second place as Palou streaked away from pole on the primary stint.
The Chip Ganassi Racing driver had a bonus on Firestone’s major tires, however when each pitted and went to the sooner however much less sturdy alternates, O’Ward’s No. 5 Chevy began reducing into Palou’s lead, and with the hole minimize to nearly nothing, their remaining cease is the place their respective fortunes rose and fell.
With a 5s lead minimize to 0.5s, O’Ward stopped one lap earlier than Palou, received out and in of the pits with haste, and had sizzling tires to assault Palou who pitted on the subsequent lap. However O’Ward wouldn’t must do something brave to grab the lead; Palou’s cease was clear from his No. 9 Honda pit crew, however he sat idle for an additional second or two whereas attempting to have interaction the transmission and hearth again onto the circuit.
That tiny bobble was all it took for the charging O’Ward to energy round Palou and maintain onto a diminishing lead of his personal to convey his on-track winless streak to an finish after 714 days.
“That was a hard-fought race,” O’Ward mentioned after handing Chevy the primary win of IndyCar’s hybrid period. “Nice job by the crew. It’s been some time. This can be a correct win. We earned this one.”
Simply 0.4493s separated Palou from incomes his second straight win.
“Disgrace,” he mentioned. “It was a great race. We couldn’t make the alternate tires final. I destroyed my entrance tires. We had a gradual cease; [I] couldn’t interact first gear.”
Scott McLaughlin, 16.1s shy of O’Ward, salvaged the day with a 3rd for a Workforce Penske squad that had its share of struggles with Will Energy operating out of the lead pack in eleventh and Josef Newgarden who tried to make a three-stop pit technique work earlier than receiving three straight penalties—the one penalties within the race—for dashing on pit lane, failing to heed directions from IndyCar, and one other dashing penalty whereas serving a penalty. He’d finish the day a distant twenty fifth.
With O’Ward and Palou in a world of their very own, McLaughlin and the Andretti World duo of Colton Herta in fourth and Marcus Ericsson in fifth ran sensible races whereas missing the tempo to chase the leaders. O’Ward’s teammate Alexander Rossi accomplished the highest six.
Elsewhere, Ed Carpenter Racing’s Christian Rasmussen turned his sturdy qualifying efficiency of eighth into his greatest race end of ninth, and never far behind him on the street in thirteenth, IndyCar rookie Toby Sowery was nothing in need of spectacular as he took his Dale Coyne Racing automobile from twenty fifth to thirteenth.
IndyCar’s new vitality restoration system was nearly flawless in its first race.
Ganassi’s Scott Dixon was bitten by some type of hybrid-related concern earlier than the inexperienced flag which ruined his race, however his was the one automobile among the many 27 in attendance to come across adversity with the system.
Because it occurred
The primary hybrid IndyCar race received off to a disastrous begin for perennial Mid-Ohio contender Scott Dixon whose No. 9 Ganassi Honda died on the ultimate warmup lap, which compelled Dixon to sit down and await his powerless automobile to be pulled off the course the place he climbed out and watched for 22 laps from the sidelines.
The correct race begin on lap three noticed polesitter Alex Palou lead into Flip 5 and construct a 1.0s lead over Pato O’Ward. The jousting between Christians—Lundgaard and Rasmussen—over seventh place on lap 4 went to Rasmussen as Palou stretched his lead over O’Ward to 1.5s on lap 5. David Malukas sat 2.2s again in third.
By lap 10, Palou was disappearing into the gap with 3.3s over O’Ward and 6.5s over Malukas.
Pit lane received busy beginning on lap 11 as Kyffin Simpson dove in and dedicated to a three-stop technique; Josef Newgarden and Rinus VeeKay did the identical on lap 12. Marcus Armstrong, Felix Rosenqvist, and Nolan Siegel pitted on lap 13. Palou held 4.4s over O’Ward on lap 14 and Malukas was 9.9s arrears.
O’Ward was 5.7s again on lap 20—the one-quarter mark—and Malukas was a full 13.0s behind Palou, who was cruising. In fourth, Colton Herta was down 14.4s, Scott McLaughlin was fifth at 15.6s, and Marcus Ericsson was 17.4s shy of the chief.
Lap 22 noticed Dixon emerge from the pits in an try and salvage his day in any approach doable. Palou’s march continued as his hole to O’Ward grew to six.3s on lap 25. By lap 27, O’Ward minimize the lead down to five.6s as he ready to pit at the beginning of lap 28 and transfer from Firestone primaries to alternates—like the opposite main drivers — on his two-stop technique.
Third-place Malukas pitted as properly, which compelled O’Ward’s crew to carry him as Malukas pulled into his pit field. The time loss for O’Ward wasn’t nice, however Malukas stalled, which misplaced him much more time.
Points for @malukasdavid and the No. 66 within the pits!
📺: #Honda200 on NBC and Peacock pic.twitter.com/BA31m0lVdd
— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) July 7, 2024
Palou was in at the beginning of lap 29 and had a barely gradual cease as a wheel gun concern added a number of seconds to the cease. With the highest three having pit cease points, the harm diversified as Palou returned with 5.7s over O’Ward and Malukas fell from third to thirteenth.
McLaughlin went for the overcut by pitting at the beginning of lap 31 and was rewarded by rising in third forward of Herta and Newgarden, who was in want of stopping quickly on his three-stop plan. Fellow three-stoppers Siegel and VeeKay have been in on lap 33.
Newgarden was in on lap 37 and resumed in sixteenth. Palou’s lead fell to 4.5s on lap 38 as he labored by way of site visitors; McLaughlin was 11.5s again in third.
Palou centered on conserving his alternate tires within the race’s center part as O’Ward did the identical, however on lap 42, Palou’s lead was right down to 4.0s as O’Ward slowly drew the margin down. Was it a case of O’Ward catching, or Palou giving up outright velocity to get extra life out of his tires?
Working sixth on a three-stop technique, Linus Lundqvist pitted—he’d want yet another cease—on lap 45 and resumed in seventeenth. And not using a warning at an opportune time, the three-stoppers have been going through some tough outcomes.
By lap 47, O’Ward had Palou’s lead down to three.2s and McLaughlin was solely 6.3s again. Second- and third-place drivers have been going ahead and the chief was going backward. lap 49 and it was down for Palou to 2.7s. O’Ward’s cost continued as 2.3s separated him from Palou on lap 50 as site visitors was on the horizon.
Lap 52 and O’Ward was down by simply 1.4s. Ericsson additionally took fourth from teammate Herta. The beginning of lap 53 had solely 0.8s between Palou and O’Ward. O’Ward was in Palou’s wheel tracks on lap 54 with 0.5s between the contenders. The McLaren pitted on the finish of the lap—the beginning of lap 55—to take primaries as Palou stayed out and misplaced a little bit of time attempting to get round Will Energy.
Palou was in on the finish of lap 55 and the race for the lead was on. A delay dropping the clutch gave O’Ward the lead as Palou watched O’Ward sweep by on pit exit. By lap 57, O’Ward held 1.5s over Palou. May Palou summon his earlier tempo on primaries, or would O’Ward maintain agency within the lead?
Palou received the lead right down to 1.1s on lap 59, however he spent the subsequent lap caught behind Pietro Fittipaldi and noticed it swell to 1.6s. A bobble by Newgarden who hit the within curb at Flip 11 slowed his development as he flew throughout the grass however he didn’t lose an immense period of time and resumed in fifth whereas getting ready to make this third and remaining cease.
SKETCHY MOMENT for Josef Newgarden. 😳
📺 : #INDYCAR | NBC and Peacock pic.twitter.com/M8cy18AtZC
— INDYCAR on NBC (@IndyCaronNBC) July 7, 2024
Lap 63 and Palou carved O’Ward’s right down to 0.8s. McLaughlin was 12.3s behind O’Ward and Ericsson — on alternates — was 17.0s again in fourth.
Sixty six laps down and now Palou was in O’Ward’s wheel tracks, 0.3s behind. Newgarden was in for his remaining cease and again in on lap 67 for dashing. He returned in twenty fifth.
O’Ward was pushing and drew the lead out to 1.0s on lap 68, and imprecise driving from Palou and a slide out of Flip 13 had his deficit develop to 1.3s on lap 69. O’Ward was again in management with larger consolation.
Catching site visitors, together with Palou’s teammate Simpson, the leaders had a 0.7s separation on lap 70. Herta reclaimed fourth from Ericsson and Alexander Rossi was in sixth.
Lap 74 and it was 0.5s. Palou was shut, however he’d want one thing outstanding to occur to get by O’Ward. Lap 77 and Palou was inside one automobile size however he slid off the course and gave away a number of tenths. Lap 78 and it was 0.5s, which was shut for Palou, however not shut sufficient as Romain Grosjean spun off the course on his personal.
When the white flag flew, a 0.4s lead was in retailer for O’Ward, and he held onto it to say his second race of the yr.
