LEXINGTON, Ohio — Pato O’Ward bounced back in multiple ways with an IndyCar victory he was confident of achieving with a new hybrid engine he found to his liking.
The combination helped him reduce a big-time deficit to Alex Palou on the track and ultimately pounce on the slimmest window of opportunity.
O’Ward seized the lead with 24 laps remaining Sunday afternoon as Palou stalled in the pits, and he held on to win at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in the IndyCar Series’ official debut of its hybrid engine.
The victory provided huge redemption for O’Ward, who was leading on the last lap of the Indianapolis 500 in May before Josef Newgarden overtook him on the final half-mile for the victory. The triumph in Lexington, Ohio, was O’Ward’s second win on the American open-wheel circuit this season, but it was the 25-year-old Mexican’s first time crossing the finish line first in the Arrow McLaren No. 5 Chevrolet this year.
He was awarded the victory in the season-opening race at St. Peterburg, Florida, more than a month after the race, and only after Newgarden was disqualified when it was discovered the push-to-pass system on his Team Penske Chevy had been manipulated.