When Arrow McLaren's Pato O'Ward closes his eyes at night, he dreams of the Indianapolis 500.
“Last night, that's all I was dreaming about,” O'Ward told Fox News Digital on Monday, six days before IndyCar's biggest race each year. “I keep running several Indy 500s in my head. It's crazy. You try to tone it down as much as you can, but this race… it's like no other.”
Ask any driver in Indianapolis how much this race means to them and you'll probably get the same answer. For O'Ward, however, you'd think this run would make him grimace at what the last two years could have been like.
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Pato O'Ward of Mexico speaks with his team after qualifying for the NTT IndyCar Series Grand Prix Sonsio at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on May 10, 2024. (Michael Allio/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
But the 25-year-old Mexican driver couldn't be in a better mood heading into Sunday, when he will have another chance to emerge victorious after 200 long laps.
“I want to have a good, clean race. I want to race, man,” he said, laughing. “I think sometimes it's very easy to get greedy and you forget that it's already a great opportunity to have the opportunity to run. It sucks when something goes wrong, if someone hits you or you make a mistake. The opportunity to just be able to run is very special . That is what I want. I want a chance to finish the 200 laps and honestly, I'm probably the last guy a hype man needs. If anything, I need someone to calm me down.”
O'Ward has a solid pole position, sitting in the middle of the third row in eighth. His Arrow McLaren teammates, Alexander Rossi and Kyle Larson, are in fourth and fifth position, respectively.
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Team Penske owns the front row after Scott McLaughlin won qualifying and Will Power and Josef Newgarden followed right behind.
But O'Ward knows he's in a position to compete for the win and that's all that matters.
“I think the team put together some very fast race cars for all of us. My car didn't have the speed that Alex and Kyle had, but we're there. It's about positioning yourself and running the cleanest race you can. “It can, because any Something can happen in the Indy 500. It's such a long race that you have to be there. The last stint is where everyone appears, and well, it's a free-for-all.”
That pitched battle is something O'Ward knows very well, but it hasn't resulted in the victory he craved in Indianapolis. Two years ago, he finished second after making all the right moves, in his opinion, down the stretch.
But the “second heartbreak,” as he put it, came in 2023, when he led the race with 39 laps. However, his race ended just before the finish line.
On lap 192, eight to go, O'Ward attempted to make a move to the inside of Marcus Ericsson, but ended up spinning and hitting the wall.
Pato O'Ward of Mexico enters Turn 1 during qualifying for the NTT IndyCar Series Indianapolis 500 on May 19, 2024, at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. (Jeffrey Brown/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
“Is six laps close enough to start taking risks? Well, I don't know. If it had worked last year, I would have said yes,” O'Ward said.
“You have to take risks, and that's inevitable. That's always going to be part of the process, and if you want that big reward, you're going to have to take it. You take it as it comes.”
O'Ward not only wants that big reward for himself, but also for his Arrow McLaren team. It's a group he signed a contract extension with because he believes in what they're building together and knows they have what it takes in Indy this week.
“There are a lot of expectations from everyone involved,” he said. “And everyone sets expectations for this race. Expectations are a constant battle within yourself. No matter how high you want to set the bar for yourself, you have to realize what the reality is. For us, we have a chance.” .
One shot is all it takes, especially if O'Ward finds himself back in the lead with 10 laps left. Because everyone wants to cross the finish line first, he knows it will be necessary to take risks and he learned from the previous two Indy 500s when it is necessary to do so.
But at the same time, O'Ward knows that no matter what you plan, no matter how many times you dream about how to run the race, things change and adaptation will need to come.
Pato O'Ward of Mexico is shown during qualifying for the NTT IndyCar Series Indianapolis 500 on May 18, 2024, at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. (Jeffrey Brown/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
In those career dreams, O'Ward said he emerged victorious from his competition. The feeling of winning, however, is something he knows he can't remember in his head.
If it happens on Sunday, he can always say he knows what it feels like to win the Indy 500.
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“I get goosebumps. Like now, when I told you I got goosebumps, I got goosebumps,” O'Ward said, laughing. “You can't help but think about it, but you try not to because I don't know what it would feel like. It must be a lot more than anything else I've ever won.”
“Only those who won can tell you. I've dreamed about it.”
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