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O’Ward doesn’t want retrospective Indy 500 win

Arrow McLaren ace Pato O’Ward says he wouldn’t want to inherit victory in last year’s Indianapolis 500, despite suggestions that he was beaten by a car running in illegal specification.

During Sunday’s Fast 12 qualifying session for this year’s Indy 500, the Team Penske-Chevrolets of Newgarden and Will Power went to pitlane with a lightly modified rear attenuator – a part that IndyCar does not allow to be tweaked in any way. When the changes were brought to the attention of IndyCar Tech, the cars of Newgarden and Power were pulled from the qualifying line, consigning them to the fourth row of the grid, alongside their teammate Scott McLaughlin whose attenuator was still in its original spec, but who had shunted his No. 3 car in morning practice. 

However, IndyCar subsequently relegated Newgarden and Power to 32nd and 33rd on the grid for the transgressions and each entry incurred a $100,000 fine. Meanwhile, photographs of the tail of Newgarden’s No. 2 Penske-Chevrolet in victory circle in 2024 suggest the same modification was made to the car that beat O’Ward’s McLaren-Chevrolet by 0.3417s after a thrilling duel in the final laps.

But O’Ward, who inherited a win from Newgarden in the 2024 Grand Prix of St. Petersburg after several weeks due to the Penske push-to-pass scandal, says he’s not seeking to upend the results of the 500, 12 months on.

“You know what, whatever it was, I would have never wanted to win an Indy 500 a year later just because one car got caught being illegal,” said the popular Mexican, who has qualified third for this year’s race. “I truly believe Josef won that race. He timed it better than I did. 

“I want to be able to experience what any Indy 500 winner gets to experience – the whole schnaz, the energy. That’s ultimately what takes the experience to the next level, just being an Indy 500 winner.

“I know how to position myself to be in a chance to win. I believe I have the team behind me able to do that. 

“Starting on the front row, best starting position I’ve ever had. We’ll see what we can do on Sunday.”

For his part, Newgarden was unwilling to discuss either the car modifications, nor Roger Penske’s subsequent firing of team president Tim Cindric, managing director Ron Ruzewski and program manager Kyle Moyer. However, the 34-year-old Tennessean, who is looking to become the first driver ever to win Indy three times in consecutive years, said that the plan to get to the front from the final row isn’t so very different from two years ago, when he rose from 17th on the grid to claim his first 500 win.

“I don’t think the plan changes in a lot of ways,” he said. “As far as how do you win the Indianapolis 500, I think there is no one formula. I know of a formula that you can prescribe to win the race. I don’t think it changes starting from 32nd. 

“We know what we need to do throughout the race to give ourselves an opportunity to go for the win. I think that’s really not the secret, but it’s just the formula, if you will. You have to give yourself a chance at the right time. 

“Seems simple, but this race, it’s an endurance in a lot of ways, it’s 500 miles. A lot you have to calculate through – the way you manage yellows, where you put yourself in the strategies, when you’re making moves, when you’re not. There’s a cadence to it.

“We’ve done it before, and we’ll try and do the exact same thing this weekend.”