INDIANAPOLIS (WRTV) — Pato O’Ward has been so close to winning the Indianapolis 500.
In 2024, he was leading in the final lap before Josef Newgarden passed him to win his second straight Indy 500. O’Ward finished second in 2022 as well, and third in 2025.
Despite the heartbreak in the past, O’Ward still treasures his time at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
“I love this place,” O’Ward said. “I love driving around this place. I like the whole process. It’s my favorite time of the year.”
As for if the elusive win will come this year, he is not letting it weigh on him.
“It might. I don’t know. Honestly, I’m to the point where I genuinely really just enjoy it all,” O’Ward said. “At some point, I do have faith that it’s going to come. Is it this year? Is it next year? I don’t know.”
O’Ward was 12th fastest on Tuesday, the first day of practice for the Indianapolis 500. He shared what he thought of his car.
“It was the first time that we had such high track temps (temperatures) in a while, so that’s going to really expose the car, which I have, so I was happy to do that,” O’Ward said. “So now we know which direction we want to go, what we need to do to get it a little bit happier. But yeah, it’s not there yet, but we’ll get it there.”
O’Ward is one of the most popular drivers, with papaya colored No. 5 shirts easy to find around Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The grandstands sold out for the the Indy 500 for the second straight year, which adds to the anticipation for race day for O’Ward.
“The place is magic because of what the people make it feel like,” O’Ward said. “My first Indy 500 was in COVID year (2020). There was no one here. I can’t really say it was very magical. The people are what truly makes this place just more than what it already is, a beautiful facility.”
The 110th Running of the Indianapolis 500 is scheduled for Sunday, May 24.
