Patricio O’Ward achieved a memorable comeback at Mid-Ohio Indy 500

He finished in eighth place after a difficult start from the 25th position on the starting grid. A spin in the first part of the qualifying session sent him to the back of the pack for the race held on Sunday.

The victory went to Álex Palou, who won for the fourth time this year and is on track for what could be his second title in the IndyCar Series. His Spanish dominance has put Chip Ganassi on a higher level than the rest of the field.

The Race

At the start, Rosenqvist and Ericsson collided in turn 6, in the middle part of the track, and the McLaren was left stranded, causing the first yellow flag of the afternoon. O’Ward, starting in 25th, began to climb positions and overtook Robb, Canapino, and Ferrucci to move up to 20th place.

During the yellow flag, Pato did not stop in the pits and continued his climb through the field. He passed Illot for P19 and then Castroneves, DeFrancesco, Armstrong, VeeKay, and Hunter-Reay, reaching 14th place after 15 laps.

P25 to P8. Today's biggest mover. @PatricioOWard is, in fact, him. ???? July 2, 2023

The Mexican driver attempted to attack Newgarden for 13th place but then opted for an undercut and was the first to stop in the pits, switching to hard tires for a longer stint.

The scheduled green flag pit cycle began and O'Ward was ahead of the drivers who made their stops, including Rossi and Newgarden. By lap 29, Pato was already in that group of drivers vying for victory, with a strategy of four pit stops to achieve a great result.

On lap 31, Álex Palou took the lead and created a four-second gap to Colton Herta. Additionally, Patricio O’Ward's undercut was beneficial as he reached fourth place, behind Scott Dixon.

He made his stop on lap 43, returning to the track in 14th place, but he quickly climbed back to the front thanks to his alternative strategy. He even reached second place at Mid-Ohio (lap 57), although he couldn't hold on to that position for long as he had to return to the pits and not risk his race.

He re-entered the track on lap 64, placing himself in ninth place, but then overtook Marcus Armstrong and finished the race in eighth position.