Pato O’Ward passed Josef Newgarden with 23 laps to go Sunday at Texas, and the Mexican-born driver stayed in front for his first IndyCar victory at what he considers about his home track.
O’Ward praised four days before his 22nd birthday while driving for Arrow McLaren SP, and the organization will follow through with a promise to let him test a Formula One vehicle toward the year’s end.
The race was the second in as numerous days at Texas, and was marred by the IndyCar’s second first-lap crash of the season.
Six cars were done before they arrived at the green banner, when Pietro Fittipaldi hit Sebastien Bourdais from behind, knocking the four-time open-wheel champion into Alexander Rossi. The vehicles of Ed Jones, Dalton Kellett and Conor Daly additionally were destroyed in the crash that occurred as they moved toward the beginning end goal for first time.
The races on consecutive days in Texas closed a exhausting stretch of four races more than three ends of the week to open the season before the arrangement moves to Indianapolis for the remainder of May. The street course race is May 15, with the Indianapolis 500 on May 30.
Newgarden completed 1.2443 seconds behind O’Ward, giving Chevrolet a 1-2 completion and its first triumph this season.
Graham Rahal completed third, before Scott Dixon and Colton Herta.
Dixon led 206 of 212 laps on Saturday night, when he completed in front of individual New Zealander and IndyCar newbie Scott McLaughlin. It was Dixon’s fifth success at Texas and No. 51 for his vocation generally speaking, moving inside one of Mario Andretti for the second-most behind A.J. Foyt’s 67.
O’Ward, who grew up now and again in San Antonio, Texas, got his first success in quite a while 26th IndyCar start and second full season.
McLaren told him toward the beginning of the period that he could test the F1 vehicle toward the year’s end in the event that he dominated an IndyCar race. Minutes after the race, Zak Brown, top of McLaren’s F1 group, tweeted “A deal’s a deal @PatricioOWard — what a win! See you in Abu Dhabi later this year!”
Daly said he wasn’t quite certain what occurred toward the beginning of the race, and that everybody had begun to speed up before the accordion impact created chaos.
“It just takes one person when everybody is nose to tail,” he said.
Fittipaldi, who at Texas ran his first IndyCar races since 2018, said the field abruptly appeared down in front of him and, “I had nowhere to go.” He said he had a sprained finger.
“Watching that, I’m glad Conor is OK, glad everybody is OK,” Rossi said when viewing a replay.
Rossi was incredulous of IndyCar setting the beginning by focuses instead of qualifying on speed, especially with the early Sunday evening start and groups sitting inactive the majority of the day. It put vehicles of shifting rates all through the field, a factor in the accident as the vehicles attempted to find a workable pace going to the green flag.
There was additionally some hard contact for Tony Kanaan, who had the option to continue to race. James Hinchcliffe had issues in the wake of passing through the conflict, and finished just 30 laps between a few expanded stops prior to leaving the vehicle for great.
Foyt’s group had worked really hard into the night to modify the No. 14 Chevrolet for Bourdais after he was hit from behind by Josef Newgarden just 56 laps into Saturday’s race. Bourdais was running 6th when he turned and the vehicle sponsored hard into the external divider.
Bourdais and his Foyt colleague Kellett were both involved with the opening crash Sunday.
“It’s a real shame that two days in a row we get drilled and taken out of the race,” Bourdais said. “A very expensive couple of days for A.J. Foyt Racing. … The guys worked until midnight to fix the car, and can’t even take the green flag.”