Pato O’Ward has revealed how he won his, Arrow McLaren’s, and Chevrolet’s first race of the season at the Synk 275 by “getting creative”.
Pato O’Ward won the first race of the Iowa doubleheader on his 100th race start in IndyCar. The Mexican driver held on to the lead after the race restart, with 17 laps to go, after Josef Newgarden tried to catch him.
A first victory of 2025 in more ways than one
Pato O’Ward’s victory at the Synk 275 was more than just his first of 2025. It marked the first victory for Arrow McLaren and Chevrolet this season, ending Honda’s domination. This was also the Arrow McLaren driver’s first repeat win, winning in Iowa in 2022.
Speaking in the post-race press conference, when asked about the stats, O’Ward answered, “Yeah. First time I do a repeat at a track, so that’s a cool milestone for myself. Super happy for, first of all, all the guys and gals at Arrow McLaren. We’ve been working really hard. But the guy we’re chasing down keeps winning a bunch of them.”
“Also very happy for Team Chevy. This was important and very deserving for Team Chevy. I’m glad it was an all-Chevy podium.”
A “creative” race
With the 275 laps around the Iowa Speedway, O’Ward admitted he had to get “creative” on how he was going to attack the Synk 275.
“Yeah, for my race, I started getting creative. They’re just such long races. There’s time to get your car in the window, start getting creative on where you want to place it.”
Newgarden did not make O’Ward’s win an easy one. The American kept fighting until the very last lap. O’Ward commended the Penske driver on his experience and having “to be perfect“, given his time on ovals.
“So yeah, we got moving in that second restart, and as soon as I got to Josef, he’s one of the guys that when you’re behind him, he tries to outsmart you, definitely. He’s been running ovals for more than I’ve been in the series. That experience only comes with laps, and he’s also very strong here, so I knew that we had to be perfect.”
O’Ward also revealed he: “risked a bit more than I was planning to” to achieve his win but it was the overcut strategy that “pretty much what gave us the win” at the Synk 275.
“We capitalized on that in lap. I think I went a little bit over the limit and risked a bit more than I was planning to, but all in all, it actually worked out because [Newgarden] was right on our gearbox on that 3 and 4 when we came out. Yeah, great pit stop, and did my job to secure us that overcut, and that’s pretty much what gave us the win today.”
