Pato O’Ward capitalized on a swift pit stop and good strategy to win the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama on Sunday (May 1), his first NTT IndyCar Series victory on the 17-turn, 2.3-mile road course at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama.
The win was the first of the season for the Arrow McLaren SP driver. Furthermore, the triumph came nearly a year to the date of the team’s most recent victory, which Mexico’s O’Ward also won, last May 2 at the XPEL 375 at Texas Motor Speedway.
He beat reigning IndyCar Series champion and last year’s Barber winner Alex Palou to the checkered flag by 0.98 of a second for his third series victory.
“Good job all weekend. ******* great weekend. Let’s go!” O’Ward exclaimed on the radio.
O’Ward led the final 36 circuits.
“I got on my button and got around him [in Turn 5]. I knew if we would get into clean air, we could [control the race].”
O’Ward admitted his poor showings at St. Petersburg and Texas, where he finished 12th and 15th, respectively, were at least partially caused by ongoing contract talks with his team. However, he returned to form on Sunday.
“Man, it sucks to be at war within your own team, right? I’m glad there has been very positive talks for the future, and man, I wanted to do it for these guys; I wanted to do it for Arrow McLaren SP, Team Chevy.
“They’ve swept this year so far, so I think it’s great for them. I was tired of [finishing] 10th and 11th and fifth. So I said, ‘Let’s get a win under our belts so we can claw our way back into this championship fight.’”
A runner-up finish also propelled Palou to regain the series points lead in his first title defense. The driver of the No. 10 The American Legion Chip Ganassi Racing Honda has accumulated 144 points through four races this season.
“We had a good day overall, super happy with a P2,” Palou told NBC Sports’ Dillon Welch. “I did a mistake on a restart, so I think that was all the difference….
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