“Feels really good”: When Pato O'Ward won Mid-Ohio race after denying Josef Newgarden the victory 

Arrow McLaren driver Pato O'Ward once spoke about his race at Mid-Ohio in 2024. He expressed his feelings after getting his first on-track win of the season.

During the 2024 St. Petersburg Grand Prix, the win was handed over to the Mexican driver after Team Penske's Josef Newgarden was disqualified for race manipulation. However, at Mid-Ohio, the McLaren driver won after leading 24 laps of the race.

While in conversation with ESPN, Pato O'Ward spoke about how it feels to win the race. He said. (Via ESPN)

"We really pushed today. I was pushing so long and watching him pull out kind of trying to run away with it in the first stint, I said 'no way, no way.' As soon as we got the reds on, that was my chance to close the gap and ultimately beat him. ... We earned it. No one gave it to us. This feels really good."

The #5 Arrow McLaren car driver had started his race in second place and battled Palou. During one of the pit stops, Palou stalled his car, which allowed O'Ward to take the lead in the race. He dominated the race from there on.

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Pato O'Ward speaks about his battle with Conor Daly at the Bommarito Automotive Group 500

The Arrow McLaren driver Pato O'Ward spoke about his race at the Bommarito Automotive Group 500. He highlighted his battle with Conor Daly and compared it to the one he had with Josef Newgarden during the 2023 season.

The 26-year-old drives the #5 Arrow McLaren car powered by Chevrolet. He had many battles throughout the race; however, the one that stood out the most was his battle with Juncos Hollinger Racing driver Conor Daly. Daly and O'Ward fought for the lead of the race on lap 149.

While talking on SpeedStreet, a podcast hosted by Conor Daly and Chase Holden, the young Mexican driver spoke about his battle with Daly and compared it to his battle with Josef Newgarden at Texas in 2023. He said,

"Really good race. And I have to say it's been a while since I've had such good battles like that. It reminded me of Josef and I in Texas 2023. Like, you know, like you and I going side by side, by just pure racing, pure, like, you know, just getting after it like just getting on the limit." (1:05:15 onwards)

"Yeah, yes, right on the limit, giving each other exactly what you need in order to be able to do that, like that, that is what people want to see, like. If I had a child, I would have told him that's the ending to the Indy 500. Yeah, you know, I thought that was phenomenal, and it was just amazing to be a part of it," he added.

Pato O'Ward is currently sitting in third place in the drivers' championship with 275 points to his name.