O’Ward takes lead after Palou’s pit stop problems, wins Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio in hybrid engine debut

LEXINGTON, Ohio (AP) — Pato O’Ward rebounded on multiple levels with an IndyCar victory Sunday that he was confident would come with a new hybrid engine he found to his liking.

This combination allowed him to reduce a big deficit against Alex Palou and ultimately take advantage of the smallest window of opportunity.

O’Ward took the lead with 24 laps remaining as Palou stalled in the pits and held on to win the Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in the hybrid engine’s official IndyCar Series debut.

The victory was a major redemption for O’Ward, who led the final lap of the Indianapolis 500 in May before Josef Newgarden passed him in the final half-mile to win. It was O’Ward’s second victory of the season, but his first on the track after he won the season-opening race in St. Petersburg, Fla., when Newgarden was disqualified for manipulating his Chevrolet’s push-to-pass system.

It made the victory even more rewarding, especially after the heartbreaking loss at Indy.

“We really pushed today,” said O’Ward, whose first pit stop to switch to softer, redwall alternative tires helped him gain speed before switching back to primary tires in the next stint. “I pushed for so long and saw him give up trying to get away in the first stint, I thought, ‘No way! No way!’”

“As soon as we put the red tires on, I had the opportunity to close the gap and beat him. We deserved it. Nobody gave it to us. It’s really a good thing.”

O’Ward started second in his Chevrolet, behind Palou’s Honda, and spent most of the race building a gap of more than five seconds on Palou, who dominated the race, edging his counterpart by 0.0024 seconds for the pole and seeking his second consecutive victory at Mid-Ohio. His chance came when Palou stopped on Lap 56 to change tires and refuel, but stalled, a setback that allowed O’Ward to pass Palou as he returned to the repaved road course.

“I just tried to engage first gear too early,” said Palou, who was coming off a win at Laguna Seca after taking pole two weeks ago. “My mechanics were super good on the tires and a few things – like not being able to engage first gear when the tank is full, so yeah, I just tried and it was denied and then when I could have engaged it, it was like half a second or a second. It’s all my fault.”

Palou chased O’Ward from there, but couldn’t close in to pass him. The green flag conditions also helped, even after Romain Grosjean’s Chevrolet spun behind them and stalled with three laps to go. Grosjean re-ignited the new hybrid engine and continued, avoiding a disruption and a likely yellow-flag finish with the previous engine.

O’Ward wavered slightly toward the end but took the win by 0.4993 seconds, giving the driver his first on-track victory since July 2022 at Iowa and Arrow McLaren a major triumph in a season dominated by Team Penske and Chip Ganassi Racing. It was the closest finish in IndyCar this season on a road or street circuit.

Scott McLaughlin finished third in a Penske Chevy, followed by Colton Herta and Marcus Ericsson in Andretti Global Hondas and O’Ward’s teammate Alexander Rossi.

Palou extended his lead in the IndyCar standings to 48 points over Will Power, while O’Ward moved up three spots to third, 70 points behind.

Six-time race winner Scott Dixon started 21 laps down due to a starter problem on his Honda and fell 71 points to fourth after entering the weekend 32 points behind Palou in third. Dixon already had a lot of ground to make up Sunday after qualifying 14th and completing just 40 laps.

While the finish was obviously important for O’Ward and Palou, the focus was on the first competition with the hybrid unit equipping the Hondas and Chevys.

The long-awaited hybrid unit of the 2.2-liter twin-turbo V-6 engine generates electricity through braking or changing throttle position. The energy is stored in capacitors that produce rapid boosts and when drivers deploy a system similar to the overtake button. The combination can total up to 120 horsepower and more than 800 in total.

IndyCar expressed its encouragement and excitement about the hybrid engine in a statement after the race, citing the collaboration between Chevy and Honda. The statement added that the series looks forward to “the continued evolution of the hybrid engine as teams and drivers refine the system” and how the power assist works on an oval next weekend at Iowa Speedway.

At Mid-Ohio, O’Ward and Palou distinguished themselves from all others by seizing the front row before O’Ward could assert his rights.

The next IndyCar race will be on July 14 in Newton, Iowa.

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AP Auto Racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing