LEXINGTON — Same papaya, different day. Different driver, too.
That was Arrow McLaren’s swap Sunday at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, where Pato O’Ward — and not polesitter Christian Lundgaard — won the Honda Indy 200, the 11th race of the NTT IndyCar Series season.
Lundgaard and O’Ward started the 90-lap race together on the front row and effectively held their positions throughout a caution-free race except during pit stops.
But on Lap 42, O’Ward capitalized on the polesitter’s wide exit off Turn 2, swiping the lead and holding it the rest of the way.
The win was the first for O’Ward in nearly a year, since he won last season’s Toronto street race 15 races ago. It was a drought he couldn’t accept, especially as Lundgaard has won two races this year, including the most recent event at Road America.
The victory also gave Arrow McLaren its first 1-2 finish in the series.
O’Ward had not scored a top-three finish this season despite being fifth in the standings. His best results had been three fourth-place finishes and three fifth-place finishes.
“It’s been a year, it’s been a tough one for sure,” the Mexican driver said. “I think today is just a perfect example of execution. I waited for the perfect time to pounce, and from there we just controlled it.”
O’Ward’s pass of Lundgaard was noteworthy for a couple of reasons, not the least of which stemming from what happens at year’s end. They are in their second season as teammates, but all signs point to Lundgaard driving elsewhere next year as Scott Dixon and Felix Rosenqvist join O’Ward on the team.
That situation made O’Ward’s opportunity to pounce all the more interesting.
Lundgaard drifted a bit wide on the exit of Turn 2, allowing O’Ward to size him up and get a better run down the long straightaway that serves as the race’s starting point. By the time they arrived at the tricky, right-turning fourth corner, the cars were side by side with O’Ward on the outside. They touched at least twice at the corner exit, and O’Ward used the preferred line into Turn 5 to make the move.
By the time the Arrow McLaren duo charged into Thunder Valley, O’Ward had the lead. Later, he used a key pass of series rookie Dennis Hauger to create additional separation leading into the final pit stop. O’Ward stayed out as Lundgaard, along with two other challengers, pitted. He then ran two laps longer to pad his lead.
O’Ward’s winning margin was 0.9877 of a second, earning his second Mid-Ohio victory in the past three years. The win was the 10th of his career, divided almost equally by track type: four on ovals, three on street circuits and three on road courses.
Lundgaard’s second-place finish continued his strong season on road courses. In addition to winning races at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Road America, he finished second at Barber Motorsports Park. With Chip Ganassi Racing’s Alex Palou finishing fifth, Lundgaard drew within 65 points of the series leader.
Andretti Global’s Kyle Kirkwood finished third to close within 56 points of Palou. Kirkwood overtook Team Penske’s David Malukas, who finished eighth, for second place in the standings. Lundgaard also jumped Malukas, with O’Ward in fifth.
The top four drivers are separated by 66 points with seven races remaining, leading into the July 19 Music City Grand Prix at Nashville Superspeedway.
Rinus VeeKay scored his second fourth-place finish in the past three races following a similar performance last month at World Wide Technology Raceway.