Pato O’Ward completes historic double‑win at Milwaukee
Pato O’Ward secured a back‑to‑back victory in the rain‑impacted double‑header at the Milwaukee Mile on Sunday, becoming the first IndyCar driver since Rick Mears in 1981 to win two races in a single day. The 27‑year‑old Mexican clinched the first race on a late restart with 19 laps to go, cutting past Team Penske’s David Malukas inside the oval and pulling away by 1.7535 seconds in the #5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet.
Weather‑torn double‑header and dramatic resumption
Race 1 began Sunday afternoon but was halted by a red flag after lap 90 when rain intensified, extending into a 25‑hour, 40‑minute pause. The suspended Saturday run was later completed, but the first race resumed only after a lengthy delay, leaving teams to re‑engineer strategies under changing track conditions.
Podium and championship conclusions
Juncos Hollinger Racing’s Rinus VeeKay collected third place after climbing from 24th to 12th early in the race, marking his best finish of the season and first podium since the Toronto round last year. Alex Palou of Chip Ganassi finished 10th but officially closed out his fifth IndyCar Series title, matching Sebastien Bourdais’s four‑year run and moving into third all‑time behind A.J. Foyt and Scott Dixon.
Race dynamics: starts, cautions, and lead changes
Scott McLaughlin earned pole yet received a nine‑place grid penalty, allowing O’Ward to lead when the flag dropped. Early laps saw Newgarden and Rosenqvist battling for second, with O’Ward maintaining a half‑second buffer. Mid‑race pit stops began at lap 42, with multiple drivers—including Alex Palou and Will Power—seeking fresh tires while managing runoff from caution periods.
A NASCAR‑style wave‑around pit stop strategy under a caution on lap 151 kept O’Ward from the lead, handing it temporarily to Malukas. Subsequent fresher‑tire drives shifted the order back to O’Ward, who regained the front by lap 158, holding the top spot through a sequence of late‑race cautions on laps 163 and 200.
During the final restart on lap 226, a three‑wide sprint among O’Ward, Malukas, and McLaughlin saw O’Ward overtake Malukas on the inside, extending his margin to 0.5814 seconds with ten laps remaining.
Press reaction and future prospects
After the finish, O’Ward reflected on the dream weekend, emphasizing the return to oval form and noting the win’s importance as a season finale before a move to Laguna. Palou praised his team’s persistence, noting that despite earlier struggles, a focus on steady race pace secured the championship and set expectations for the upcoming season.
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