INDIANAPOLIS – Tears flowed freely from Pato Oward, not unlike the sheets of rain that fell on this venerable speedway earlier in the day.
Pick a word to describe the sobbing Oscar after finishing second in the Indianapolis 500: Heartbroken, heartbroken, crushed — all fit. Even for a ninja-wielding driver, it took him a long time to pull himself together to save a bad car from a collision.
At first, Oward couldn’t even take off his helmet. He said that my insides are very wet. When he finally did, there was a long hug with his face buried in the chests and shoulders of his teammates.
Two angles are short. Short of two corners.
He thought he had an award. He calculated his move perfectly, seemingly waiting to make a pass on Josef Newgarden at the white flag Sunday in the Indy 500’s 108th running.
“I really thought I did my best to do it,” Oward said.
But it was too soon. Newgarden still had plenty of time and managed to make a bold pass on the outside of Award at Turn 3 on the final lap. There have only been four final passes in Indy 500 history; Newgarden now has two in back-to-back years.
“He could have easily won the race,” Newgarden said. “He drove me very well. I’m very grateful to him and the way he drove.
The way Oward drove at Newgarden? Cleanliness. There was trust between the two men to compete that way. Both of them put their cars in dangerous places, but knowing the other, they compete with respect; Only one can win.
It was remarkable that Oward had moved so far to the front. He led all drivers with 43 on-track passes throughout the race (teammate Alexander Rossi was second with 40) and his fearless moves on both Rossi and Scott Dixon allowed him to find the position to challenge Newgarden.
He felt the car was stuck, which meant there had to be more danger to make the necessary moves.
“On both sides, with Scott and Alex, (a) it was more likely to shut down the car than to get it back in one piece,” Oward said.
At the end of the recent Indy 500, it was a two-driver battle for the win. They race each other, switch leads and gamble on when to go for the final pass. So Oward knew he had to get to second place, but he took a checkers-or-busters mentality to get there.
Another heartbreaking P2 for Pato 💔#INDYCAR // @ArrowMcLaren pic.twitter.com/Sip7OenjFp
— NTT IndyCar Series (@IndyCar) May 27, 2024
“I put that car on the other end and in some places where I didn’t know I was going to get out in a class because I wanted to win this race, which is scary,” Oward said.
Oward stared at the monitors in the Indianapolis media center as he spoke. On the screens were replays of Newgarden’s highlights: the last pass, jumping out of the car and running to the greats, hitting the traditional milkshake. It was hard to look away.
Okay, so much of this month has been rough for the awards. He was recently stricken with a severe case of influenza and had a fever for five consecutive nights. He did not sleep well in the days leading up to the competition.
But on Sunday, he said he felt good, “almost done.”
Efforts and trials help explain the tears. All he had to show for it was another second-place finish in the 500, and as Scott Dixon later said: “You’d rather finish last here than get out first.”
“It’s when you get so close and you feel like you can’t really understand,” Oward said. “It’s a lot of feeling.”
Newgarden understands. After all, this competition was teased and played for more than a decade until it finally ended. He has now won two in a row.
This old place is such a joke, and according to Oward, it owes nothing to any driver. But eventually, it seems he has a way of rewarding some of those who have suffered enough.
“If you don’t lose, it hurts,” Newgarden said. “I’ve left here with a broken heart 11 times before. I know the feeling.
(Pato Award photo: Darron Cummings/Associated Press)