Pato O’Ward and Arrow McLaren denied a dominant Josef Newgarden at Iowa Speedway to clinch victory and their first triumph of the 2025 IndyCar campaign.
The Mexican driver snatched the lead away from Newgarden with an overcut on the final round of pitstops and he withstood a fierce late challenge from the Team Penske driver to claim victory on Saturday.
It was O’Ward’s eighth win on his 100th career start in IndyCar and the first for any Chevrolet driver in 2025, ending a stretch of dominance from Honda.
“This is great,” O’Ward said. “We’ve been waiting for this one all year. It’s crazy. My 50th race was also a win here in Iowa, and that’s the only other win I have here, so it’s a cool story.
“Great job by my Arrow McLaren guys and gals. I’m super happy I’m the Chevy guy that gave them their first win this year.”
Before the final round of pitstops, it was Newgarden’s race to lose. The two-time Indianapolis 500 winner claimed pole and led 232 of Saturday’s 275 laps, but when his team brought him into the pits on lap 233, O’Ward stayed out for two more laps and cycled out ahead of Newgarden.
Patricio O’ward, Arrow McLaren
Photo by: Perry Nelson / Lumen via Getty Images
The Tennessean hounded O’Ward over the run to the chequered flag, as two late cautions closed the field. But the 26-year-old withstood the pressure to secure a brilliant victory by 0.2352s at the flag.
It was all Team Penske in O’Ward’s mirror, with Will Power completing the podium in third and Scott McLaughlin mounting a fierce charge from 27th to finish fourth. Alex Palou wrapped up the top five to keep his championship advantage comfortably intact.
Saturday’s race was predictably busy, with the challenging Iowa track catching drivers out as they pushed to make gains on a day when passing proved difficult.
The first caution came right at the start of the race, when Colton Herta spun through the infield grass, while there were also early exits for Jacob Abel, Kyle Kirkwood, Nolan Siegel and Callum Ilott in separate incidents.
Kirkwood’s DNF was particularly damaging as it effectively ends his remote title hopes, falling 139 points off leader Palou with just six races to go.
O’Ward’s win has pushed him up to second and 105 points off Palou in the drivers’ standings.
IndyCar Iowa – Race 1 results
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