Pato O’Ward becomes the fourth different driver to win a race in the 2025 NTT IndyCar Season as Team Penske seems to turn the 2025 season around with a 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place finishes at Iowa Speedway.
Pato O’Ward gets First Win for Chevy and McLaren in 2025 as Penske Rebounds in Iowa
The first of a doubleheader weekend at Iowa Speedway saw Pato O’Ward capitalize on some late race cautions. His victory, in his 100th start, earned Chevrolet and McLaren their first victories of 2025. However, the big headline was that Penske has seemingly returned to its old form, finishing 2nd, 3rd, and 4th. Josef Newgarden led the Penske trio, followed by Will Power, and a remarkable comeback for Scott McLaughlin, who started in the rear after a wreck in qualifying.
This is O’Ward’s eighth IndyCar Series victory, again his first of 2025. More importantly, this win helps him battle the two Chip Ganassi Hondas of Dixon, in second, and Palou, in first.
Wrecks Early on Dictate Strategy:
The Synk 275 at Iowa Speedway seemed to be another stinker during the opening 100 laps. Passing came in the back of the field as Josef Newgarden would lead 232 laps during the race. He held the lead even after both Jacob Abel on lap 73 and Kyle Kirkwood on lap 153 had day-ending incidents.
It has been an awful year for Josef Newgarden and his Penske teammates. With the issues at Indianapolis with tech inspection, and just a loss of pace since then. It was a return to form for the six-time Iowa Speedway winner. Unfortunately, a mistake on a late pitstop would hand the lead over to his ‘rival’ in Pato O’Ward.
Read More: Kyle Kirkwood Conquers The Night In St. Louis
Late Red and Yellow Flags Set Up Run to the Checkered:
Pato O’Ward secured the lead thanks to the slow pit stop from the No. 2 Chevy team. But it was almost thrown away due to his teammate, Nolan Siegel. Siegel would get loose in turn 4 and lose control of the car, turning the car around and slapping the outside wall. The race would be red-flagged due to repairs being necessary to the SAFER barrier.
When the race finally went back green, it was the #90 Chevrolet from Prema, Callum Ilott, meeting the wall. This incident was cleaned up in just three laps, leaving 10 laps to race to the checkered flag. While it was a great rebound day for Newgarden, he had nothing for O’Ward and the No. 5 car.
PATO O’WINNER 🏁🦆 pic.twitter.com/ixoLyfU0jF
— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) July 12, 2025
Championship leader Alex Palou would finish fifth behind the Chevys. Christian Rasmussen continues his strong run on ovals with a 6th-place finish. Daly and Ferrucci would keep it clean and finish seventh and eighth. Armstrong and Dixon would round out the top ten, finishing ninth and tenth.
Read More: Scott Dixon Secures His 59th IndyCar Career Win at Mid-Ohio
Pato Moves Up To Challenge Palou for 2025 Title:
With this win, Pato O’Ward moves past Kyle Kirkwood for second place in the championship standings. Palou, coming into Iowa, had a 113-point lead over second place in the championship, but now heads into the second race of the doubleheader with only a 105-point lead. While Palou got his first oval win at the Indianapolis 500, I don’t think his short oval abilities are there just yet.
It will be interesting to see how big the points gap between the championship contenders will be following tomorrow’s Farm To Finish 275.
Read More: IndyCar Doubleheader at Iowa Preview: Schedule, Predictions and How to Watch
Stay connected with Last Word On Motorsports for all the updates from Iowa Speedway’s IndyCar Doubleheader.
Main Photo: Andrew Skillman, Penske Entertainment
Recording Date: 7/12/2025
