The other cautions fell in O'Ward's favor as many teams were caught out on strategy. This put O'Ward in a spot to pounce and take a race victory. On the final pit stop, O'Ward crew nailed it and leaped ahead of Rinus VeeKay. From there, O'Ward ran away, untouched, and the late caution for Nolan Siegel and Felix Rosenqvist coming together in the final set of corners sealed the Mexican driver his second victory of the season.
O'Ward ran to how the race played out. He didn't have to drive from tenth to first on the track. He had to make a few passes, but he found a way to the front and was able to make the most of how all the cautions fell. The team still had to nail its pit stop to get O'Ward to the front, and the pit stand didn't overthink it. They caught a break and didn't waste it.
2. Rinus VeeKay took a stunning second place finish thanks to the cautions, but also to the strategy. VeeKay started on the alternate tire but ran until lap 13 instead of stopping under the McLaughlin caution. Then VeeKay did 44 laps on his middle stint to get into the window for the final round of pit stops while leading. Unfortunately, VeeKay's stop wasn't blisteringly quick. O'Ward ran a lap longer while having a better pit stop. This put O'Ward into the lead and VeeKay was fighting from behind, but never got close again to first.
It is still wonderful for VeeKay and Dale Coyne Racing. It has been a refreshing season for both parties. Dale Coyne Racing couldn't dream of a top ten finish last season let alone a podium. VeeKay did all he could and ended 2024 on a high, but time had run its course at Ed Carpenter Racing. However, VeeKay was not a hot commodity. The last driver hired for the 2025 season, VeeKay has reminded everyone how he was once seen as an emerging start. He won at 19 years old in 2021. He is still only 24, younger than O'Ward, Colton Herta, Kyle Kirkwood and Álex Palou. He has finished on the podium at least once in four of six IndyCar seasons and he has one driven for Ed Carpenter and Dale Coyne.
I don't know how long Coyne can keep VeeKay, but top teams should be considering the Dutchman for next season.
3. Kyffin Simpson also benefitted from the cautions, but strangely, Simpson was the only Ganassi driver to start on the alternate tire. He went to lap 16 and then ran 42 laps on his middle stint. This put Simpson into a podium position, and he was little fortunate the final caution happened because Colton Herta was closing on Simpson.
In his sophomore season, Simpson has podium, two top five finishes and five top ten results, but his best two results have been down to timely cautions in street races. He has raced well. He did well at Mid-Ohio, but I think the results have been a little flattering. It has been a strong year, but let's remember the context.
4. I don't know how Colton Herta could have been more caught out behind the eight-ball today. Starting on the alternate tire, Herta was always going to stop early. The McLaughlin caution sent Herta back into traffic, but he still in a spot where he could climb up the order. Herta made a lot of passes, but he always had work to do. Herta likely had the best car today, but sometimes it doesn't matter if you have the best car if your strategy is slightly off.
5. Marcus Ericsson was also one of the few to stop before the McLaughlin caution, and it was a wonderful turn for the Swede. Ericsson was able to hang in the top ten for nearly the entire race. He was able to get a top five out of this and end his slump. Ericsson needed a day where nothing went against him. That was pretty much the case today.
6. It is remarkable Kyle Kirkwood was able to recover after he was spun entering the pit lane under caution. That first pit box has its advantages. The disadvantage is an eager driver behind you can ruin your day. Marcus Armstrong got into the back of Kirkwood, and it looked like it was day over, but Kirkwood was a man on a mission. He likely was second-best to his teammate Herta today. Seeing as how things played out, that Armstrong spin likely only cost Kirkwood one spot in the final order. Perhaps he would have gotten ahead of Herta at some point. It could have been worse.
7. Graham Rahal had a quiet day and finished seventh, and I do not think Rahal minds that. We have seen plenty of races where there are incidents all over the place and Rahal is caught in something not of his doing. Today, Rahal steered clear of the chaos. The cautions didn't even cost him on strategy. He kept running in the top ten. That is a positive thing for him and Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.
8. Callum Ilott scores Prema's best finish one week after the team scored its best finish. Eighth is a good showing, and Ilott didn't do anything. He ended up making four stops as he made a stop on lap 38 for fuel-only, but that was after he caught a piece of the Jacob Abel-Josef Newgarden incident. The car was able to continue. Like Rahal, this is the kind of race where we usually see Ilott swept into something. Ilott nearly was, but it worked out where he was able to slip through. Ilott deserved this day.
9. David Malukas was nearly screwed. The McLaughlin caution really threw off everyone starting on the primary tire. Malukas took his alternate tire on lap 34, and he ran 15 laps, but that was about five laps too soon to make it to the finish. Malukas had to stop from third on track on lap 74, but Malukas had fresh tires and flew from about 17th to ninth in the final 26 laps. It looked like Malukas wasn't going to finish in the top 15. It turned into a top ten. He did make a little error on that final pit stop as the right rear tire was not secure. The team caught it in time though.
10. Considering Scott Dixon was starting 17th, I understand why he started on the primary tire. Dixon had to do something different, but the flurry of cautions early kind of forced him to stay out as long as he could. He went 41 laps to open the race. The alternate tire was not going to last that long. Dixon ran 14 laps, which got him into the window for a two-stop race, but he was outside the top ten. Dixon did have better tires down the stretch and made up a few spots. It ends in a top ten, which is good, and maybe the most this team could have done with the strategy chosen and how the cautions fell.
11. I don't know where to start on Team Penske, but Will Power was its best finisher in 11th, Power seemed to be bumping into everyone despite having started fourth. He went backward quickly in this race Nothing went his way today, but he didn't look that racy out there either. Eleventh is a kind day to Power.
12. With Álex Palou finishing 12th, the championship gap to O'Ward is down to 99 points with four races remaining. I don't understand why Palou started on the primary tire, especially from second on the grid.
Without the early cautions, everyone on the alternate compound stops within the first ten laps, which opens the door for those starting on the primary to run a 10-12 lap stint in the middle of the race. It would be a three-stopper for everyone. All I can think is Palou felt confident that he would get to the lead by lap 12 or 15 as all the primary starters would be in pit lane and he could go to lap 25 or lap 30 and then stop for the alternate tire.
In that case, it sets up to where everyone is making their second stop at the same time. Everyone who stopped early to get rid of the alternate tire are stopping again between laps 35-40, maybe they can run to lap 45. If Palou needs a 10-15 lap stint, he is stopping between laps 35-45. It shakes out to where everyone will be together at the halfway point, but with the cautions, Palou had nowhere to go on strategy.
Palou didn't have the greatest start, likely due to the tires, but his 12th-place result today was down to strategy, not because Chip Ganassi Racing did something wrong and the car wasn't in the ballpark.
13. I think we need to cool it on acting like the championship is in play.
No.
O'Ward needs to basically outscore Palou by 25 points over four consecutive races. If O'Ward wins all four, he needs Palou to finish eighth or worse in every race. If O'Ward is second in all four, he needs Palou to finish 15th or worse in every race. If O'Ward is third in all four, he needs Palou to finish 20th or worse in every race.
O'Ward isn't going to be on the podium in all four races. Palou isn't going to finish eighth or worse in all four. Two of Palou's best tracks are still ahead of him. Let's cool it.
Mathematically, it is still alive. That doesn't mean we should suspend reason. More must be done than this one race. Is there any reason to believe that will be the case? Let's see where we are after Laguna Seca.
14. Let's run through the field: This was an off weekend for Christian Lundgaard, and it doesn't help that his teammate won. Lundgaard struggled late as well. He nearly ended up in the barrier after contact with Conor Daly. This was a little surprising as Lundgaard has done well in street races.
Nolan Siegel was caught with nowhere to go when Felix Rosenqvist spun, but Siegel was still running about 15th when that happened. It wasn't going to be a brilliant day anyway for Siegel.
15. This was nearly a good day for Meyer Shank Racing. Both cars were in the top ten. Marcus Armstrong spun Kirkwood entering pit lane, earning Armstrong a penalty. Felix Rosenqvist blew turn three while running in the top ten, and then he spun on his own after battling front wing damage for most of the race, but which really got worse in the final stint.
This is MSR's first truly bad day of the season. It sucks, but it also hasn't been the norm for this group. I expect MSR to bounce back at Laguna Seca.
16. Conor Daly was in a top ten spot until his tires were gone in the final stint. Daly dropped to 15th. Sting Ray Ray was a lap down in 17th, benefitting from the amount of attrition. That sounds about right for Juncos Hollinger Racing.
17. What a terrible day for Ed Carpenter Racing. Christian Rasmussen spun into the barrier after contact with Will Power in turn five. Alexander Rossi clipped the barrier exiting the final corner. Rossi's day was done. Rasmussen was able to continue but finish seven laps down. Woof!
The incident with Power was a racing incident. They were side-by-side in the corner. If we call that a penalty, no one will ever attempt a pass on a street course again.
18. I must have missed what happened to Louis Foster because his race was over after 67 laps. Devlin DeFrancesco was caught in the Abel-Newgarden incident, and DeFrancesco retired after 57 laps. At least Graham Rahal had a good day for RLLR.
19. I don't know where to begin on Team Penske. This feels surreal.
The McLaughlin accident after an unsecured tire does not happen to Team Penske. That happens to every other team. It was two laps into the race. I understand the strategy, but let's nail the first pit stop, why don't we? Take a breather. That strategy is not entirely dependent on the in-lap and out-lap. It is all about the following stint and then taking advantage of those on the primary tire on the next stint.
Josef Newgarden had no where to go when Jacob Abel ran wide in the first corner. Of all the drivers to get caught in that incident in 2025, it is going to be Newgarden.
I don't know how you can watch this Penske season and not be speechless.
20. For the second consecutive Sunday, we were down a car. Santino Ferrucci had an accident in the morning warm-up, and A.J. Foyt Racing was unable to make the repairs or roll out a back-up car in time for the race. The circuit was damp, but drying, during the warm-up.
I have long felt the warm-up session should not exist on Sundays for reasons like this. It is a negative for fans. It puts the crews in a position where they could have to thrash to re-build a car, and once done, the reward is to now do pit stops for a two-hour race.
We saw one fewer car because there was an accident too soon to the start of the race. I also think it wasn't worth the risk to participate on a damp track when everyone knows it will be dry for the race.
If the teams need to do a systems check, have an installation lap session at the start of the day like they have on ovals, and have the teams go out and run at 60% or 70%.
Break the field up into four groups. Run the final four rows for five minutes. Once they are in, the next four rows go out. After that, split the final six rows into two groups of three and let them go out.
You can still call it a warm-up. You can still have it be a broadcasted session. Turn into a race preview. Usher drivers to-and-from the Fox patio setup and have an abundance of interviews, but with the drivers. Have it be a time where the drivers can interact with fans on race morning. It can still be a session, but I don't think there is any benefit into making it a full session. Give the teams more practice time on Friday and Saturday where they can run in anger.
21. These races happen, but they don't feel entirely satisfying. I do think it is time IndyCar increases the minimum lap amount on each tire compound to five or ten laps, and make it green flag laps.
Does anyone understand why the limit is so low and is only two laps? That can be achieved in a caution period, and we saw that happen at St. Petersburg. There was a lot of action in this race, but something was taken away because you have a portion of the field that have to run 10-15 laps on one compound and the rest got away with doing two laps on it because of a timely yellow. That is part of the strategy but we can acknowledge the rules are flawed and could be improved.
Either that or Toronto should have been a race where IndyCar mandated each team used both compounds twice.
I don't understand how IndyCar ran that experiment once at the Grand Prix of Indianapolis, a race that is already guaranteed to be a three-stop race, but did not try it at a street race where it would be more beneficial. Even with five additional laps, we went into this weekend thinking a two-stop strategy was still on the board. The cautions made that possible.
I am ok with IndyCar trying things, especially things that aren't going to cost anything extra. It was willing to experiment once earlier this season, and since then it has been scared off from trying again. I hope IndyCar is open minded for 2026 because I don't think either would hurt this race and a few others.
22. The end is in sight with Laguna Seca a week away, and then a much deserved week off.
23. If forgot Robert Shwartzman! Shwartzman was 16th. I honestly don't know what he did today. There. All bases covered.
