Pato O'Ward knows what it takes to run up front at the Indianapolis 500. The Mexican driver has finished second in 2022 and 2024, and third last year in IndyCar's biggest race. On Thursday, he finally saw his name at the top of the speed chart—but he's hoping that's still the case when the checkered flag drops on May 24.
On the third day of practice at the 2.5-mile oval, O'Ward posted the fastest lap of the day at 227.308 mph, edging out four-time race winner Helio Castroneves, who clocked in at 226.977. Castroneves, who tried his hand at Cup cars earlier this year, is chasing history as the Brazilian attempts to become Indy's first five-time winner.
"I love the whole month, the practice days going into qualifying," O'Ward said. "The whole thing of qualifying on its own weekend, I love that. I really enjoy watching as well, and it's cool to see the big runs, big numbers and then going out there yourself and trying to beat that."
Of course, the only thing better than beating the competition in practice would be celebrating with a sip of milk after the 500. But as O'Ward knows, Thursday's numbers don't mean much heading into qualifications Saturday and Sunday—or race day.
All 33 cars will have their power cranked up with a turbocharged boost on Friday before starting their four-lap qualifying runs Saturday. Because of that, most teams used the six-hour practice session to work on qualifying runs, bank information on race-day setups, and simply try to get more answers about what works well and what won't during the race.
The speeds weren't nearly as quick as Wednesday, when Conor Daly and defending Indy winner Alex Palou topped 228 mph. Only five drivers—O'Ward, Castroneves, Marcus Armstrong, Felix Rosenqvist, and Alexander Rossi—hit 226 mph on Thursday.
"You couldn't ask for better weather, not only in terms of the wind conditions, but the temperature, everything is just perfect," Castroneves said. "We know it's going to be like this Saturday (in qualifying), but at the end of the day we felt comfortable. The starting point is one of the best balances."