Arrow McLaren driver Pato O'Ward enters the 110th Running of the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday, May 24, 2026, aiming to secure his first career victory at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
O'Ward has achieved four top-five finishes in his last five starts at the Brickyard.
He looks to overcome defending race champion Alex Palou after transitions to backup cars disrupted multiple teams during practice sessions earlier in the week.
"It's cool. It's obviously a big part of why we do what we do, right?"
said O'Ward.
The Mexican racer remains optimistic despite a heavy crash on Monday that forced him into his backup car.
That chassis is the same one he drove to two victories last season.
"We want to be here to entertain people, inspire people. At the end of the day it is the greatest event in the world.
I might be a little bit biased. But it's going down this Sunday," said O'Ward.
Reflecting on the vehicle switch, O'Ward expressed complete trust in his team's preparation. "I don't have any worries about (the car)," he said.
He remains confident in the backup car's performance for the 200-lap event. "I know it's going to behave like it's supposed to.
Like I said, it's a very good car. I really like this car," said O'Ward.
Defending winner Alex Palou enters the race as the favorite after securing his second career Indy 500 pole position for Chip Ganassi Racing.
He holds a 27-point lead in the series standings.
"I know I'm hungrier than ever just because I know what comes with it (the 500 win) and what it means," said Palou.
The four-time IndyCar Series champion noted that his past victory has not diminished his competitive drive. "I don't feel more or less pressure.
It's not like because I won once, I need another one. It's more the opposite.
It's more like I want to go back-to-back," said Palou.
Injuries and Milestones
Alexander Rossi of Ed Carpenter Racing will compete with a specially designed brace and protective boot after surgery for middle finger and right ankle injuries suffered in a Monday crash.
"We're probably going to be able to keep the swelling down," said Rossi.
He qualified a career-best second on the front row next to Palou before being forced into a backup car for Friday's final practice.
"Everything is ready to go, the range of motion is staying good enough to do what we need to do," said Rossi.
Andretti Global driver Kyle Kirkwood will start from the 25th position on the grid. He looks to close his championship points gap to Palou.
"Of course, we're not stoked where we are starting," said Kirkwood. He stated that his immediate focus remains on the race rather than the championship battle.
"That 12 points, hopefully we'll get that back in the future, but we're not letting ourselves think about it.
Monday we'll be focused on points," said Kirkwood.
Santino Ferrucci of A. J.
Foyt Enterprises will make his 100th career IndyCar start on Sunday. He launches from the fifth position after seven consecutive career top-10 finishes at Indianapolis.
"That would be quite the day," said Ferrucci. He remains confident in his crew.
"Honestly, I think Sunday, we have a great car, we have a great crew, there's no reason as to why we won't be there," said Ferrucci.
Final Preparations
During Friday's Carb Day practice session, several Arrow McLaren drivers evaluated their cars under race-trim conditions before rain altered the afternoon schedule.
"I'm happy that we got our running in today. The rain stayed away, at least for practice.
We're getting the car better and better each time we're out, and I think we've got it in the right window where we can keep working on it throughout the race.
It's a long, long day. We've just got to keep making it better," said O'Ward.
Teammate Nolan Siegel finished 25th in the final practice session but remained optimistic about his pit crew. "Final practice done.
The car was feeling good on Monday but that didn't translate into today's running which is frustrating. However, there are still some positives to take away.
I think we're in position to move forward, and we'll keep dialing it in during the race.
It was also good to get some pit stops in this morning, too.
Our crew, including the addition of the LEGACY crew members we've had with us this May, looked super fast today and at the Pit Stop Challenge.
It's a shame that the weather cut the event short because we were feeling confident of going the whole way," said Siegel.
Christian Lundgaard reported significant progress with his vehicle setups. "Last practice before race day and we are the happiest we've been all month.
Excited about the race car that we have. Excited about the group that we have.
I'm very proud of the work that everyone's done on the 6 car throughout the Month of May, and now we just need to put it all together one more time on race day," said Lundgaard.
Alexander Rossi concluded his final practice runs safely. "It was a good Carb Day.
We learned a few things after trying a few items with some big hitters in the right direction.
That's always nice. We kept the car safe, and now I'm just pumped for race day.
So far so good, and the No. 7 VELO Arrow McLaren Chevrolet looks great out there," said Rossi.
The 33-car grid features Katherine Legge attempting a same-day racing double, while 51-year-old Helio Castroneves attempts to become the first five-time winner in the event's history.
