Milwaukee Top Five Cinches Points Runner-Up For O’Ward

Pato O'Ward (Paul Hurley/Penske Entertainment photo)

MILWAUKEE – While all eyes will be on Alex Palou regardless of what happened at the Milwaukee Mile or in the upcoming season finale, Pato O’Ward has made the most possible out of his NTT IndyCar Series season.

With a fifth-place finish on Sunday in the Snap-On 250, O’Ward clinched a runner-up ranking in the IndyCar point standings.

It’s the second time in his career O’Ward has finished within the top three in points, but 2025 marked his best result in the championship thus far.

“Finishing fifth in Milwaukee was great, but the highlight of the day was that we secured second place in the championship,” said O’Ward. “We’re locked in, and it’s the best championship result we’ve ever had for myself and the team, so it’s a really big deal and something I’m very proud of.”

This season O’Ward has been arguably the second-most consistent driver on the IndyCar grid behind title winner Palou. The driver from Monterrey, Mexico, has two wins, nine top fives, 11 top 10s, and 142 laps led, which all rank within the top three among driver metrics this season.

Sunday at Milwaukee, that consistency continued. After qualifying third the 26-year-old was given the chance to capitalize early with track position.

Though he fell back to sixth in the opening laps, O’Ward was able to settle comfortably within the top 10. While not having the pace he needed to get himself to the lead, O’Ward remained in the front half of the field throughout the day.

He was still able to be competitive enough to hold his position through race strategies, cautions, and multiple pit cycles.

That’s what has made O’Ward so strong in 2025, is his consistency and finding the right combination of talent, speed, and execution to remain a factor.

O’Ward was able to get up as high as third on a lap-119 restart, after the caution came out for Will Power tagging the wall while attempting a pass on the exit of turn two.

From there O’Ward slipped back to sixth but remained in the top half of the running order before he ended up fifth following a late caution for light rain and split tire strategy among the frontrunners in the final laps.

O’Ward has six top fives in his last seven races, and he will look to carry that momentum into the season finale as the sun sets on another season. Sunday at Milwaukee was his second top five after his win at the one-mile oval last season.

In 2024, the IndyCar Series made its return to Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway, site of the season finale. The Arrow McLaren driver qualified second and finished eighth in last year’s race, but has two top fives on ovals this season.

While it may have been another year of dominance from Palou at the top, O’Ward has been right there behind him, just near the category of elite.

“I can’t wait for Nashville next week,” O’Ward mentioned. “We’re going to try to leave with a win, and we were quite close to that last year.”

Coverage of the Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix from Nashville is slated for Sunday, Aug. 31 at 2 p.m. ET, live on FOX, the IndyCar Radio Network, and SiriusXM IndyCar Nation, channel 218.