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IndyCar Classic 2019: 3 IndyCar takeaways

By Brittany Frederick

The nose of Colton Herta's No. 88 Harding Steinbrenner Racing car. Photo Credit: Matt Fraver/Courtesy of IndyCar.
The nose of Colton Herta's No. 88 Harding Steinbrenner Racing car. Photo Credit: Matt Fraver/Courtesy of IndyCar. /
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IndyCar Classic
Patricio O’Ward on his timing stand at Circuit of the Americas. Photo Credit: Chris Owens/Courtesy of IndyCar. /

Patricio O’Ward will be just fine at Carlin

Something that was only glossed over during the IndyCar Classic was that Colton Herta’s team could have also had Patricio O’Ward. The reigning Indy Lights champion was another rookie who was incredibly hyped, and originally signed with Harding in the offseason. However, when they couldn’t come up with enough money to run two full-time entries, the team let O’Ward go.

So this team that’s being praised for its success with one driver could’ve been even better with two. O’Ward was pretty darn good himself in Sunday’s race, earning an eighth place finish in his first race of the 2019 IndyCar season.

Not having officially left Harding Steinbrenner Racing until a month before the season began, his options for a full-time ride were incredibly limited. Enter Trevor Carlin and the Carlin organization. They signed O’Ward to drive 10 of the 17 races this season, and that could be the best investment that the team’s ever made.

Carlin is only in their second IndyCar season, and they’ve been looking for something that’s going to push them to the next level. Patricio O’Ward is absolutely that something. He’s just as fast as advertised, and snagged the team their second Top 10 finish. If he can drive even half that well in his other nine starts, he’s going to help put this team on the map.

And speaking of feel-good stories, it was pretty awesome to see the Texas native put on a great show in front of his home crowd. What will he do for an encore?