(For a Spanish translation of this story, click here.)
Patricio O’Ward will make his much-anticipated NTT IndyCar Series season debut at this weekend’s INDYCAR Classic and a strong Latin American fanbase is eager to follow his exploits.
O’Ward, the 19-year-old sensation from Monterrey, Mexico, is set for his first start of the 2019 campaign at Circuit of The Americas, his adopted American home track in Austin, Texas. He missed the series’ first race of 2019 at St. Petersburg, Florida, on March 11 while contract details with his new team were finalized. Now he’s eager to attack COTA’s 3.41-mile, 20-turn permanent road course in the No. 31 Carlin Chevrolet.
“I can’t think of a better way to start my 2019 NTT IndyCar Series season than at my home track at Circuit of The Americas in Austin,” said O’Ward, who attended high school in San Antonio, Texas, some 80 miles southwest of Austin. “COTA is a really great track that I’ve always enjoyed driving and I can’t wait to get in an Indy car and see what it can do around there. We went testing at Barber (Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama) right after St. Pete and it went really well, so I’m anxious to get back in the car in Austin.”
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O’Ward stormed to the 2018 championship in Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires, the top level of the Road to Indy development ladder, with nine race wins. He made a memorable NTT IndyCar Series debut in the 2018 finale, qualifying an amazing fifth and finishing ninth at Sonoma Raceway in September. He looks to keep that momentum rolling in his first race with the storied Carlin program that’s groomed a multitude of today’s star drivers in junior open-wheel series around the world.
Among those who have driven for Carlin in the past are current NTT IndyCar Series drivers Will Power, Takuma Sato, Josef Newgarden, Jack Harvey, Jordan King, Ed Jones, Max Chilton and Charlie Kimball, as well as Formula One champions Sebastian Vettel and Nico Rosberg.
The car number that O’Ward will drive is significant in Carlin history as well. The No. 31 carried the likes of Lando Norris (currently in Formula One), Jean-Eric Vergne (Formula E) and Felipe Nasr (sports cars) to race wins and championships for Carlin.
O’Ward is scheduled to drive in 13 NTT IndyCar Series races this season for Carlin, including the epic 103rd Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge in May. He is motivated to carry on the No. 31’s legacy.
“I think we’re going to be in good shape this weekend and I’m going to be working really hard with the team to get the most we can out of the No. 31 Carlin Chevrolet,” he said. “I’m just so excited to get this season going with Carlin, and I’m confident we’re going to be fighting for some really good results all season.”
O’Ward is the latest Latin American phenom to compete in the NTT IndyCar Series, and through an arrangement with INDYCAR Media, fans in 20 Central and South American nations will be able to watch a free livestream of the INDYCAR Classic on IndyCar.com, starting at 1 p.m. ET Sunday. The stream will be available in Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay and Venezuela.