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Indy Lights Winner Spotlight: Pato O’Ward wins 2018 Mazda Iowa 100

By Benjamin Kuhl

27 Aug 2000: A general view of the cars speeds around the track taken during the Bellaterra Resort Indy 300, part of the Indy Racing League Northern Lights Series at the Kentucky Speedway in Sparta, Kentucky.Mandatory Credit: Jon Ferrey /Allsport
27 Aug 2000: A general view of the cars speeds around the track taken during the Bellaterra Resort Indy 300, part of the Indy Racing League Northern Lights Series at the Kentucky Speedway in Sparta, Kentucky.Mandatory Credit: Jon Ferrey /Allsport /
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Pato O’Ward claimed his fourth victory in the 2018 Indy Lights season thanks to an utterly dominant performance in the Mazda Iowa 100.

Pato O’Ward crafted together a dominant victory by leading all 100 laps of the Mazda Iowa 100, the 10th race of the 17-race 2018 Indy Lights season, around the four-turn, 0.894-mile (1.439-kilometer) Iowa Speedway short oval in Newton, Iowa.

O’Ward qualified on pole in his his #27 Andretti Autosport Dallara IL-15 and held off challenges from Colton Herta during the race. Both drivers are battling for the 2018 Indy Lights championship and for the opportunity at an IndyCar seat in the near future.

The 19-year-old Mexican was energetic, as expected, after his fourth win of the 2018 season, and this showed in a post-race interview I conducted with him.

“Yeah, this one’s pretty special. [I] haven’t won in a while. This is some good momentum for the busiest month of the season,” O’Ward stated after winning his first race since he won the fourth race of the season back in April at Barber Motorsports Park. He attributed this win to staying free of contact and enjoying the byproducts of being in control of the field.

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“I want to win every point in July,” O’Ward stated when I asked him what his goals are for the rest of the season. He has plenty of reason to show such determination, as the reward for a Mazda Road to Indy series champion is usually moving to the next series up the ladder.

This recent race has tightened up the Indy Lights championship battle considerably. Colton Herta now leads the championship with 283 points, and Pato O’Ward sits in second place just eight points behind with 275 points. Santi Urrutia sits in third with 234 points, placing him 49 points behind Herta and 41 points behind O’Ward.

The race for this year’s championship is incredibly significant since seats in IndyCar are hard to come by. That said, many teams are still looking to sign young developmental talents with the goal of having them replicate the success of Alexander Rossi and the optimism of Robert Wickens.

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While the Indy Lights field might be smaller than that of other series, the determination of each driver shines through nonetheless. Indy Lights is the top rung in the Mazda Road to Indy ladder, which feeds drivers through U.S. F2000, Pro Mazda, Indy Lights, and then onto the final step of IndyCar.

IndyCar rookies Kyle Kaiser, Matheus Leist and Zachary Claman DeMelo are all products of the successful feeder program. Who do you think will be the next new face to make it into the always-growing IndyCar Series?