Beyond the Flag
Fansided

IndyCar: Patricio O’Ward to drive for Harding Steinbrenner Racing in 2019

By Asher Fair

SONOMA, CA - SEPTEMBER 15: Patricio O'Ward of Mexico driver of the #8 Harding Racing Chevrolet during practice for the Verizon IndyCar Series Sonoma Grand Prix at Sonoma Raceway on September 15, 2018 in Sonoma, California. (Photo by Robert Laberge/Getty Images)
SONOMA, CA - SEPTEMBER 15: Patricio O'Ward of Mexico driver of the #8 Harding Racing Chevrolet during practice for the Verizon IndyCar Series Sonoma Grand Prix at Sonoma Raceway on September 15, 2018 in Sonoma, California. (Photo by Robert Laberge/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

Patricio O’Ward is set to make his debut as a full-time IndyCar driver in the 2019 season driving for Harding Steinbrenner Racing.

Harding Racing and Steinbrenner Racing announced yesterday that they will be teaming up to field two entries in the 2019 IndyCar season, the #8 Chevrolet and the #88 Chevrolet. The driver of the #8 Chevrolet has been confirmed as 2018 Indy Lights champion Patricio O’Ward.

O’Ward made his IndyCar debut in this past weekend’s season finale. In this race, the IndyCar Grand Prix of Sonoma, at Sonoma Raceway, the 19-year-old Mexican put together an impressive performance.

O’Ward qualified in an impressive fifth place for the 85-lap race around the 12-turn, 2.385-mile (3.838-kilometer) Sonoma Raceway road course in Sonoma Raceway, and despite the fact that he experienced major struggles with tire management early on, he still managed to finish in an impressive ninth.

Here is what O’Ward had to say about the opportunity to drive full-time for Harding Steinbrenner Racing in the 2019 IndyCar season, according to RACER.

"“I feel very fortunate because it’s not often an Indy Lights driver gets to go right into IndyCar full-time. Without Michael and Mike I wouldn’t here, and if you told me I’d be racing an IndyCar by 2018, I would not have believed you. Colton [Herta] and I pushed each other hard all season, and it made us better. We won almost every race, and I think as rookies we will continue to work together and the group we have behind us is very strong.”"

More from IndyCar

2018 Indy Lights runner-up Colton Herta, meanwhile, is set to drive the #88 Harding Steinbrenner Racing Chevrolet next season.

O’Ward secured nine victories and 13 podium finishes in the 17 races throughout the 2018 Indy Lights season, his first season as a full-time Indy Lights driver, en route to winning the championship. He drove for Andretti Autosport this year after driving in four races for Team Pelfrey last season.

O’Ward competed full-time in the Pro Mazda Championship in the 2015 and 2016 seasons, and he drove for Team Pelfrey in both of those seasons. He finished in sixth place in the championship standings in the 2015 season with three podium finishes in 16 races and second in the 2016 season with seven victories and nine podium finishes in 16 races.

dark. Next. Top 10 IndyCar drivers of all-time

How will Patricio O’Ward perform in his first season as a full-time IndyCar driver next year? The 2019 season is scheduled to get underway on Sunday, March 10, 2019 with the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida.

In the two Indy Lights races on the streets of St. Petersburg this past season, O’Ward finished in first and seventh place, respectively. In the two Indy Lights races on the streets of St. Petersburg in the 2017 season, he finished in fifth and third, respectively.

In the four Pro Mazda races on the streets of St. Petersburg in which he competed in the 2015 and 2016 seasons, O’Ward finished in fourth, 14th, first and second place, respectively. The first two of those four races took place in the 2015 season while the other two took place in the 2016 season.