IndyCar: Patricio O'Ward's 2019 season could be in jeopardy (again)

Once again, Patricio O’Ward finds himself in a position where his 2019 IndyCar season could be in jeopardy, this time as a Carlin driver.

Patricio O’Ward landed a full-time ride with Harding Steinbrenner Racing for the 2019 IndyCar season just days after making his series debut driving for Harding Racing in the 2018 season finale at Sonoma Raceway and after Harding Racing formed a partnership with Steinbrenner Racing.

But less than one month before the start of the 2019 season, O’Ward and Harding Steinbrenner Racing were forced to cut ties due to funding issues, leaving the 20-year-old Mexican without a ride.

O’Ward was awarded a $1 million scholarship for winning the 2018 Indy Lights championships, a scholarship that guaranteed him three starts in the 17-race 2019 season, including an entry in the 103rd running of the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

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He had an offer on the table to drive in eight races for Andretti Autosport, the team for which he drove during his championship-winning Indy Lights season, but he did not accept this offer as he continued to wait for something better to come along.

Additionally, this ride would have had to have been funded by Harding Steinbrenner Racing, which formed a technical alliance with Andretti Autosport before the 2019 season began.

O’Ward ended up signing with Carlin to drive in 13 of the season’s 17 races, including the Indy 500. But unfortunately for him, that 13 may be halted before it even reaches seven.

After he was signed by the Red Bull Junior Team and stated that he was looking to pursue a career in Formula 1, O’Ward failed to qualify for the Indy 500, which, coupled with his wreck in practice for the race, certainly set Carlin back from a financial standpoint.

Then last week, it was confirmed that he will not compete in the races at Iowa Speedway or Gateway Motorsports Park (now World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway) like he was originally scheduled to, leaving him with no more scheduled oval starts this season.

In the matter of a few days, that 13-race deal effectively became a 10-race deal.

Now it may be an already-expired six-race deal.

The $1 million scholarship that O’Ward won was used up prior to last weekend’s Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix doubleheader on the Raceway on Belle Isle, but fortunately for him, Gallagher Insurance, the primary sponsor of the #59 Carlin Chevrolet, stepped up to make sure that the team could field the #31 Chevrolet for him in these two races.

But unless O’Ward and Carlin can come up with more sponsorship and additional funding or Gallagher Insurance continue their generosity toward the rookie and the team for several more races this season, O’Ward’s rookie season may be over.

Here is what O’Ward had to say about the matter, according to RACER.

"“Obviously, my crash at Indy didn’t help, and starting the year as late as we did, we didn’t have much time to find more money. We didn’t have a comfort zone to fall back on, so our budget is very tight. We have to find more backing to continue.“I’m grateful for everyone who has helped me to get here, and the Carlin team has been really amazing, honestly,” he added. “It’s not the first time I’ve been in this situation, though, and it won’t be last because that’s how the sport goes, but we’ll keep giving it our best and keep trying to find the money to race in IndyCar.”"

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Will we see Patricio O’Ward competing in IndyCar again before the 2019 season comes to a close? Certainly, for the sake of a lot of people, we hope that he will return, but it will be an uphill climb to make that possibility a reality.

IndyCar: Patricio O’Ward’s 2019 season could be in jeopardy (again)

By Asher Fair | Jun 7, 2019

Once again, Patricio O’Ward finds himself in a position where his 2019 IndyCar season could be in jeopardy, this time as a Carlin driver.