One of the perks of a job like mine is the opportunity to spend time with race car drivers. They are a joy to talk with, and each conversation leaves me walking away with some new knowledge that will help shape my coverage of motorsport going forward.

Every chance to chat with Pato O’Ward, however, takes that experience to a new level.

The IndyCar driver has become a face of the sport with good reason. His infectious personality, incredible charisma, and ability on the track have seen O’Ward become a global sensation and one of the sport’s bigger figures. While the 2026 campaign has seen some difficult moments on the track for O’Ward, he enters this weekend’s OnlyBulls Grand Prix of Portland sitting fifth in the championship standings, and coming off a recent return to the top step of the podium with a win at Mid-Ohio.

We caught up on Thursday night for a quick chat ahead of this weekend’s race in Portland, and while we did talk about racing, we talked about so much more.

And I walked away with a life lesson that certainly hit home.

Pato O’Ward 2026 IndyCar season

That was the word O’Ward used to describe his 2026 season to date when we spoke on Thursday night.

“Unexpected and surprising in a lot of ways, I would say,” elaborated the Arrow McLaren driver. “Obviously, every season is different, right? But what’s been so weird to me is that actually, all the tracks that always have been like my championship savers, I’d say like 85% of them have been completely the opposite of what is expected.

“Like the ovals this year has been the worst year I have ever had.”

Bommarito is one such example. After finishing on the podium at the race a year ago, O’Ward qualified ninth for this year’s installment, and finished down in P11.

“[The year] feels like it’s been glitching, in a way.”

Still, there have been some high points for hte driver who, as noted above, sits fifth in the championship standings. O’Ward returned to the top step of the podium with a win at Mid-Ohio, and the driver pointed to that as the high point of the season.

“It’s got to be the Mid-Ohio win,” said O’Ward when I asked him about the season’s high point. “Just being able to get things back on track where we’ve been strong, but also being able to execute in all cylinders, right?

“The pit stops, the strategy, the car was great, so, it was a nice weekend to put under our belt with like a full-on execution and that’s definitely been the high point this year.”

When asked about the toughest parts of the season so far, O’Ward pointed to a few different road courses.

“I feel like there’s there’s a few races that I would love to have back and I would say road courses because I know we won in Mid-Ohio, but then Road America, we got destroyed by the yellow and we were legitimately in contention to win that race. And then the [Indianapolis road course] we got taken out and we would have also been in contention to win.

“And then Barber, we were just nowhere and, just knowing what we do now, what was going on, it would have been nice to catch the issue first or earlier.”

Pato O’Ward answers reader questions

Every time I am lucky enough to chat with a driver, I ask readers to submit some questions. Some of the best interactions with a driver have come as a result.

Thursday night’s chat with O’Ward was no exception, as we got to talk about food, and life itself.

The first question focused on the brand-new McLaren Racing Center, a new state-of-the-art facility opened by Arrow McLaren in Indianapolis ahead of the 2026 season. One dear reader wanted to know how the facility made a difference in O’Ward’s preparation this season.

He compared it to moving from a starter home, into the top-floor penthouse.

“The vibe of it is completely different,” began O’Ward.

“I mean, where we were, we were at a level one starter apartment, and we took the elevator to the penthouse. It’s a huge difference in just what it feels like to be there. I’m assuming it’s completely different for all the guys and gals as well, working there. There’s more space, and man, you get there, and you’re like ‘[T]his is so cool that I’m a part of this, right?’

“And I think ultimately that just fuels you to be hungrier for success, and for wanting to make things come out the right way and just giving a little bit of the extra, the extra push that will go a long way.”

Another reader wanted to know O’Ward’s favorite IndyCar race, with the caveat that he could not pick the Indianapolis 500.

For not the first time during our conversation, and not for the last, O’Ward’s eyes lit up.

“Dude, Arlington was Badass. Arlington was awesome,” said the driver about the inaugural Java House Grand Prix of Arlington, a new street race in Arlington, Texas.

“Oh my God, like Arlington … I’m so excited to go back there because the people that were there were so excited for this new event. Obviously, the turnout looked phenomenal on TV. It looked great, even for us in the car. It, it was awesome. So, Arlington definitely takes that one for me.”

O’Ward’s eyes lit up at the next reader question, which focused on the race experience away from the track. What stop on the schedule has the best local food, or restaurant, that he looks forward to each year?

The driver’s eyes lit up again.

“All right, so Saint Pete. Saint Pete’s got good ones. Phoenix has got good ones as well.”

O’Ward then returned to Arlington.

“The Dallas scene is insane. Like, you find everything you want in Dallas.

“And I might be a little bit biased because I love Texas, and I, you know, I spend a lot of time there.

“Actually, in a perfect world, I’d probably be living in Dallas. That’s probably where I would pick to move, maybe I do in the near future, but I do love Dallas and I gotta go with that one, man.

“It’s just, there’s too much at your disposal of whatever food you wanna, wanna look for, and it’s just a cool city.”

The final question dealt with a bit of news O’Ward made this season, when he asked to be released from his Formula 1 duties as a reserve driver for McLaren’s F1 team, and focus on IndyCar. I asked O’Ward how that decision came about, and how it reframed his focus on IndyCar for 2026 and beyond.

A lesson about life itself followed.

“I think it’s probably been a bit of a mix of, you know, maybe maturing a little bit and learning that the one living your life is yourself, and you need to maximize it as much as you can, and you also need to do what’s good for your soul. And by that, I mean, you gotta do what you wanna do,” began O’Ward.

“You gotta be where you are, where you are happy. Where you see a future where you are excited to come back to work every single year and keep going, right?

“Like for me, IndyCar represents all of that. I love the direction that the series is going on, and I do think it’s only gonna get better.

“I love being a part of it.”

O’Ward then turned to life here in the United States.

“You know, I’ve been challenged in America. I’ve been used to living in America, and I love that about my life, I wouldn’t change it for anything. I don’t wanna move anywhere else.

“I’m close to home in Mexico, and I do think there’s so much potential and so much growth that can still happen, that want to be a part of that.

He then concended that the decision was “tough,” as it meant closing the door on a dream.

“So it was a tough decision because you’re basically, like, you’re going against your dream, right?

“The dream that ultimately opened the doors to this situation, and to being here now, but it was a very easy decision for me to be like, you know, ‘[w]hat makes me happy and what do I wanna do?’

“And, you know, I keep getting taken to the same decision every single time.”

Pato O’Ward on the Grand Prix of Portland

O’Ward and the rest of the IndyCar grid is in Portland this weekend, for the OnlyBulls Grand Prix of Portland.

It is a race where O’Ward has enjoyed success, at least during qualifying, as well as some success early in his career in the Indy Lights series. Last year he put his Arrow McLaren on the front row, qualifying second, and he started first when pole-sitter and teammate Christian Lundgaard took a grid penalty for an unapproved engine change. O’Ward entered that race sitting second in the championship standings behind Alex Palou, needing something special to keep the pressure on the leader.

But an electronics malfunction called O’Ward into the pits early in the race, and he finished down in P25. A third-place finish from Palou clinched another title for the Chip Ganassi driver.

Can O’Ward finally taste race success in Portland this weekend?

“I’ve yet to have this great IndyCar result here for me,” began O’Ward. “I’ve had good qualifying here.

“I think last year is the one that’s most fresh on my mind. And we’ve had pace, but we haven’t had that, like, breakthrough Portland IndyCar weekend like I had the first time I was here in an Indy Lights car; That was a very cool weekend for me.

“I ended up winning the championship, winning both races, and it’s also a track that I really, I truly enjoy driving.

“It’s very old school.

”So, I’d love to break through that and get ourselves, on the podium this weekend.

“That’d be, that’d be fantastic.”

O’Ward begins that pursuit later today with the first practice session ahead of the OnlyBulls Grand Prix of Portland.