Arrow McLaren may have come up just short of victory lane in Sunday’s 108th Running of the Indianapolis 500, but it was still a positive end result in many aspects.

Had it not been for one or two things, one of the papaya-clad Arrow McLaren drivers potentially could have found themselves celebrating instead of winner Josef Newgarden.

Pato O’Ward finished second, Alexander Rossi was fourth, Callum Ilott was 11th and Kyle Larson was 18th in his NTT INDYCAR SERIES – and Indy 500 – debut.

Pato’s runner-up showing was heartbreaking as he came agonisingly close for the second time in three years, marking a frustrating outcome for the Mexican and his loyal fans. Alexander, meanwhile, fell just short of a race-winning drive to finish fourth, a strong race hampered by being forced to save fuel in the final stages of the race.

Let’s break it down…

A heartbreaking finish for O’Ward

Pato O’Ward was as disappointed and frustrated as any driver could be. This was the fifth time he’s come close to winning the world’s biggest race, but this one arguably stung the most, given how close the outcome was. Pato was passed by Newgarden with just two corners left in the race to take the Checkered Flag.

Tears were visible on the 25-year-old’s face, for as hard as this one played out, it showed the Mexican driver had plenty to be proud of, with an outstanding overall performance.

“This is hard to put it into words,” said Pato, who started from eighth position. “I’m proud of the work we did today. We recovered, we went back, went forward, went back. Some people were just driving like maniacs. We had so many near-race-enders and so close again, so close.

“I put that car through things I never thought I was going to be able to do. Sometimes, I said, ‘Oh, that’s it,’ and somehow I just came out on the other side.

“Oh man, this is just so painful when you put so much into it to just come up two corners short. This place owes me nothing. It’s always a heartbreak whenever you’re so close, especially when it’s not the first time and you just don’t know how many opportunities like that you’ll have.”

But while Sunday ultimately was not his day, despite making more on-track passes (43) than any other driver, Pato will take plenty of confidence into next year’s Indy 500, hoping that it’s the day he breaks through.

When asked what it will take for him to do just that, Pato said simply: “Do the same thing again and just keep on getting better and see if we fall on the right side the next time.”

As the White Flag dropped, indicating the final lap of the day was underway, Pato found himself in the lead and could hear fans cheering him on. And while the outcome ultimately did not play out the way he and those cheering him hoped, he could feel the love.

“I did, I heard (them),” Pato said of the cheers and the fans. “I love them. They’ve really made Indianapolis a home for me.”

Fought every lap to the flag

For a part of Sunday’s race, Alexander Rossi looked as if he was ready to repeat what he did in the 100th edition of the 500 in 2016, when he won as a rookie.

Alexander drove one of his best races of the season, making the second most on-track passes (40), and almost pulling off his first NTT INDYCAR SERIES win in nearly two years. While he ultimately wound up finishing in fourth, Alexander has plenty to reflect back on, as he recorded his sixth top-five finish in nine career starts in the 500.

Alexander spent a good chunk of the latter half of the race trading the lead with Newgarden, Pato and third-place finisher Scott Dixon, in front of the field as recently as Lap 192, just eight laps from the finish. However, with the 32-year-old on a different pit strategy, coming in for his final stop a couple of laps before his chief rivals, Alexander needed to save fuel late and didn’t have the pace to keep up.

“That was the undoing of it then,” Alexander said. “Scott (Dixon) and Pato were on a different strategy. I don’t know how Josef (did it). The fuel number I had to hit, I couldn’t lead.

“When you get third in line in this package, it’s just been very difficult to get runs, especially at the end of the race when everyone’s pretty much flat out. Even though with three laps to go, we we’re pretty good on fuel, once you’re third in line the track position is kind of gone.

“At that point, I was cheering for the No. 5 car [Pato]. It was just an amazing effort for Pato and the whole Arrow McLaren organization and Team Chevy. It was an amazing month, it’s just really hard when you come away from this event not thinking you should change anything and still the result is not there.

“So I look back at this month, there’s nothing I would have done differently. The car was great and when you can’t win with that, it’s a tough pill to swallow.”

Weather prevents ‘The Double’

Kyle Larson was perhaps the biggest storyline coming into Sunday’s race, attempting to be the first driver in a decade to complete “The Double", namely, racing in and completing both the Indianapolis 500 and the evening’s NASCAR Cup Series Coca-Cola 600 race in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Unfortunately for the 31-year-old, who started from the middle of the second row alongside Arrow McLaren teammate Alexander, weather did not cooperate and the start of the race was delayed by more than four hours, all but ending his hope of pulling off The Double.

After running as high as third place, Kyle admittedly made one key error – speeding onto pit lane with less than 70 laps to go. While it ultimately didn’t end his day, the resulting pass-through penalty knocked him back in the field, finishing 18th.

Still, Larson came out of the race with his head held high, finishing all 500 miles of the 200-lap event at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

And he’s hungry to pick up where he left off Sunday and potentially give it another go in 2025.
 

“I would definitely love to be back next year,” Kyle said. “I feel like I learned a lot from the race. I’m proud to finish but pretty upset at myself. If I just could have executed a better race, you never know what could have happened. I’m bummed at myself but huge thanks to Arrow McLaren, Hendrick Motorsports, Hendrick Automotive Group, Rick Hendrick, Chevrolet, Valvoline everybody that’s a part of this.”

While the racing day was over for the other 32 drivers in the Indy 500, Kyle smiled broadly into the camera after his network TV interview was over with, adding one last thing: “I’m going to go off in a jet and see if I can get into the (Coca-Cola) 600 somehow.”

Unfortunately, just as in Indianapolis, weather played a significant factor for Larson when he arrived in Charlotte. He made it to his pit at 9:31 p.m. ET and was ready to replace Justin Allgaier, who started the race for Larson. However, the driver change never happened as rain caused the race to be red-flagged and was ended prematurely, with Allgaier finishing 13th.

Ilott just misses a top-10 finish

The fourth Arrow McLaren driver, Callum Ilott, endured several issues, but just barely missed out on a top-10 finish, ending 11th, ultimately improving four positions on the day after starting 15th.

To say it was a trying day at times for Callum is an understatement. Among the issues he dealt with included a problem with the weight jacker at the start of the race. He also needed to change his steering wheel at one point, made at least two resets of the car and got hit from behind while entering his pit box, fortunately with no damage.

Still, the talented Brit persevered and wound up with a quite respectable finish.

“It's not a bad effort for the No. 6 NTT DATA Arrow McLaren Chevrolet considering all the things we had to deal with today,” Callum said. “I want to say thank you for all the support from the fans, partners and team this May. It’s been a pleasure to drive for Arrow McLaren."

An exceptional effort

Arrow McLaren Team Principal Gavin Ward understood the sadness and frustration some of his drivers endured, but at the same time, was proud of the overall collective job his quartet of pilots did, calling it “an exceptional effort.”

"This is the greatest race in the world, and we were incredibly lucky to get to fight for the win in it,” Gavin said. “This was a dream for me as a kid, and I think a lot of people feel similarly. Of course this hurts, but the team should be really proud.”

While Kyle has gone back to the world of NASCAR, Arrow McLaren now moves on to this weekend’s Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix. Pato enters the race tied for fourth in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES standings, while Rossi is only 14 points behind in eighth position. We’ll also be welcoming back Théo Pourchaire, who will take over the No. 6 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet for the remainder of the season.