O'Ward wins in Toronto and cuts Palou's lead by 30 points

Pato O'Ward secured his ninth IndyCar victory by winning the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto this Sunday, starting from tenth position and cutting Alex Palou's championship lead from 129 to 99 points. The Arrow McLaren driver completed all 90 laps on Toronto's streets, followed by Rinus VeeKay and Kyffin Simpson on the podium.

The gap between leader Palou and O'Ward narrowed significantly when the Spanish Chip Ganassi Racing driver finished 12th. With four races remaining in the season—each offering up to 54 points—the championship battle remains alive.

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O'Ward Executes Perfect Tire Strategy

The Mexican driver started on less favorable alternate tires but his team called for an early pit stop before the caution period on lap 3. This allowed him to use the alternate compound for just two green-flag laps before running the remainder on more durable primary tires.

"I can't say I saw this win coming," O'Ward stated post-race. "But I felt really good on the primary tires all weekend. We just struggled to make the alternates work in qualifying. I knew we had a great race car, and the team nailed the strategy."

I can't say I saw this win coming. But I felt really good on the primary tires all weekend. We just struggled to make the alternates work in qualifying. I knew we had a great race car, and the team nailed the strategy.

Palou's Risky Strategy Backfires

Palou started second alongside teammate Scott Dixon, both on primary tires. The strategy appeared promising through the first half with multiple cautions favoring their approach, but both Chip Ganassi drivers faded in the final stint.

"Well, I chose the strategy, so that's what we got wrong today," admitted the championship leader. "I pushed for that strategy. Thought it would give us the best chance to win. I wanted to be up front, trying to avoid getting stuck in traffic."

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VeeKay and Simpson Complete Podium

Rinus VeeKay of Dale Coyne Racing earned his fifth IndyCar podium and first since Barber Motorsports Park in 2022. The Dutchman started ninth and maintained consistent pace throughout to secure second.

Kyffin Simpson delivered Chip Ganassi Racing his first IndyCar podium after two seasons in the series, finishing third from 13th on the grid. The young driver impressed on Toronto's challenging street circuit.

The 90-lap race on the 1.786-mile circuit saw five caution periods totaling 19 laps. Team Penske endured a difficult day with Scott McLaughlin retiring on lap 2 due to pit issues, Josef Newgarden involved in a multi-car incident on lap 36, and Will Power finishing 11th.

The race ended under yellow when Felix Rosenqvist lost control of his Honda and was collected by Nolan Siegel. Only 26 drivers took the checkered flag after Santino Ferrucci withdrew due to practice damage.

Palou Maintains Advantage

With 536 points, Palou retains his lead over O'Ward (437 points), Kyle Kirkwood (363) and Scott Dixon (362). The Spaniard has strong form at upcoming venues: two wins at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca (2022, 2024) and two at Portland International Raceway (2021, 2023).

O'Ward won last year at The Milwaukee Mile, one of four remaining events. The series next visits Laguna Seca for the Grand Prix of Monterey on Sunday, July 27 at 3:00 p.m. ET.

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Results - Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto

Position	Driver	Team	Engine	Laps
1	Pato O'Ward	Arrow McLaren	Chevrolet	90
2	Rinus VeeKay	Dale Coyne Racing	Honda	90
3	Kyffin Simpson	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda	90
4	Colton Herta	Andretti Global	Honda	90
5	Marcus Ericsson	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda	90
6	Kyle Kirkwood	Andretti Global	Honda	90
7	Graham Rahal	Rahal Letterman Lanigan	Honda	90
8	Callum Ilott	Juncos Hollinger Racing	Chevrolet	90
9	David Malukas	Meyer Shank Racing	Chevrolet	90
10	Scott Dixon	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda	90
11	Will Power	Team Penske	Chevrolet	90
12	Alex Palou	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda	90
13	Christian Lundgaard	Rahal Letterman Lanigan	Chevrolet	90
14	Marcus Armstrong	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda	90
15	Conor Daly	Juncos Hollinger Racing	Chevrolet	90
16	Robert Shwartzman	Arrow McLaren	Chevrolet	90
17	Sting Ray Robb	AJ Foyt Enterprises	Chevrolet	89
18	Nolan Siegel	Arrow McLaren	Chevrolet	87
19	Felix Rosenqvist	Meyer Shank Racing	Honda	86
20	Christian Rasmussen	Ed Carpenter Racing	Chevrolet	82
21	Louis Foster	Rahal Letterman Lanigan	Honda	67
22	Devlin DeFrancesco	Andretti Global	Honda	57
23	Jacob Abel	Dale Coyne Racing	Honda	36
24	Josef Newgarden	Team Penske	Chevrolet	36
25	Alexander Rossi	Ed Carpenter Racing	Chevrolet	29
26	Scott McLaughlin	Team Penske	Chevrolet	2
27	Santino Ferrucci	AJ Foyt Enterprises	Chevrolet	0