"So [expletive] close."
In a thrilling and dramatic Indianapolis 500 finish, Josef Newgarden and Pato O’Ward duked it out on the final laps, trading the lead with each other. But Sunday’s 108th race ended, again, in absolute heartbreak for O’Ward, who finished second behind now-back-to-back winner Newgarden.
O’Ward has come close to winning The Greatest Spectacle in Racing in past years too, finishing second in 2022, fourth in 2021 and sixth in 2020.
And in the Arrow McLaren driver’s post-race interview, his devastation was painfully obvious, and he appeared to be holding back his emotions while speaking with NBC. Still, O’Ward gave a classy, yet heartbreaking interview as the 2024 Indy 500 runner-up.
Pato O’Ward reacts to a runner-up finish at the #Indy500.
: @ArrowMcLaren pic.twitter.com/zgC0KvNzxu
— INDYCAR on NBC (@IndyCaronNBC) May 27, 2024
“It’s hard to put it into words,” O’Ward said. “I’m proud of the work that we did today. We recovered, we went back, we went forward, we went back. Some people are just driving like maniacs. We had so many near-race-enders and just so close again. So [expletive] close.”
Pato O’Ward speaks after finishing 2nd in the #Indy500. pic.twitter.com/yMUW4MqM0N
— INDYCAR on NBC (@IndyCaronNBC) May 27, 2024
When asked about battling with Newgarden at the thrilling end of 200 laps, O’Ward continued:
“I put that car through things I never thought he was going to be able to do. sometimes I said, That’s it. And somehow I came out the other side of the corner. I just — oh, man. This is so painful when you put so much into it, and then two laps short, I guess. Two corners short. …
“[Indianapolis Motor Speedway] owes me nothing, but just, yeah. I’d much rather obviously finish the race rather than compared to last year [when he didn’t finish]. But it’s always a heartbreak whenever it just is so close, especially when it’s not the first time and you just don’t know how many opportunities like that you have.”
A crushing runner-up finish in the biggest race of the year is always tough, and you’ve gotta feel for O’Ward.
