Pato O'Ward nearly wins at Gateway, securing his fifth podium of the 2025 IndyCar season.

In a race marked by accidents, changing strategies, and multiple leaders, Kyle Kirkwood took the 2025 Gateway IndyCar Grand Prix . The American Andretti driver started from tenth place and managed to climb to first in the closing laps, scoring his third win of the season and his first on an oval. For Mexican Pato O'Ward, the finish was solid but insufficient, finishing in second place with his Arrow McLaren car.

The race featured several protagonists over the 260 laps. One of those who seemed headed for victory was Josef Newgarden , who was leading after the second round of pit stops. However, on lap 131, an accident completely changed the outlook: Louis Foster, lagging behind, lost control of his car and ended up being hit by Newgarden , causing the Penske driver to retire and opening the door for other contenders.

O'Ward inherited the lead after that incident and a period of penalties that affected David Malukas and Scott McLaughlin . The Mexican took the lead on lap 150, but was passed three laps later by Conor Daly . On lap 192, better pit strategy allowed O'Ward to regain the lead, although not for long.

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The key moment came after the final pit stop sequence. Kirkwood managed to pull ahead of the Mexican and Scott Dixon . With consistent, error-free pace, the driver of the #27 car remained in the lead until the checkered flag. The result marked his fifth victory in the category.

Third place went to Christian Rasmussen, who made one of the most remarkable comebacks of the day. The Ed Carpenter Racing driver started from 25th and climbed to the podium, overtaking Dixon in the closing laps.

The day was also marked by the retirement of all three Penske cars. Will Power crashed on lap 47, while McLaughlin retired with mechanical problems while running in the top ten.

As for the rest of the top 10, Dixon was fourth, followed by Santino Ferrucci (Foyt), Daly (Juncos), Rinus VeeKay (Dale Coyne), Alex Palou (Ganassi), Marcus Armstrong (Meyer Shank) and Robert Shwartzman (Prema) . Championship leader Palou had a quiet race after several battles in the midfield, but managed to salvage important points.

IndyCar resumes next weekend with the Road America Grand Prix in Wisconsin , June 20-22. O'Ward , fresh off another podium finish, remains in his steady pursuit of a 2025 victory, while Kirkwood is positioning himself as one of the championship's most consistent names.

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