With just four races to go after Pato O’Ward’s triumphant win on Sunday in Toronto, the 2025 NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship race is more intense and focused than ever. O’Ward, driving for Arrow McLaren, delivered his second victory in as many weeks, taking the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto with a strategic masterclass that combined smart tire strategy and perfectly timed pit stops. The win ended his long-standing struggles on the Toronto street course and marked his first career victory in Canada—an emotional breakthrough for both driver and team, spurred on by a pre-race pep talk from team principal Tony Kanaan.
The impact of O’Ward’s victory was immediate and significant. He managed to slash 30 points off Alex Palou’s commanding championship lead, reducing it to 99 points with four rounds remaining. Palou, who came into the weekend enjoying the largest points lead ever seen this late in the championship under the current scoring system, finished 12th after an early caution and strategic missteps left him boxed in on less favored tire compounds. O’Ward exploited an early opportunity by ditching the alternate tires after only two green-flag laps in favor of primaries for the remainder, which allowed him to control his race pace and avoid the common pitfalls of the Toronto circuit.
Rinus VeeKay put in a strong drive to finish second, while Kyffin Simpson claimed third after holding off defending champion and polesitter Colton Herta during a late-race caution that froze the running order. Scott Dixon, a perennial championship threat, finished tenth, while several others—including Josef Newgarden and Christian Rasmussen—encountered trouble in a hectic race marked by multiple cautions and collisions.
A maximum race win still awards 54 points, meaning mathematically only four drivers remain in the hunt for the title, setting up a high-stakes run-in to the season finale. The next rounds will take place at Laguna Seca, Portland, the revived Milwaukee Mile, and the championship showdown at Nashville Superspeedway. O’Ward’s momentum, Palou’s still-sizeable but vulnerable lead, and the looming threat of other former champions like Scott Dixon guarantee a dramatic conclusion to one of IndyCar’s most competitive championship fights in years.