Pato O’Ward is the only Mexican driver on the IndyCar grid but does not yet have a home race to celebrate on the calendar.
The Arrow McLaren driver is highly popular, and many fans from his native Mexico support him at every IndyCar race.
O’Ward has long advocated for the series returning to Mexico for the first time since 2007 when they raced at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.
Despite the 25-year-old’s enthusiasm to race in his home country, O’Ward told Motorsport.com that he wouldn’t be pleased if it was a non-championship event.
Pato O’Ward would be ‘very upset’ if a Mexican IndyCar race didn’t award points
IndyCar introduced the $1 Million Challenge at The Thermal Club earlier this season which was a non-championship event, awarding no points.
It is the only event of its kind on the calendar and provides a different aspect to the campaign away from the championship battle, but a trip to Mexico is still a possibility.
IndyCar have had plans to race in Mexico in the future but NASCAR will make the trip south in 2025, providing the platform for Daniel Suarez to compete in front of a home crowd.
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O’Ward is happy for his compatriot and acknowledges that NASCAR understands the importance of the Latin American community.
The 25-year-old said: “I’m super happy for Daniel that he’s going to be able to have that.
“They [NASCAR] obviously are very well aware of what Latin communities can bring to a series.”
The driver of the No. 5 Arrow McLaren is adamant that he will push for a race in his home nation but reiterated that it needs to count towards the championship.
He added: “For us, it’s above my pay grade, man. I don’t know, like I’ll push for it as much as I can, but it’s not my decision to make. I really hope whenever they [IndyCar] do decide to make that decision to go to Mexico, I will be very upset if it’s not part of the points system for the actual championship.”
Where have IndyCar raced outside of North America previously?
The 2024 IndyCar calendar features 17 rounds, all of which are in North America and only one outside the United States, in Canada.
In previous years, IndyCar had more international races, including the Gold Coast Indy 300 on the Surfers Paradise Street Circuit.
The series also raced in Mexico, initially debuting in 1980 before returning in 2002 and dropping off the calendar in 2007.
An IndyCar race in Mexico would make the championship much more accessible to fans in Latin America and provide a unique event to the calendar.