Not too many of us can say we knew exactly what we wanted to do for a living at age 6. Even fewer can say they succeeded in their career path just 10 years later at the age of 16.<\/p>\n
But that was the road for two-time Indycar Series winner Pato O\u2019Ward.<\/p>\n
After winning at Texas Motor Speedway and on Belle Isle in Detroit, O\u2019Ward joined the Arrow McLaren SP team. Now, the 22-year-old Mexican driver is racing in his third full-time season in IndyCar with the team.<\/p>\n
The young driver has experience with the Long Beach track and says it does present some challenges. \u201cIt\u2019s a street course,\u201d said O\u2019Ward. \u201cYou\u2019re around walls, there\u2019s not a lot of room for error, it\u2019s a difficult track just because it\u2019s technical.”<\/p>\n
He says because it is such a tight race, the emphasis is on qualifying and starting toward the front. O\u2019Ward is also thankful the weather will be cooler for Saturday\u2019s qualifier and Sunday\u2019s race, but he says often people overlook the physicality of racing.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople think, oh they just get in the car and they drive,\u201d said O\u2019Ward. \u201cBut your body goes through a lot of stress. Your neck goes through a lot of stress. Your back, your spine, your legs. It\u2019s tough! It\u2019s really really tough.\u201d<\/p>\n
O\u2019Ward says he works out often to make sure his body is prepared for the physical challenges of racing. Mentally, he stays in the moment. After Sunday\u2019s race, O\u2019Ward and the McLaren team will head to Birmingham, Alabama, which O\u2019Ward says is the most physical race on the calendar.<\/p>\n
After that, he and his team start working toward the Indy 500 on May 29. You can follow O\u2019Ward on his racing journey on his Instagram<\/a>. You can also follow the Arrow McLaren SP team here.<\/a><\/p>\n The IndyCar race in Long Beach, the third in the series, gets underway at 12:30 p.m. Sunday, and will be broadcast on network television<\/a>.<\/p>\n