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Oliver Askew, Pato O’Ward to Drive for Arrow McLaren in 2020

NTT IndyCar Series team Arrow McLaren SP has announced its 2020 driver lineup.

Oliver Askew and Pato O’Ward will run the team’s Chevrolets next season, Arrow announced Wednesday, Oct. 30.

Arrow McLaren SP was formed from Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports merging with McLaren Racing’s IndyCar effort.

The team’s first campaign will feature the past two Indy Lights champions, as O’Ward won the title in 2018 while Askew claimed the championship in 2019.

“The new team brings together three great partners and it’s an honor to be representing them for the team and my career,” Askew said in a team release.

Driving for Andretti Autosport, Florida native Askew piled up seven wins, seven poles, 15 podium finishes and a worst finish of 10th through 18 races in 2019.

“I couldn’t be happier to be with Arrow McLaren SP in my first full season in IndyCar,” O’Ward said. “I’ve had some great opportunities over the last year, but this is by far the greatest thing that has happened to my career.”

During his 2018 championship campaign, also for Andretti, O’Ward amassed nine wins, nine poles, 13 podiums and a worst finish of seventh. The Mexican driver has eight starts in IndyCar for Harding Racing and Carlin Racing with a career-best finish of eighth at Circuit of the Americas in Texas.

“With our background in Indy Lights, I’ve followed Oliver and Pato closely over the past few years on the Road to Indy,” team co-owner Sam Schmidt said. “I couldn’t think of a better pairing as we write the first chapter of Arrow McLaren SP’s story.”

Of the team’s 2019 drivers, Swedish sophomore Marcus Ericsson went to Chip Ganassi Racing’s new third car, while fan favorite Canadian veteran James Hinchcliffe does not have a ride lined up yet.

About the author

Wesley has been with Fronstretch since October 2017. He loves well-told stories in whatever format he finds them. Aside from NASCAR, he enjoys reading, country music and OKC Thunder basketball. He has a BA in Liberal Arts/English and currently lives in eastern Oklahoma, where he works as a freelance writer/editor.

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