NASHVILLE — Pato O’Ward scored just his second front row starting spot of the season when he turned the second fastest lap in the Firestone Fast Six on a hot, steamy late afternoon day in Nashville.

“I don’t think I had 3/10ths in there to get a little closer. Maybe one. Pretty stellar lap,” he said.

“I was super happy with my car. I think we were really strong in Q2. I thought it would be a couple 10ths slower in Q3 because it’s not new alternate.”

O’Ward though didn’t want the pole. Granted, he was joking, but when starting first, he’s 0-for-5.

“I’ve never won from pole, so I’m not angry I’m starting second (smiling),” he continued.

Now, in a race as unpredictable as this one could be, how much does starting second really matter in the long run?

“Everything can happen here, as we’ve seen in ’21. The first car that was in the air won,” he says. “Yeah, will it be as chaotic tomorrow? I don’t know. That’s what we thought in ’22. It was worse, so… Maybe tomorrow it’s the same. Worse, better, I don’t know.

“If it rains, it will make things interesting.”

O’Ward said that because of this, you truly can’t plan out what to expect. You just strap in and go and see where the race guides you.

He’s hopeful it guides him to victory lane to end a 18 race drought with his last win coming over a year ago in Iowa.

He began the season off with three runner-up finishes in the first five races including two straight to begin the season off with. He then finished 24th (Indy 500) and 26th (Detroit).

In the five races after, he’s had a top 10 in each including a pair of podiums (Road America, Iowa 1). Those third place efforts are his best finishes though as he’s been 8th-10th in 3 of the 5.

Can he hold the Honda’s off on Sunday to get redemption?