Pato O'Ward Says He's 'More Than Ready To Fight' For Indy 500 Victory

IndyCar star Pato O'Ward has the best Indy 500 starting position of his career leading into Sunday's race ... and he tells TMZ Sports he's ready to duke it out and take full advantage of his opportunity.

The 26-year-old Arrow McLaren driver has come REALLY close to winning the iconic event -- most recently finishing second after being passed on the last lap in 2024 -- but has never taken the checkered flag at the Brickyard.

O'Ward says he's not dwelling at all on last year's heartbreak going into this weekend ... but it's clear he's ready to rewrite his story at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

"I'm more than ready to fight and I think we're going to have a great opportunity to have that chance again," he said. "I believe that we know how to position ourselves in order to have a shot at this race."

"It's going to be a sold-out event, so I can't imagine it being in any other way when we one day get it done."

"This is a fantastic opportunity that we have and we're going to take full advantage of it."

There's more -- O'Ward also weighed in on his approach to answering questions in the media ... and explained he prefers to be honest and real, as it's what the fans deserve.