SONOMA, Calif. – Patricio O’Ward completed his first Verizon IndyCar Series race weekend in sensational fashion on Sunday at Sonoma Raceway, driving to a top-10 finish on debut in Harding Racing’s No. 8 Chevrolet.

O’Ward translated his top-five practice pace from Friday into a spot in the Firestone Fast Six in Saturday’s qualifications, then remained inside the top 10 for virtually the entire 85-lap distance on Sunday at the 2.52-mile Northern California road course.

By race’s end, O’Ward found himself ninth in the finishing order after racing against some of the best in American open wheel racing, outpacing veterans like Tony Kanaan, James Hinchcliffe and Graham Rahal.

It was a sensational opening weekend for the reigning Indy Lights champion at the top level of the sport, barely two weeks after O’Ward completed his title-winning campaign on the final rung of the Road to Indy ladder with nine wins and 13 podiums in 17 races.

“It was a really great weekend, and we learned a lot,” said O’Ward. “We qualified the car fifth, and we ended the race ninth. As a driver, you want to stay in your qualifying position or get better … but I think for a first try, especially with a super long race with three or four pit stops, that was a job well done.

“Today was just a new experience and something that I’ll have to learn race by race, but I think for my first time, ninth is pretty good. My objective for qualifying was (to make) the Fast Six, and I succeeded, and my goal for the race was a top 10 and I succeeded in that too. I’m really satisfied, and I just want to get better for next year.”

O’Ward spent the closing stint holding at bay one of the potent Chip Ganassi Racing entries, with Ed Jones trying to chase down the 19-year-old native of Monterey, Mexico, to no avail.

However, before that, O’Ward found himself overwhelmed by the steep fall-off in his Firestone tires early on in the race, something he had to continually learn about and soak in as the afternoon progressed.

“I was talking to the team and realized very quickly that you don’t know what to expect (in these cars) until you’re in the moment,” O’Ward noted. “In the beginning, I think I kept everyone behind me okay, and then just one lap to another the rears really started struggling and people started to catch me.

“When (Graham) Rahal got by me, I could not control the car,” continued O’Ward. “I said ‘I need to pit now or I’m going to lose like 20 seconds over the next two or three laps.’ The beginning was hectic, it was new … I was a little hesitant to pass people at first, but then I got into a rhythm and once I completed my first pass, I put my head down and made up ground bit by bit.”

O’Ward admitted after the race that he was drained from the physicality of his first IndyCar Series event.

“It was exhausting. The restart was crazy. I remember (Zach) Veach and (Josef) Newgarden and everyone fighting in front of me and I was thinking, ‘oh my God, what am I going to do?’ but everyone finally settled out and I started passing people again,” said O’Ward.

“It was a very long race, though,” he added. “I’m pretty sore. My back is pretty tired. My neck … that safety car kind of saved me a little bit so I could rest my neck.”

He also felt that his performance in Sunday’s race proved the success of the ladder system that has allowed him to climb all the way up into the IndyCar Series, particularly Indy Lights, which struggled with car count this season but had no shortage of fierce competition in its field.

“I don’t know what more people want, but I’m really happy that I could show some speed this weekend because the Road to Indy is very competitive, and it really helped me prepare for IndyCar in a sense,” O’Ward stated.

“I think Indy Lights is a great series. Getting the scholarship really opens the door to what my goal has been my whole life, and I think (that goes) for other drivers as well.”

O’Ward will have three guaranteed starts in the IndyCar Series next year thanks to his advancement scholarship for winning the Indy Lights title, including a ride for the 103rd Indianapolis 500 in May.

That’s exactly where O’Ward’s attention is now: on the future.

“If we can just focus forward, I think the results are going to come by themselves,” he said. “I’m looking forward already to what’s ahead.”