Pat Ward
Hometown: Genoa, N.Y.
Born: March 6, 1957

2005: Selected as part of the inaugural group of ‘Elite 11’ drivers contracted to perform on DIRT NorthEast’s Modified center stage, he placed sixth in the overall Hoosier-Sunoco Mr. DIRT point standings after posting six front-five and 11 top-10 feature race finishes. Ward scored his lone Advance Auto Parts SDS triumph in a flag-to-flag run to close out the Golden Anniversary season of auto racing at Cayuga County Fair (NY) Speedway. Concluding his 33rd season with seven big-block wins, he was a top-five runner in weekly competition at Cayuga County (2nd), Fulton (3rd) and Brewerton (4th) during the summer months and placed fourth in the specials-only program presented at Rolling Wheels (NY) Raceway.

Career: After 27 years of open-wheel activity this second-generation pilot finally earned his first track championship, wearing the 358-Modified points crown at Can-Am Motorsports Park in 2002. Ward reached the top of the small-block ladder two years later by capturing the 2004 Mr. DIRT 358-Modified Championship. He owns 61 DIRT big-block feature wins and eight in small-block competition, recording three Advance Auto Parts Modified Super DIRT Series victories and four extra-distance triumphs in the  358 Super DIRT Series. The former New York State Fair Labor Day Champion (1998) also claimed the ‘04 Florida Tour title to close out the 33rd Winternationals at Volusia Speedway Park.