Jeffrey, who served as the spotter for Pato O’Ward on the Chevrolet-powered No. 5 entry the past two seasons, passed away on Thursday after a battle with cancer. He most recently spotted the IndyCar race at Laguna Seca last month, along with the recent test at Nashville Superspeedway.
One of the vibrant personalities in the paddock, Jeffrey was well-regarded as one of the best spotters in the industry, with a background that stretched across to NASCAR and IMSA, as well as IndyCar. During his career, he worked with the likes of Dale Jarrett, Josef Newgarden and Tony Stewart.
Arrow McLaren are memorializing Jeffrey with decals on all three entries, along with O’Ward’s helmet. There is also a plan to have his headset on the railing of the spotter’s stand through the sessions.
“We race for Bob this weekend,” read a statement by Arrow McLaren.
“We lost a good one yesterday. Bob Jeffrey, spotter for Pato O’Ward and our No. 5 team, passed away after a battle with cancer. Bob was a favorite in the paddock with his contagious laugh and brilliant personality. He is renowned as one of the greatest spotters in motorsport, having won championships in IndyCar, NASCAR, and IMSA as the ‘eye in the sky’ for a number of first-rate racers, including Tony Stewart, Dale Jarrett and Josef Newgarden. Most of all, Bob will be remembered as a fun-loving family man who always greeted his teammates with a smile.
“We miss you, Bob, forever our eye in the sky.”
We race for Bob - our eye in the sky.
— Arrow McLaren IndyCar Team (@ArrowMcLaren) July 19, 2024
Bob Jeffrey, spotter for the Pato O'Ward and No. 5 team, passed away Friday after battling cancer. We honor him this weekend in Toronto. pic.twitter.com/zGCj2DEmcF
During a media availability on Friday morning, O’Ward shared his thoughts on Jeffrey.
“I cannot believe it,” said O’Ward, 25.
“It just goes by so quick. I saw him three weeks ago at Laguna and yeah, I know he was having a couple things during the (Indianapolis) 500 but he still spotted for me for the race and all that. I think it caught us all by surprise. It was just a very, very shocking kind of decline the last day or two, I would say. But I was really at peace that I could say goodbye and I got to talk to him on the phone yesterday.”
O’Ward also provided a favorite memory that he will always carry with him.
“Oh, yeah,” O’Ward said. “I know he would always call Gavin like, ‘Hey young man’ and he would always call me, ‘Sweetheart.’ Yeah, I will never forget his accent as well, super, super strong.”
