Will Power continues to improve his chances toward a second Verizon IndyCar Series championship. The open-wheeled speedster drove on to victory at Pocono Raceway Monday in a race delayed from Sunday because of rain. Power took full advantage from a crash by his points leader Simon Pagenaud.
Will Power worked his way from the eighth starting position to take control the the last half of the race. Furthermore, his main threat Ryan-Hunter-Reay, suffered mechanical issues and was not a factor in the end. Power then used his skills to hold off the hard-charging pole-sitter Mikhail Aleshin. The IndyCar talent challenged for the lead in the final laps at Pocono Raceway but was 1.1459 seconds behind. Hunter-Reay battled his way back to an impressive third place finish.
Four of Power’s wins in 2016 have been in the last six events. He also missed the season opener at St. Petersburg with an inner ear infection that was misdiagnosed as a concussion. The 2014 Verizon IndyCar Series champion, now trails teammate Simon Pagenaud by 20 points with three races to go.
“We just kept adding and adding down-force,” Power said. “It was just awesome at the end. It was also a very good comeback. I am very happy to win here. I’m always happy to win on ovals, and Pocono Raceway is one of the hardest places we run. He was close, I felt like if I could take his air in three. I felt if he had to lift there, I would be OK, but he was very strong. That is as good as it gets. No mistakes. Great stops. As an overall team effort, that was as good of a day you could possible get. Thanks to my team.”
Mikhail Aleshin sped around in front a race high 87 circuits at Pocono Raceway. The Speedy European whittled Power’s lead down to a few car lengths towards the end, but fell short. Aleshin finished the race with an outstanding second place result. Aleshin now sits 210 points back of Simon Pagenaud. Furthermore, the finish barely kept Aleshin mathematically in the running for the Verizon Indy Car Championship with three races left.
“Unfortunately, in the end, I just couldn’t get to Will,” Aleshin said. “He was just too fast. Seriously, I was on the edge. I almost crashed a couple times when I was behind him. I also had the wiggles, I was losing front, but I just couldn’t get to him.”
Ryan Hunter-Reay was towards the front of the pack for much of the race. Consequently, he was forced to creep down pit lane when lost power right after retaking the lead from Will Power on Lap 164. As a result, he fell a lap down. Hunter-Reay managed to get back on the lead lap after a caution for debris on Lap 175. The talented young driver then worked his way back to finish on the podium in third. The Andretti Autosport driver is win-less this season and started dead last after crashing in practice and not making a qualifying run.
A frightening moment took place on pit road when the 2016 Indianapolis 500 winner Alexander Rossi collided with Charlie Kimball. Rossi was in the process of leaving his pit stall went he was hit and his #98 went airborne into the machine of Helio Castroneves. The Italian’s hot-rod actually went over the top of Castroneves, but everyone walked away unscathed.
“All of a sudden there was a car on top of me,” Castroneves said. “It was a little strange to be honest. The Team Penske guys worked really hard to try and fix the car but there was a lot of damage. Inside the car, I was actually more protected more than what it looked like. Sometimes people don’t realize the Verizon IndyCar series are so much about safety and today is the proof of that. Very glad that nobody got hurt.”
Simon Pagenaud, the Verizon IndyCar Series points leader, wiped out leaving Turn 1 on Lap 157. As a result, he finished in 18th and the championship points race tightened. The Team Penske veteran led his teammate Will Power by 58 clicks before entering Monday’s contest. Will Power had just regained the lead a few laps before Pagenaud’s crash.
Simon Pagenaud’s Chevrolet locked up it’s brakes through the sweeping turn and side-swiped a SAFER barrier hard before drifting to the inside of the track. It was his second worst tally of the season. The worst was at the other 2.5 mile track on the schedule, Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Pagenaud finished the Indianapolis 500 in the 19th position.
Because Simon Pagenaud crashed out of the race, Will Power gained 38 points on his Penske teammate. Now Power is only 20 points behind with just three races remaining. Power’s fourth victory of the year ties him with Pagenaud. The Verizon IndyCar Series heads next to Texas Motor Speedway Saturday night to finish June’s rain-postponed Firestone 550.
