INDIANAPOLIS – Team Penske driver Will Power’s plans for Saturday night include a Green Tea with peppermint, a sensible meal and then he is going to sleep like a rock.
That’s his reward for breaking a losing streak that dated all the way back to last October’s second race of the Harvest Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Power returned to the scene of his last win to dominate Saturday’s Big Machine Spiked Coolers Grand Prix on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.
It was the 40th IndyCar Series victory for the driver from Toowoomba, Australia, and that moves him up to fifth on the all-time victory list, breaking a tie with the great Al Unser.
RESULTS: Big Machine Spiked Coolers Grand Prix
A.J. Foyt leads the victory list with 67 followed by Mario Andretti’s 52, Scott Dixon’s 51, Michael Andretti’s 42 and Power’s 40.
“You look at the stats for sure when you’re up there, and you’re aware of the names,” Power admitted. “I’m aware how far I am off Mario for all-time poles and I’m aware where I sit now in the all-time win list. I know that Michael Andretti is on 42, and that’s a pretty — Mario Andretti I think I can catch on poles, which can be very tough these days, but man, I was very close to getting another one yesterday, and Michael is 42 on wins.
“Two heroes of mine and two absolute legends of the sport, and just blows my mind that I have a name close to them in the record books. Crazy. That was some serious name dropping, but my name is there. It’s crazy. Who would have thought?”
Despite the frustrating season, Power never gave up on himself and was able to win the race.
“It’s just great when you get in that zone where you’re just seeing the tenths grow behind you because you have it on your dash, you can see, and you just start getting a little nitpicking, like little, tiny details and slowly pulling away,” Power said. “It’s a great feeling. It’s right in my zone, right in my wheelhouse when I’m like that. That was another day like that for me.
“Yeah, love it. It’s my life. Like I just love competing, but it’s just winning is absolutely what makes me happy. I’m very moody when I haven’t won for a while; just ask my wife.”
Power is also the ninth different winner this season. Eleven different winners is the modern day record. It was also his sixth total win at Indianapolis Motor Speedway between oval and road course, which ties him with NASCAR’s Kyle Busch for the most wins ever at IMS.
“Let’s hope he doesn’t win this weekend,” Power said.
The NTT IndyCar Series race was the first of an IndyCar-NASCAR tripleheader on the 14-turn, 2.439-mile IMS road course. Pato O’Ward started on the pole and led the first 15 laps before he pitted. Power had pitted one lap earlier for Firestone red tires.
By the time the pit stop cycle had completed, Power was in front on lap 21 and stayed there until he pitted on lap 37 with a six-second led over Herta. Power was on red tires and was back in front on lap 42 through lap 60.
Power led by as much as nine seconds on lap 47 but began to complain to his team that the last car on the lead lap, Herta’s Andretti Autosport teammate James Hinchcliffe, was impeding his progress.
Power became even angrier when Hinchcliffe kept using the push-to-pass to keep Power from passing him.
When Power and Hinchcliffe both pitted for the final time on lap 61, he was confident that he would get out ahead of Hinchcliffe’s slower car. But Power still had the car in second gear and the engine stalled.
That allowed Hinchcliffe to get out of the pits in front of Power’s Chevrolet.
“I thought to myself, ‘Oh, bloody Hell, not another stint where I’m behind Hinchcliffe,’” Power lamented.
The race was run without interruption from the start until NTT IndyCar Series points leader Alex Palou’s engine quit and his car stopped in turn six on lap 68.
The yellow flag bunched up the field and when the green flag flew on lap 71, Power was able to stay ahead of Herta’s Honda. Seven laps later, Scott McLaughlin’s Chevrolet and Rinus VeeKay’s Chevrolet had contact in turn seven and that brought out the second and final caution period.
Once again, the field was bunched up but when the green flag flew, Power was able to maintain his lead over the final seven laps to score his first victory of the season.
Power defeated Romain Grosjean’s No. 51 Honda by 1.1142 seconds. Herta was third, 2.3498 seconds back, followed by Alexander Rossi and O’Ward.
“Once we got out in clean air, we were gone,” Power said. “I don’t think anyone had a better car than us.
“Back markers certainly make it tough in this series, and it’s a simple fix. You simply give those guys their lap back when it goes yellow, and they won’t fight you.”
Seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion and IndyCar Series rookie Jimmie Johnson had the best IndyCar race of his career. He started 22nd and finished 19th. In between, he ran very competitive speeds and passed cars on the track.
He finished ahead IndyCar Series race winners including four-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves (21st), Hinchcliffe (22nd), VeeKay (24th) and Palou (27th).
There were 269 on-track passes, a record for the IMS road course, and 190 of those were for positions, which ties a record for this course.
At 40, Power’s victory celebrations are no longer wild affairs. In fact, he rewards himself with a good night of sleep.
“Man, I am absolutely going hard when I go to sleep tonight, like just going to sleep,” Power said. “That’s what I do. That’s a big night for me.
“I’m definitely going back, good food, green tea with the peppermint in it, just go to sleep. It’s an awesome night.
“How people do it differently, they go out and absolutely get slaughtered, but yeah. Conor Daly? Scott McLaughlin?
“Not me.”