XPEL Grand Prix at Road America: Power’s Back
After his chaotic Detroit race, Will Power was back at it again this weekend. The two-time IndyCar champion outraced his teammates for a victory at Road America that ended a 34-race winless streak and moved him into first in the championship standings after the 7th race of 17 races in total.
“We’re working hard. We want to win the championship,” Power said after the race. “I think we have the cars and the team to do it. Keep pushing.” This win was his 42nd career victory, which ties him with Michael Andretti for fourth in IndyCar history. “That was the next one I wanted to get,” he said, “that was the one I’d been wanting for a while. To surpass Michael, big fan of Michael’s as a kid. Watched him win a lot of races. The Andretti family, such a big deal, such legends of this sport. Anytime your name is around those guys, it’s a big deal. Cool to be equal with Michael.” Not only is he now tied with Michael Andretti, he also broke Mario Andretti’s record for career poles in 2022.
source: instagram.com/12willpower
The Team Penske domination was very noticeable this weekend, and with Josef Newgarden in second and Scott McLaughlin in third it was an all Team Penske/Chevrolet podium. “Yeah, to come back like that at Indy, then 1-2-3 today. Really, I feel like we’re performing at our highest level right now,” Power said in a post-race interview. “That includes Chevy. Chevy’s done a great job with the engine. I think we struggled a little bit last year compared to Honda. They went away, did their homework. So did we. Together we have a very strong combination.”
Due to a hard crash at the end of qualifying on a wet track, Newgarden was forced to race a backup car. He was quite quick with his answer when asked if the race result would have been different if he had raced his own car. “It wasn’t a car issue; I can tell you that. I think at Team Penske, certainly me, I’m not ever concerned if we have to build up a new car. We have great consistency across the board. This team I think is the best as far as putting another car on track, and it’s going to be the exact same thing,” Josef Newgarden explained. “We switch cars quite a bit. It’s the same product every time we put it on the track. That speaks volumes to the level of the team, the savvy-ness, the execution of the people. It’s just really solid. There was no concern about that. I don’t think that would have made a difference today.”
source: instagram.com/team_penske
While Team Penske was having an amazing weekend, Marcus Armstrong was less fortunate. The 2023 rookie of the year, who had his first podium last weekend, did not see the end of this race. Lundqvist was clear before turn one as they formed three wide for 2nd. Armstrong tagged the gearbox of Lundqvist off turn one and they both spun.
source: instagram.com/marcusarmstrong
Another unfortunate soul at the Road America was Kyffin Simpson, he also did not get the chance to finish this race. He got turned by Christian Rasmussen and got stuck in the sand during lap 7.
There will be no race this weekend, but on the 23rd of June action will be brought back to track on the Weathertech Raceway in California for the Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey, and we can’t wait for it!
