Team Penske team-mates and front row starters, Will Power and Helio Castroneves traded leads, but Power prevails. Power and Castroneves shared race leader duties but the Australian conquered IMS’s 2.439-mile road course to win his first race of the 2017 season.
Twitter: ? @12WillPower raises his trophy to his win at the #INDYCARGP at @IMS. #INDYCAR https://t.co/pvDiX6PqLB (@Team_Penske)
Power’s win was as straightforward as possible, starting from pole. The 2014 IndyCar Series champion lead the most laps (61), and had the fastest leader lap (01m10.2225s) in a complete tour de force. The IndyCar Grand Prix was a brisk Saturday drive for Power, who despite taking three poles had yet to win. On Saturday everything went right for the silver #12.
“It’s funny, momentum. Once your whole team and crew believes that you have a shot at winning races, which we have had all year, but when you execute it, it definitely gives them confidence,” Power told the IndyStar. “It’s just good, get a win, and very, very good for everyone.”
While it was good for the Australian and his championship hopes, the rest of Team Penske couldn’t quite match up. Castroneves gambled on a late tyre strategy that didn’t pan out and ended up P5. Josef Newgarden finished P11 after two late pit lane speeding drive through penalties after starting P3. Juan Pablo Montoya, seeing his first track action in several months couldn’t carry over his qualifying pace. The Colombian finished P10. Simon Pagenaud was the only of the Penske drivers to hold or improve position, the Frenchman started P7 and finished P4.
Penske and Chevrolet’s loss was Honda’s gain. Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon and Andretti Autosport’s Ryan Hunter-Reay, both capitalized on poor Chevy strategy to grab the podium places. P2 and P3 respectively.
IndyCar Grand Prix Race Notes:
– The race was the first of the season not to have any Cautions.
– Power’s victory is Team Penske’s 190th. The team recorded their 250th pole yesterday also courtesy of Power.
– Newgarden had the fastest lap overall with a 01m09.3888s effort on lap 68.
– As of the conclusion of the race, four of the top-5 in the Driver’s Standings were Team Penske drivers. Dixon is the lone non-Penske, Honda-powered driver.
– Dale Coyne Racing’s Sebastian Bourdais could only complete 3 laps, he classified as ‘Off Course’.
