Tag: Will Power

Quick Thoughts- Iowa Race 2

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Photo by Kyle McInnes

Alex Palou summed it up.

“It was a boring race,” he told the media in the post race press conference. Scott McLaughlin echoed those thoughts.

Today’s race pretty much turned out the way I expected. I thought there might be another yellow or two.

This weekend at Iowa we saw two races without a single on track pass for the lead. Today it was an overcut pit stop by Will Power that got him to the front. With the lack of passing Power cruised to the victory.

Update-Sting Ray Robb is awake and alert after his horrific flip at the checkered flag. He was taken to the hospital for further evaluation.

There is a consensus among the drivers that something must be done to improve this race. Power said a second lane “…would make this race amazing.”

He suggested a softer tire and a lighter car asn two possible solutions. he surface in turns also needs some attention.

Iowa used to be really fun track. I almost wish that they would bring back the bump in turn 2.

The last lap incident cost Kyle Kirkwood his top 10 streak.

Nice Recoveries

Colton Herta and Alex Palou bounced back from difficult Race 1 results. Palou crashed Saturday and finished 23rd.

Herta finished mid pack last night after getting caught out by a yellow just after he pitted.

Palou was 2nd today and Herta was 5th.

Good Weekends

Rinus VeeKay earned a top 10 in both races.

Pato O’Ward finished second and sixth. he moves to third int he standings, 52 points behind Palou. Power takes over second, just 35 points behind. The battle for second is helping Palou keep his lead.

Final Thought

I’m glad Indycar and Iowa have extended their agreement. If both parties want a race here, Indycar and the track have to work together to find a solution to get the racing back to where it was.

I love this track. the quick laps are incredible to watch, but I want to see good racing, which was in very short supply this weekend.

Indycar can’t control where NASCAR races, b ut if a track wants Indycar as well, a compromise needs to be reached so that both series can put on a great show.

I will have a final wrap-up tomorrow. Thanks for following along on what was a very quick trip.

Power Paces Another Penske 1-2-3 at Milwaukee Test

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Twenty Drivers Give Workout to New Hybrid Unit as Debut Nears

From Indycar

MILWAUKEE (Tuesday, June 11, 2024) – It appears Wisconsin is Team Penske’s new playground.Two days after sweeping the podium at Road America, Team Penske drivers Will Power, Josef Newgarden and Scott McLaughlin were the three fastest drivers, respectively, in an NTT INDYCAR SERIES Open Test at Milwaukee Mile.

Two-time series champion Power led with a lap of 161.521 mph in the No. 12 Chevrolet on the historic 1-mile oval. Two-time reigning Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge winner Newgarden followed at 160.759 in the No. 2 Chevrolet, with McLaughlin third at 160.639 in the No. 3 Chevrolet. Power won the XPEL Grand Prix at Road America presented by AMR last Sunday at Road America, followed by Newgarden and McLaughlin in Team Penske’s first podium sweep in a series event since 2017.

All 20 cars in the all-day test were equipped with the new hybrid unit that will make its competition debut Friday-Sunday, July 5-7 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio presented by the 2025 Civic Hybrid

.“You do feel it’s probably going to assist in passing,” Power said of the hybrid unit. “If you’ve got a run on someone, I think it will work.”

The hybrid units will be used during the NTT INDYCAR SERIES’ first return to this track since 2015 during the Hy-Vee Milwaukee Mile 250 doubleheader Aug. 31-Sept. 1. Power is one of two active series drivers with a win at Milwaukee; he won in 2014, while Scott Dixon won in 2009.

“It hasn’t changed much,” Power said of the famed oval. “I think those patches don’t seem to have much grip though in the middle of the corners, which is really good for passing. It’s the same track. It feels exactly like it did.

“I did really well here. It was one of my favorite ovals. I had been looking forward to coming here.”

Colton Herta was fourth in testing today at 160.137 in the No. 26 Honda fielded by Andretti Global with Curb-Agajanian. Pato O’Ward of Arrow McLaren rounded out the top five at 159.993 in his No. 5 Chevrolet.

David Malukas was eighth at 159.293 in his debut with Meyer Shank Racing in the No. 66 Honda. Malukas missed the first seven races of the season due to a wrist injury suffered in a preseason mountain biking accident. He will make his racing debut with MSR at Mid-Ohio.

Light rain delayed the test for 36 minutes late in the afternoon while teams were in the race simulation portion of the schedule, when the field was divided into two groups. The 20 drivers combined to turn 3,563 incident-free laps on the day. That’s equal to 178 laps per driver, more than half of the 250-lap distance of each of the races over Labor Day weekend.“

This was another important milestone for the INDYCAR hybrid power unit,” INDYCAR President Jay Frye said. “Chevrolet and Honda checked a lot of boxes today, and none of it could happen without the continued partnership and support of our drivers and teams. The anticipation grows, and we cannot wait to see the hybrid era begin at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in a few weeks.”

The next NTT INDYCAR SERIES event is the Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey on Sunday, June 23 at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Live coverage starts at 6 p.m. ET on the USA Network, Peacock and the INDYCAR Radio Network.

RESULTS

Rosenqvist Tops Practice 1

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Photo by Kyle McInnes

Maybe a new team is exactly what Felix Rosenqvist needed, The Swedish driver lead the new format first practice for the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg this afternoon with a time of 1:00.3390. Pato O’Ward was 0.4722 seconds behind Rosenqvist, and Marcus Armstrong ended the day third, anothet0.007 seconds back.

The new practice session format accomplished its goal of creating more on track action during a session that usually has some dead periods.

Will Power, who was fourth, said he liked the new format. “It has a similar flow to qualifying. It’s been very difficult in the past to get a run in.” He also noted that turn 3 is a lot smoother this year.

Rosenqvist said the transition to Meyer Shank Racing has been “super easy.” He is Impressed with how the team is working.

Marcus Armstrong’s third place run was impressive. He ran just 12 races last year, and he will do the entire 2024 schedule. I think he may be a surprise top 10 contender all season.

Photo by Kyle McInnes

Results:

Power Fastest in Friday Practice

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In Iowa Will Power finally took a pole position, his first and second of the year. His next task is to grab a win this season to keep his streak of winning at least one race a year since 2007. This weekend at Nashville is as good a place to get to the top step of the podium as anywhere.

“The car is really good,” Power said. “I think we’re in a good window. All the cars are pretty similar. It will be all about putting it together when it counts.”

Penske teammate Scott McLaughlin won the Nashville pole last year, but he lost the race by one tenth of a second to Scott Dixon. Dixon is also looking to keep his annual string of seasons with a win alive.

Power’s best lap of 1:16.4042 edged Alex Palou by 0.2452 seconds. Alexander Rossi was three tenths behind Power.

The session was clean until the final 15 minutes. Callum Ilott stalled in a runoff area. Just before time expired, Benjamin Pedersen clipped the and stalled. Power was not immune to touching the wall He grazed the barrier just past pit out and spun.

Linus Lundqvist had an impressive first day in Indycar. This week’s driver of the Meyer Shank number 60 ended in 11th place, less than a second off of Powerr’s time. Lundqvist had run as high as fifth during the session. He completed 30 laps, the most of any driver today.

Results:

Quick Thoughts- Qualifying and Race 1

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First- Will Power. Not much more to say about his prowess as a qualifier. He swept the poles today for the second year in a row. 70 career poles is a record that may never be touched. Each year it seems to take Power longer to win his first pole of the season. In 2022 he won just three poles- two at iowa and at Laguna Seca.

The Race

Today was the first time I have watched a race from Iowa on television in eight years. It is definitely a better race to watch at the track. I found today’s race a bit of a snoozer. The Penske domination was fascinating but Newgarden even made a sham of the competiton between the three drivers.

At home I missed a lot of the crazy action that happens all around the track every lap. NBC having comnmercial breaks every four laps or so did not help. They also lost a lot of laps coming back from breaks as they felt a need to show the countryside around the track. Yes, it is beautiful. Keep those shots in prerace.

I will give Josef Newgarden his due. he owns this track. Heck, he owns oval racing. Only three other drivers have won four ovals in a row, and they are legndary ones- A. J. Foyt, Al Unser, and Nigel Mansell. That is aver nice club to a part of.

Alex Palou did not get hurt too badly today. His eighth place finish cot him 19 points of his lead. I’m not sure that he will get any of the points back tomorrow, but if he keeps the lead in the 90s, he will be fine.

If Pato O’Ward’s crew can figure out how to get his car to pass someone, he might have a chance tomorrow. Tomorrow and at gateway are his last two best hots at winning this year.

Chip Ganassi Racing again placed all four drivers in the top 10. Marcus Ericsson was fourth, Scott Dixon sixth Alex Palou eighth, and Takuma Sato ninth. Ericsson had one of the best drives of the race.

Tomorrow’s starting lineup should make for a more interesting race with Newgarden starting seventh and O’Ward lining up 11th. The cars will be in race trim tomorrow as well.

Thanks for following along today. See you tomorrow.

Power Fastest in Practice 2; Pagenaud Involved in Scary Crash

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to quaWill Powwr turned the quickest lap this morning in the last practice before qualifying at 2:45 this afternoon. His quick lap came after a red flag for a horrific crash as Simon Pagenaud suffered a brake failure and rolled at least nine times in the turn 4 sand trap. Pagenaud was released from the medical center, but is not cleared to qualify.

Conor Daly is available to qualify if the backuo car is ready. The team has not made a decision as yet.

Simon Oagenaud comes to a stop agaunst the tire barrier.

It is easy in this age of enhanced safety to take it for granted that a driver will walk away from a crash, but to witness an accident like this still makes you hold your breath. Driver safety is never a guven, no matter how many advances in safety the car has.

I’ll be back with qualifying groups in a bit.

Results

Power Fastest in Crash Marred Practice

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Will Power nipped Scott Dixon near the end of today’s post qualifying practice. Power turned a lap at 229,222 mph. Early in the session Dixon set the fast time of 229.184.Pokle sitter Alex Palou was fourth fastest.

Power said that he thinks he has a car that can win the 500.

The first crash since the track opened for the 500 involved Katherine Legge and Stefan Wilson. Legge made contact with back of Wilson’s car in turn 1 and both cars made contact with the wall. Wilson hit head on. He was assisted from the car by the AMR safety team and was sent to Methodist Hospital for further evaluation.

As we learned about an hour ago, Wilson suffered a fracture of the 12th thoracic vertebra and has been ruled out of driving in the 107th running of the Indianapolis 500. No replacement driver has been named, and probably won’t be until tomorrow. I will not speculate about whom might replace him.

This result is devastating for a driver who has worked so hard to enter the 00. He finally got together with a good organization for this year, only to be sidelined.

Results