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NTT INDYCAR Series

Will Power Takes INDYCAR Championship Lead after GMR GP Podium

A wet afternoon in the office for Will Power, the new INDYCAR points leader (Photo: Dana Garrett | Penske Entertainment).

The NTT IndyCar Series championship got extremely feisty after an unfathomable GMR Grand Prix at Indianapolis. Among the top-10 drivers entering the fifth round of the 2022 campaign, only one had a relatively trouble-free Saturday afternoon: Will Power.

After leading the 27-car field to green under wet/dry conditions, Power escaped Indianapolis with a third-place finish which keeps his top-four streak alive.

Power’s time at the front did not last on the opening lap, but after many drivers had incidents or had tire strategy, he will enter the 106th Indianapolis 500 as the new points leader. This is the first time the Australian has led the standings since Belle Isle Race No. 2 in 2018.

The rain really set a massive accordion effect, more so in the closing laps when it picked up and in Power’s words, he couldn’t see anything. Since the introduction of the Aeroscreen in 2020, rainy conditions have not occurred at the rate it did Saturday.

“At the end there, you could not see a thing. There was a spray in front of me. I don’t know how it was behind the one car, but just the two car, I couldn’t imagine being back in tenth, man,” Power explained.

“You don’t know if someone is braking early or you are kind of looking to the fence to get a reference, you kind of lift early. You don’t want to lift too early because no one can see from behind.

“Pretty crazy day,” Power reflected on the day. “One to stay on your toes and know when to pick the right tire and definitely not overdo it. Yeah, real happy with third with a day like that. Just survival.”

While visibility was concerning for Power, it was not the biggest red flag of the race. Instead, it was when the track was half wet and half dry because of the tire compounds behaving differently.

“I didn’t have much problem with the rain. The worst part for me was when it was half wet. We’re on drys, and you have kind of that gritty just dirt on top of water. That was when I struggled to see a little bit, but in the full wet, I mean, the biggest problem for me was the spray from the cars,” Power commented.

“There’s really nothing can you do about that with open-wheel cars. It’s just going to be a lot of spray. Honestly, it was on the edge of whether we should have been running right at the end there. It was starting to get a bit of aquaplane.”

Second-place finisher and former Penske teammate Simon Pagenaud interjected following Power’s comments.

“Oh, come on. He is getting old,” said Pagenaud.

“Did you have any moments going around?” Power replied.

“Yeah, I had moments,” Pagenaud responded.

“(Turn) 12, man, going around that one. It was wide open,” said Power. “Just like suddenly –”

“That’s why you lift. That’s why you have a foot,” Pagenaud interrupted.

“I was lifting, and it still was doing a bit of that. I was like, oof, probably should go red here,” said Power.

“I had visibility issues for sure. A wiper would have helped. Obviously, I’m not an engineer. I don’t know what we should do,” said Pagenaud.

Banter and perspectives aside, the biggest focus of Power’s game of survival was the impact of the championship battle.

Alex Palou entered the race as the championship leader, ahead of fourth-place Will Power by 10 points. Palou lost control in Turn 10 on Lap 6, stalling his Chip Ganassi Racing Honda and lost a lap in the process. The reigning INDYCAR champion finished a lap behind race winner Colton Herta in 20th.

Scott McLaughlin was in the mix for the win late in the going until spinning twice. This incident plummeted him to 18th at the race’s end.

Now, after the fifth round ended in a two-hour time limit (74 of 85 scheduled laps), Power leads second-place McLaughlin and now third Palou by 16 points. With an average finish of 3.6, momentum is certainly on the Team Penske veteran.

Power’s focus isn’t quite on a possible second INDYCAR title, but a thought to ponder (Photo: Chris Owens | Penske Entertainment).

“Those sort of days you’re thinking points when you see Palou out and you see (Josef) Newgarden out (due to contact on Lap 17) and a couple of the main contenders that you are going to be fighting. You start thinking a little bit that way,” Power on leading the championship.

“Honestly it’s not that good to think about points, but sometimes you have to be smart. It’s just one of those days where if you can finish in the top six, you’re going to get a good chunk of points on those guys.

“If I had the car to win and the chance to win without big risk, I would definitely have gone for it. If it had been a constant condition, it would have been a different story, but it was just too easy to get caught out by a patch of water. It’s just a day to be smart and finish.”

Before the 106th Indy 500, Power and the other 32 drivers entered in “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” will fight for the pole next weekend (May 21-22). In 14 previous 500 starts, the 2018 Indy 500 champion has never won the pole. His best starting positions to date have been second-place in 2010 and 2015.

Last year, he barely made the 33-car field after qualifying 32nd in the Last Row Shootout, avoiding being one of two drivers that would have missed the 500. As for the race itself, Power had his worst finish of his 500 career with a 30th place result.

Along with his win in 2018, Power has finished in the top-five three other times (2009, 2015, and 2019).

Live coverage of the 106th Indy 500 begins Sunday, May 29 at 11:00 am ET on NBC.

Throughout my young motorsports media career, my number-one goal is to be a personnel that can be flexible with my writing and photography in the world of NASCAR and INDYCAR. Content delivery is vital because this is my main passion and what keeps me going. On the side, I also do sports production ranging from Seattle Kraken hockey to the 2023 NCAA Women's March Madness. All for the love of the game. With four National Motorsports Press Association photography awards, I'm not slowing down anytime soon. Outside of media, I'm super vocal about my musical tastes that goes from Metallica to HAIM. At times, there might be some Paul Thomas Anderson and Southern California references in my social media.

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