After finding himself out of the championship picture last year, Will Power has made it clear that he’s the early favourite for the 2014 Verizon IndyCar Championship as he currently leads the points after winning St. Petersburg and finishing second at Long Beach.
Power’s weekend at Long Beach didn’t start off as he would’ve hoped as he qualified 14th, marking only the second time in his career that he has qualified outside of the top 12.
“I was definitely thinking after qualifying we might have been in a bit of trouble, but we know this track well and IndyCar racing well,” Power commented. “There is always a lot of action, so definitely a good day.”
The first stint didn’t see Power make up much ground, however after the first stop, he was on the move. Power made his way up the field, moving into fourth behind Ryan Hunter-Reay, James Hinchcliffe and Josef Newgarden before the final round of pit stops. Power made his stop first, followed by the Andretti Autosport teammates Hunter-Reay and Hinchcliffe. Newgarden was the last to pit, coming out right infront of Hunter-Reay on cold tires. Hunter-Reay made a move to pass Newgarden when the pair would make contact, resulting in both wrecking. Hinchcliffe got caught up in the wreck, while Power was able to sneak by.
“Those two came out of the pits in front of me on cold, black tires, I was on reds,” Power commented. “Then all of a sudden I saw (Josef) Newgarden come out and I’m thinking this is going to be really interesting because all these guys know that that is for the win. It became even more interesting in Turn 4 when they all got together. I saw Hunter‑Reay go inside, and me going, ‘Oh, this will be interesting if he turns and there they go together.’ Then (James Hinchcliffe) piles into him, and I got through. You don’t get those gifts often in racing, so I’ll take it.”
Power would restart in second spot behind Scott Dixon with Mike Conway in third. Conway would pass Power on the restart using the ‘push to pass’.
“Mike (Conway) was very strong,” Power said. “I kind of regret not using the push to pass on the restart where he got me. I knew he had one and I had one, and I thought I’m going to try to save it and he used it on that restart.”
Power wouldn’t be able to pass Conway from that point on, while Dixon had to give up the lead with two laps to go due to needing fuel. As a result, Conway cruised to victory while Power finished second.
“I did everything I could when I saw (Dixon) Dixon pull in with only two to go,” Power commented. “I was like ‘Oh, man, that restart got me.’ But like I said, it was 14th, and we’re going to be happy with a Top 5. So second is OK. Once Dixon peeled off, Mike was very quick anyway. If I had one push to pass, I’m pretty sure I would have had a good shot. It would have been interesting, maybe he would have ended up winning because Mike and I would have crashed into Turn 1 or something. It was a good day. Definitely a good day.”
Power now has a considerable point lead only two races into the season, but that’s not something that he’s thinking about.
“Good for the championship, not that I want to think about that crap anymore,” he commented. “I just want to race. I’m just going to race to win every time.”
The next race for the series is Barber Motorsports Park, a track where Power has been very successful in the past.
“I mean, to me I’ve got to qualify a bit better for sure,” Power noted. “Definitely aiming to be pole because that track is very difficult to pass. Everyone’s tested there. Everyone’s run a lot of miles there, so there are a lot of good guys with good cars, so it’s definitely going to make it an interesting weekend.”
