POWER FAILS TO SECURE TITLE
Spin keeps Castroneves’ hopes alive
Will Power could use some sleep.
Power could have effectively wrapped up his first Verizon IndyCar Series title Sunday at Sonoma Raceway.
But he stumbled with a midrace spin that left room for Helio Castroneves to steal the crown in the double-points finale at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif.
Power, and many of the other drivers and officials, had been awakened in the wee hours Sunday morning by a 6.0 magnitude earthquake that struck the Napa Valley area, about 15 miles east of the track.
Now, Power faces more sleepless nights heading into Saturday’s finale.
“Man, I was on it,” Power said of his early command of the race from the pole. “Then to get back in the pack (and spin). Unbelievable.”
Castroneves trails by 51 points because he couldn’t capitalize, getting off to a slow start when the field bunched up going into Turn 2 on the opening lap. Repairs to his front wing and right rear pod took three pit stops, and he couldn’t make up the ground.
Scott Dixon passed Mike Conway on lap 83 of 85 to notch his second victory of the season. The defending IndyCar champion is out of the title hunt but celebrated his 35th career victory to tie Bobby Unser for fifth place on the all-time list.
Dixon started third and had won at this track in 2007, but everyone expected Power to dominate, as he had won three of the last four races at the 12-turn, 2.385-mile circuit.
Dixon, excellent with fuel mileage, worked his conservation magic again, finishing as the tanks of other contenders — in- cluding Graham Rahal, who led 18 laps — went dry.
Power passed two cars — in a caution zone — on the last lap coming to the checkered flag. IndyCar reviewed the order and slotted Power 10th and Justin Wilson ninth, costing Power more points.
However, various scenarios exist for the points lead to switch hands between Team Penske teammates Power and Castroneves, and Power is all too familiar with that feeling. He has seen title chances slip away in the last race in 2010, 2011 and 2012. Most recently, he spun while trying to pass his only challenger in a move he didn’t need to make.
That was at Auto Club Speedway’s 2-mile oval.
“Anything can happen,” Castroneves said. “We are not giving up.”
This battle would have been even closer had Castroneves not had his own problems Sunday. He was involved in first-lap contact with James Hinchcliffe and rookie Carlos Munoz and never got rolling. He later forced a threewide situation in a hairpin corner, leading to a bump with Sebastien Bourdais. Castroneves finished 18th of 22 cars.
“To get hit so early on in the race was really tough,” he said. “That certainly put us behind. Fixing the damage in the front and back of the car, it was tough to recover.”
The hours leading up to Sunday’s race were as eventful as the 85-lap GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma. The earthquake rocked the region at 3:20 a.m. local time, forcing an evacuation of hotels, including the one where several drivers were staying in downtown Napa.
Forced out, Power and Castroneves drove to the track, where they regrouped at the team’s motor home. Hinchcliffe slept in a rental car.
“I spoke to Will before the race, and he thought he was dying,” Dixon said, laughing.
Power said the sleep interruption didn’t hurt him in the race but he probably would sleep well Sunday night.
The Turn 7 spin dropped Power to the back of the field. He got back ahead of Castroneves in an exchange of pit stops, but every position he gained was an effort on a road course that allows few passing opportunities.
“It was a good recovery there,” Power said. “(The spin) was much of a shock, such a surprise. I thought someone hit me I went around so quickly.”
Power’s steering wheel whipped so quickly he couldn’t grab the clutch as needed. That led to a tire burnout in a doughnut fashion generally seen in victory lane celebrations.
“A show for the youngsters,” he said while acknowledging it effectively wore out his rear tires.
Ryan Hunter-Reay and Simon Pagenaud did almost everything they needed to do to stay in the title chase by finishing second and third. But assuming Power participates in Saturday’s event, both will be eliminated from title contention.