Power gives Penske, Chevy win in Belle Isle finale
DETROIT – Will Power had victory within reach on Belle Isle a year ago until a late red flag led to an electrical malfunction that ruined his race.
In his mind, the Detroit Grand Prix owed him one.
And when Power gets his mind set on something, there’s no holding him back.
Power charged from 16th to the win Sunday to close out the Belle Isle era with a Team Penske victory that returned the Australian to the NTT IndyCar Series points lead.
Power passed teammate and polesitter Josef Newgarden on lap 14 and never looked back, leading 55 of the 70 laps as he found himself in “the zone.”
“It’s hard to get to that place. I used to be there a lot often when I was younger,” said the 41-year-old. “It’s just one of those zones where everything’s clicking so well, you’re 100% in the middle, it’s that flow state . ... But I would get in that state for qualifying often, pump out some pretty ridiculous laps. That was the race for me. In a really good spot.”
Power held off Alexander Rossi in the closing laps – extending Rossi’s losing streak to nearly three years – for his first win of the season. All three Team Penske drivers have a win through seven IndyCar races this season.
Power controlled the first race of the Belle Isle doubleheader a year ago until a late caution brought out the red, and then his car couldn’t start for the finish. He went from potential victory to a 20th-place finish.
Rossi, who this past week confirmed he’s moving to Arrow McLaren SP next year, used a three-stop strategy to rally from his 11th-place starting position and drive through the field to contend. Although Rossi made it close as both drivers were dealing with traffic, Power beat him to the finish by 1.0027 seconds. Power won for the third time in Detroit.
“I think one more lap would have been really interesting,” said Rossi.
Scott Dixon was third for Chip Ganassi Racing, followed by Newgarden and Pato O’Ward of McLaren. Indianapolis 500 winner Marcus Ericsson was seventh.
Cup Series: Logano victorious
MADISON, Ill. – Joey Logano watched helplessly as Kyle Busch drove away from him on a late restart Sunday, seemingly ending his hopes of delivering a much-needed win for Team Penske in the NASCAR Cup Series debut at World Wide Technology Raceway.
Kevin Harvick’s wreck with five laps left gave Logano another chance.
He took advantage of overtime, too, winning a drag race with Busch into the first corner in overtime, then jockeying briefly for the lead, before pulling away to take the white flag and eventually Logano’s second win of the season.
“It doesn’t get much better than that, racing for the lead like that with Kyle, one of the best, crossing each other back and forth,” said Logano, who made it a banner day for Team Penske, which won the NTT IndyCar race with Will Power earlier in the day in Detroit. “I knew it was coming. I did it to him. I knew he was going to do it to me.”
The victory must have felt even sweeter for Team Penske. In the last five points races, Logano has the only top-10 finish for the entire team with his victory last month at Darlington.
Kurt Busch finished third Sunday with Logano’s teammate, Ryan Blaney, in fourth and Aric Almirola in fifth.
“I’m way out of breath here,” Logano said. “What a great car. Really fast.”
Ross Chastain was fast all day, too; he just couldn’t stop hitting people. He got into Denny Hamlin and Chase Elliott at different points in the race, leading both of them to retaliate on the track.
“It was terrible driving,” Chastain said afterward. “It’s one thing to do it once. I kept driving into guys. At this level I have to be better than that. It’s a shame. I had all these people believing in me. They deserve better.”
The first Cup Series race at World Wide Technology Raceway, nestled just across the Mississippi River from the Gateway Arch and downtown St. Louis, produced a thrilling throwback to the early years of NASCAR, when tempers in the cars ran just as hot as the temperature outside – it soared over 90 degrees Fahrenheit in the sun.