By David Morgan, Associate Editor
ELKHART LAKE, Wis. – Winless streak no more.
After coming agonizingly close to winning on a number of occasions since his last NTT IndyCar Series victory, Will Power finally had thing go his way Sunday at Road America, winning the XPEL Grand Prix to secure the 42nd win of his illustrious career.
Power had last visited Victory Lane in June 2022 at Detroit, marking a stretch of 736 days since he was victorious.
“I felt good about today. We had a very fast car, but I’ve got to thank all of the guys. Great strategy,” Power said before peeling away to celebrate with his family.
“It’s massively special. We worked so hard to try and get wins and I worked really hard over the offseason. Obviously last season was very stressful. Had half a mind at home and half at the track, so it was difficult to perform at a high level there.
“Man, just stoked. Verizon has been a big supporter of mine for a long time and I’m stoked to see that car back in Victory Lane. Chevrolet had excellent horsepower today. Very happy, man. Very, very happy. It’s very, very well-deserved for the whole team. We worked so hard for that.”
After the caution-filled opening stanza of the race, it became a Team Penske dominated race, with it seemingly coming down to which of the trio of drivers would end the day in Victory Lane, whether it be Power, Josef Newgarden, or Scott McLaughlin.
Power bid his time between Newgarden and McLaughlin as they swapped the lead back and forth, but with one final pit stop still remaining, it would come down to which of the three could pull of the correct strategy play.
McLaughlin was the first of the three to head to pit road on Lap 41, followed by Newgarden on Lap 42, and finally Power on Lap 43.
Ultimately, it was the call for Power to stay out the longest that would put him in prime position to win the race.
Power was able to blend out ahead of Newgarden by some two seconds and it was his race to lose from that point out over the final 10 laps of the race.
Though Newgarden threw some shots at Power to try and eclipse him, Power was a man on a mission, holding steady in the final run to the finish, crossing the line 3.26 seconds ahead of the two-time and reigning Indy 500 champion to finally capture the win that has eluded him for more than two years.
“I wasn’t sure when it was going to happen. I’ve been digging all year. Sometimes it just works out,”…
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