Power Goes From 22nd To Victory Lane At Iowa

Will Power takes the checkered flag to win Sunday at Iowa Speedway. (Chris Owens/Penske Entertainment photo)

NEWTON, Iowa – Some gutsy pit strategy and a perfectly-timed caution allowed Will Power to come from 22nd to win Sunday’s Hy-Vee One Step 250 presented by Gatorade at Iowa Speedway.

In a remarkable effort, Power stayed out longer than anyone else during the first pit cycle, then found himself leading and one lap up on most of the field when Augustin Canapino spun on the backstretch to bring out the only yellow flag of the race on lap 101.

That yellow allowed Power to preserve his track position and strategize for a late fight to the finish against two-time and defending NTT IndyCar Series champion Alex Palou.

Power restarted second to Palou on lap 114, holding the runner-up spot all the way until the final round of stops began inside 60 to go.

The Australian pitted two laps later than Palou – who came down for service with 47 laps left – and used the overcut successfully to gain .888 seconds of track time against the Spaniard.

That allowed Power to cycle through to the lead on lap 209, and he never relinquished command over the final 42 circuits at the seven-eighths-mile oval.

Taking the twin checkers .3915 seconds ahead of Palou, Sunday’s result marked Power’s 43rd career win, breaking a tie with Michael Andretti for fourth on the all-time Indy car win list.

Asked how his first Iowa triumph and 10th oval victory came about, Power credited his Team Penske crew for their part in his stunning performance, with a highlight worthy 5.8-second final pit stop.

“That took massive fuel save, honestly, just sitting in the pack,” Power explained. “I had a really good car, really fast car, so I just sat back and used that pace to save fuel. I was getting a massive number, and I knew once all those guys pulled in that I could go hard. We caught a yellow – that was sort of the thing we were hoping for, was to get one of those yellows that would put us to the front.

“From there, we were able to get better fuel [mileage] behind Palou and then went a couple laps longer to jump him,” he continued. “I’ve been trying to win this race for years, so I’m over the moon. The guys did a great job. I felt really bad for them yesterday when I accidentally buttoned off on the pit speed limiter and ruined our day, but now we’re right in the game and going to fight hard to the end.”

Sunday’s race was the second leg of a doubleheader weekend at Iowa Speedway, which featured twin 250-lap events. Scott McLaughlin won the Saturday show for his sixth career win and first on an oval.

Palou, who crashed out of the first race, rebounded strong in the No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda with a runner-up finish after leading a race-high 103 laps.

It allowed Palou to retain the championship lead with six races left, though Power trimmed his deficit down to 35 points leaving Iowa Speedway Sunday.

“It was a good weekend,” Palou noted. “Yesterday was a terrible day for us. I just made too many mistakes, but we rebounded today and almost got the win. It was really tough to pass. I think nobody could pass. [Will] got us in the pits because they had a little bit more fuel [saving] than we did … but a solid P2. I’m looking forward to Toronto next week, and this was overall a good weekend.”

After starting from pole and leading the first 94 laps, McLaughlin was the first of the leaders to pit during the first cycle and ultimately lost his track position when Canapino’s spin brought out the caution.

He used the wave-around to get back on the lead lap, but ended up a disappointing third when all was said and done.

Six-time series champion Scott Dixon and Colton Herta closed the top five, followed by Pato O’Ward, Josef Newgarden, Graham Rahal, Rinus VeeKay, and Romain Grosjean.

A scary accident just after the leaders had crossed the finish line saw Sting Ray Robb go airborne and land upside down after ramping over the left-rear tire of the slowing car of Alexander Rossi.

Ed Carpenter and Kyle Kirkwood spun in the ensuing chaos, with the rear of Carpenter’s car ending up perched atop Kirkwood’s aeroscreen as their cars came to rest.

Despite the violent appearance of the four-car crash, all drivers exited their cars, with Sting Ray Robb being extricated onto a stretcher with the help of the AMR Safety Crew but giving a double thumbs up as he was loaded into a waiting ambulance.

According to a post-race update from INDYCAR, Robb was awake, alert, and in good condition, but being transported to a local hospital for further evaluation as a precaution.

The NTT IndyCar Series season continues Sunday, July 21 on the streets of Toronto with the running of the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto.

Broadcast coverage is slated for 1 p.m. ET, streaming exclusively on Peacock.