Power started from the rear of the field after crashing out of qualifying a day prior, and through raw pace and strategy found his way to the lead of the race.
On Lap 207 of 250, Rasmussen tried to go around the outside of Power after several laps of trying, only for the Andretti Global driver to close the door on his Ed Carpenter Racing rival.
Power’s right rear wheel clipped Rasmussen’s wing, and he was forced into the outside wall.
Rasmussen’s car suffered suspension damage, badly enough that he couldn’t maintain his pace and plummeted to 14th by the chequered flag.
“I think it’s very clear what happened,” said Rasmussen post-race.
“We were the class of the field today. Best car out there, so happy with the car.
Secure your spot today.
“You can’t just run people into the wall, which is what happened today.
“He ran me straight into the wall and after that I had damage.
“The car was just impossible to drive after that. I just did what I could to salvage the day and not crash the car.
“Just frustrating. Man, so frustrating, because we should have won the race today and obviously didn’t.”
Contact between Will Power and Christian Rasmussen! Power has a flat. pic.twitter.com/O5z7XfC3m8
— INDYCAR on FOX (@IndyCarOnFOX) March 7, 2026
Power pointed towards a miscommunication with his spotter for the incident, but took ownership for the clash.
“I feel bad that it ruined his race and mine,” said Power.
“I should have just left him more room, simply. It’s me getting used to a new spotter and so on.
“I’d usually be called ‘He has a wing on you’. I can’t remember what my spotter said, but it wasn’t his fault either.
“That was on me fighting for the win, trying to take his air. It was last to first.
“It was looking like that. I don’t want to sound miserable, but it’s been a rough couple of races.
“The positive is that we’re very strong on ovals now.”
Power thanked his Andretti Global team for rebuilding his car overnight following his qualifying crash.
“I’m obviously disappointed with the result,” he said.
“It was an amazing race. We had very good cars. The team did an amazing job. I obviously crashed my car really badly, they rebuilt it.
“We had the best cars out there. Getting through traffic and everything was quite easy and quite good for us – both me and Kyle (Kirkwood).”
IndyCar returns on March 16 with the Grand Prix of Arlington.
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