Perfect Power wins at Iowa in strategic masterclass

A well-timed caution was all it took for Will Power to go from the depths of the field to score his first IndyCar Series win at Iowa Speedway.

On Sunday, Power gave away an easy top five finish when he was caught speeding in the pit lane and fell from the lead lap.

He capped off the first race in the Iowa double-header by crashing into Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing driver Pietro Fittipaldi, which took Ed Carpenter out of the race too.

Agony turned to elation for Power a day later after he rose from 23rd to first with a strategic masterclass.

Power now sits 35 points behind ladder leader Alex Palou, who finished second for Chip Ganassi Racing in Monday morning’s race.

Initially, it was Power’s teammate Scott McLaughlin who controlled proceedings for Team Penske ahead of Palou and his Chip Ganassi Racing off-sider Scott Dixon.

Green flag pit stops began in earnest as lap 100 approached. McLaughlin was the first of the leading pack to pit while Palou ran long.

A spin from @AgustinCanapino brings out the caution.

A big break for @AlexPalou in the pits!

📺: #INDYCARatIowa on NBC and Peacock pic.twitter.com/LgXZVfbCC5

— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) July 14, 2024

However, Power ran the longest of all and rose to the lead of the race as the caution was called for Juncos Hollinger Racing’s Agustin Canapino who spun on the apron.

With Power at the head of the field and yet to pit, he vaulted to second place once he completed his pit stop.

From there, Power sat behind Palou until the second sequence of pit stops, which proved decisive.

Palou pitted on lap 205 with less than a one-second advantage over Power.

The Spaniard’s pit stop was comparatively slow at 6.3 seconds while Power, who ran longer, completed his pit stop in just 5.8 seconds.

The Australian returned to the track just in front of Palou and held him at bay from there.

What a charge into the lead for @12WillPower!

Will it be the pass for the win?

📺: #INDYCARatIowa on NBC and Peacock pic.twitter.com/NfCBxBJhkc

— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) July 14, 2024

Despite lapped traffic stifling his run to the chequered flag, Power maintained his lead to take victory.

Asked what made the difference, Power said: “Massive fuel save. Honestly, just sitting in the pack.

“I had a really good car, a 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 I could go hard. Then we caught a yellow. That was the thing we were hoping for was to get one of those yellows.

“That put us to the front and then we were able to get better fuel behind Palou and then go a couple laps longer than him.

“I’ve been trying to win this race for years. Over the moon. The guys did a great job. I felt really bad yesterday when I accidentally buttoned off on the pit speed limiter and ruined our day. We’re right in the game.”

Palou was pleased to finish second after Sunday’s horror show. A mistake on pit lane was compounded when the #10 driver spun out and hit the wall while trying to recover.

“Yesterday was a terrible day for us,” he said.

“Just made too many mistakes but rebounded today, almost got the win. It was really tough to pass. I think nobody could pass. They got us on the pits because they saved a little more fuel. Same as what we did to the #3 car. Solid P2, looking forward to Toronto.”

After winning Sunday’s race, McLaughlin came home third on Monday. He was an unlucky victim of the yellow having been first to pit.

“We probably caught the yellow at the wrong time there in that first run,” said McLaughlin.

“Like you said, a first and a third, I’ll take that.”

The IndyCar Series continues in a week on the streets of Toronto on July 22.

IndyCar Series, Hy-Vee One Step 250: