A third Grand Prix of Long Beach victory to join the event’s all time greats is the target Will Power is setting himself this weekend.
The Toowoomba ace has made an impressive start to the new IndyCar season after victory in the opening race at St Petersburg extended his hot streak of consecutive series race wins to three. His run stretches back to the Grand Prix of Houston in October last year.
Power has a special affinity with Long Beach after recording two victories on the tough Californian streets in 2008 and 2012, including his maiden IndyCar triumph.
The Penske driver heads into this weekend’s 40th edition of the event arguably in the form of his life and is desperate to maintain his scorching start to the 2014 campaign.
A third victory at Long Beach would see him move to tied third on the event’s all time winners list only beaten by legends Al Unser jr, Mario Andretti and Paul Tracy.
Achieving the feat is high on the 33-year-old’s wish list.
“It was an awesome feeling to win the first race of the IndyCar Series. Now I want to win the first two races of the season,” said Power.
“Long Beach is a ton of fun – a tough street circuit and a great place to showcase our sport.
“I’ve been fortunate to win there twice in my career. A third win would be huge for us there with all the history and prestige that is part of Long Beach.
“Long Beach was my first IndyCar race in America and it was my last win before moving to Team Penske, so it’s really a special place for me.
“Winning at Long Beach is an accomplishment that means a lot to me because it’s one of those tracks that is legendary.
“I think the recognition with winning Long Beach really ranks high on the list and it’s very cool all of the history behind the race.”
The Grand Prix of Long Beach will celebrate 40 years of racing on the famous Californian street circuit this weekend.
Speedcafe.com has marked the milestone with a series of special features this week.
Part 1: How the Long Beach started
Part 2: Alan Jones’ perfect start to world championship defence
Part 3: John Watson’s record breaking triumph
Part 4: Mario Andretti saves Long Beach GP again
Part 5: Long Beach’s IndyCar glory years
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