Toowoomba ace Will Power has started his IndyCar campaign in fine style by dominating the opening round at the St Petersburg street race Florida.
Starting from fourth position Power took the race by the scruff of the neck to lead his #12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet to victory in the 110-lap race.
The win emulates his effort in 2010 when he took the race after scoring pole position.
It was the 22nd IndyCar career victory for Power who is a strong chance of cracking a maiden win in the series this season.
Ryan Hunter-Reay (Andretti Autosport) finished second, just under 2s in arrears of the Queenslander with Power’s team-mate Helio Castroneves finishing third.
“I’m pretty tired; mentally tired. Stoked to get the first win for Verizon as a series sponsor,” Power said who had won the pole at this event the previous four years running.
Secure your spot today.
Defending series champion Scott Dixon (Chip Ganassi) finished fourth ahead of Simon Pagenaud (Schmidt Peterson Hamilton).
The polesitter Takuma Sato was seventh just behind Chip Ganassi’s Tony Kanaan.
Power claimed two bonus points for leading the most laps.
The third Team Penske driver, the 2000 Indy 500 winner Juan Montoya finished 15th after starting 18th in his IndyCar series return, 15 years after taking the CART title.
Former Penske driver Ryan Briscoe, back full-time in 2014 with Chip Ganassi, finished 10th.
VIDEO: Race Highlights
See below for full results of St Petersburg
| 1 | Will Power | Penske/Chevy | 2:06.57.6288s |
| 2 | Ryan Hunter-Reay | Andretti/Honda | +1.9475 |
| 3 | Helio Castroneves | Penske/Chevy | +7.8716 |
| 4 | Scott Dixon | Ganassi/Chevy | +15.9685 |
| 5 | Simon Pagenaud | Schmidt/Honda | +17.3937 |
| 6 | Tony Kanaan | Ganassi/Chevy | +20.3882 |
| 7 | Takuma Sato | Foyt/Honda | +20.8561 |
| 8 | Justin Wilson | Coyne/Honda | +21.0622 |
| 9 | Josef Newgarden | Fisher/Honda | +21.5544 |
| 10 | Ryan Briscoe | Ganassi/Chevy | +23.9897 |
| 11 | Sebastian Saavedra | KV/Chevy | +34.4041 |
| 12 | Mikhail Aleshin | Schmidt/Honda | +34.9969 |
| 13 | Sebastien Bourdais | KV/Chevy | +35.3526 |
| 14 | Graham Rahal | Rahal/Honda | +38.9881 |
| 15 | Juan Pablo Montoya | Penske/Chevy | +40.3350 |
| 16 | Mike Conway | Carpenter/Chevy | +40.9140 |
| 17 | Carlos Munoz | Andretti/Honda | +44.6244 |
| 18 | Carlos Huertas | Coyne/Honda | +47.5637 |
| 19 | James Hinchcliffe | Andretti/Honda | +1 lap |
| 20 | Charlie Kimball | Ganassi/Chevy | 108 laps |
| 21 | Jack Hawksworth | Herta/Honda | 83 laps |
| 22 | Marco Andretti | Andretti/Honda | 82 laps |
See below for IndyCar points standings
| Pos | Driver | Points |
| 1 | Will Power | 53 |
| 2 | Ryan Hunter-Reay | 40 |
| 3 | Hélio Castroneves | 36 |
| 4 | Scott Dixon | 32 |
| 5 | Simon Pagenaud | 30 |
| 6 | Tony Kanaan | 28 |
| 7 | Takuma Sato | 28 |
| 8 | Justin Wilson | 24 |
| 9 | Josef Newgarden | 22 |
| 10 | Ryan Briscoe | 20 |
| 11 | Sebastian Saavedra | 19 |
| 12 | Mikhail Aleshin | 18 |
| 13 | Sébastien Bourdais | 17 |
| 14 | Graham Rahal | 16 |
| 15 | Juan Pablo Montoya | 15 |
| 16 | Mike Conway | 15 |
| 17 | Carlos Muñoz | 13 |
| 18 | Carlos Huertas | 12 |
| 19 | James Hinchcliffe | 11 |
| 20 | Charlie Kimball | 10 |
| 21 | Jack Hawksworth | 9 |
| 22 | Marco Andretti | 8 |
