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Will Power says he is motivated to win this year’s IndyCar Series for his crew as much as himself.
The Team Penske driver extended his margin at the top of the points table to 20 with his second place at Portland, meaning a podium at Laguna Seca would be good enough regardless of what others do.
Power is a veteran of IndyCar with this being his 16th full-time season in that category or the Champ Car World Series, and equalled the legendary Mario Andretti’s record of 67 pole positions in the event prior to that of Portland.
However, he has only won either of the big prizes just twice, namely the 2014 series title and the 2018 Indianapolis 500.
Before and after those triumphs, the Queenslander has copped more than his fair share of bad luck, as well as making some missteps of his own, and his record is arguably less than his talent deserves.
“I just want to win this championship for the guys who have been with me for more than a decade, like my engineer Dave [Faustino] and my data acquisition guy Robbie [Atkinson] and the group,” he said.
“It’s a lot less selfish for me this time around because they deserve it.
“I feel their pain over the years of losing so many. I’d love to win it for them.”
Power started on the front row at Portland but dropped a spot to Christian Lundgaard when they ran through the Chicane for the first time.
He would recover it in the first pit stop cycle, but could not seriously get at team-mate and eventual winner Scott McLaughlin, with both opting for used alternate tyres for the run home.
Scott Dixon, one of Power’s two biggest threats next weekend at Laguna Seca, finished only four tenths back in third in the end, and would express his surprise that Penske did not execute team orders in that final stint.
However, that Dixon closed in on the #12 Chevrolet was hardly the biggest scare in the closing stages, with Power getting hit by Pato O’Ward at the Chicane when the McLaren SP driver made a desperate bid to keep his own series hopes alive with an attempted pass at the Lap 89 restart.
“The red was a lot better for us,” said Power of his tyre choice for the final stint.
“The black tyre [primary compound] just never really came on and we never really had a good balance with it.
“It was a tough decision because those reds had a lot of laps on them, but I still feel like we would have been quicker over the stint. It was the right move and a good move.
“It would have been tough on the restart without it, so it was a good call by the guys.
“We had good strategy all day. If Lundgaard hadn’t gotten us at the start, we could have had a shot at Scott [McLaughlin.
“It’s another day where we did everything we could.
“We had a little get-together with Pato so luckily that came out alright.”
Chip Ganassi Racing’s Dixon and Penske’s Josef Newgarden are tied for second in the series ahead of the finale at Laguna Seca, with Marcus Ericsson 39 points off the pace and McLaughlin mathematically still alive at a further two points behind.
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