He twice came close to prising the effective lead from Christian Lundgaard before traffic handed let Palou the ascendancy during the second of three pit stop cycles.
With regular Strategist Ron Ruzewski suspended, Power’s Race Engineer David Faustino is on double duty, and he reportedly admitted to NBC Sports pit report Marty Snider that he might have erred in how he managed the only set of new soft tyres which Car #12 had for the race.
Power had spent only 20 laps on his ‘sticker’ reds when he suddenly dived into the pits on Lap 39 in an ultimately unsuccessful bid to undercut Lundgaard, who was almost as deep into a stint on used reds.
“This [second place] is what was available today,” said the two-time IndyCar champion.
“Yes, you do get sick of finishing second [but] you’re just racing very tough people.
Secure your spot today.
“If you’re not exactly perfect, you won’t win. I wasn’t exactly perfect in qualifying, and I didn’t win.
“I think if we had gone longer on that second stint, it would’ve kept Palou behind us. He wouldn’t have been able to use his speed.
“Then, maybe we jump Lundgaard on the pit stop.
“I mean, I don’t know. We thought that was the best option at the time. I thought that too. I thought the undercut would be good.
“It was slightly cold today, so the overcut wasn’t bad. All you can do is your best.
“I’m driving really well, and my crew is the best on pit lane.
“We’re the quickest guys on pit lane, so every time the Verizon Chevy stopped, we had a good shot at jumping someone.
“That’s actually what happened to get second [in the final pit stop cycle].”
Penske is yet to confirm crews for the Indy 500 after it suspended four people, including President Tim Cindric, over the push-to-pass scandal, although Power is expecting Faustino will continue to call his strategy in the Month of May.
“I anticipate he will be at the 500,” remarked the Queenslander.
“I expect that to be the case, I think. I can’t see why not.
“He did a very good job. Didn’t really have any issues. He’s done it for so long.
“Ultimately, he has a lot to do with the strategy anyway. He just doesn’t call it.
“Yeah, I would expect him to be in that same position.”
Power had another chance to grab the lead when the race restarted from its only Caution period, on lap 69, but was run wide by a defensive Palou at Turn 1.
He said he also struggled just to get a run onto the main straight to take the green flag again.
“It was just a solid day; just didn’t quite have enough on that restart,” explained the 2018 Indy 500 winner.
“I had to lift coming into the last corner, just had too much push. Had to lift, otherwise would have been an interesting battle into Turn 1.
“I didn’t know whether to go for the inside or the outside but he made it very clear he was going to blow up the inside, so I kind of went the outside.
“Just wasn’t far enough along to make it work.”
Power retains second on the series standings, 12 points behind Palou, ahead of the 2024 Indy 500.
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