Will Power converts pole to Road America win

Will Power has prevailed in a thrilling finish with victory in the Kohler Grand Prix amid a bumper crowd at Wisconsin’s Road America circuit.

After a nine-year absence the IndyCar Series returned to the time-honoured Elkhart Lake layout with Power seizing his second win of 2016.

Power (Team Penske) beat Chip Ganassi’s Tony Kanaan with Graham Rahal (Rahal/Letterman/Lanigan) third.

Kanaan launched a determined bid to challenge Power in the closing laps before the 2014 series champion prevailed by .7s at the chequered flag.

“TK (Tony Kanaan) had the reds on and was coming hard. He was quick all race. I had my work cut out and did everything I could to stay ahead. I’m stoked to get the Verizon car to Victory Lane,” Power said.

Series leader Simon Pagenaud (Team Penske) was caught short following a restart after making a strong challenge to the leaders before ultimately finishing 13th.

Pagenaud lost several positions when the green flag waved again in the closing stages with electrical issues.

Power’s 27th career victory sees him leap from seventh to third in the standings.

The Toowoomba ace has moved level with Johnny Rutherford for 13th on the all-time wins list after a comprehensive effort where he led 46 of the 50 laps.

The race ran green until 10 laps before the finish when Conor Daly went off at Turn 1.

Reigning series champion Scott Dixon has lost valuable ground in his quest for a fifth crown when he retired after a handful of laps with mechanical problems in his Chip Ganassi machine.

The Kiwi drops from second in the points to fourth.

The result sees Team Penske drivers fill the first three positions in the points with Pagenaud now leading by 74 from Helio Castroneves who claimed fifth in the 50-lap race just behind Ryan Hunter-Reay (Andretti Autosport).

Pagenaud managed to escape with minimal damage to his lead as he went into the weekend with an 80-points advantage.

Charlie Kimball (Chip Ganassi Racing) and Juan Montoya (Team Penske) were sixth and seventh.

Ed Carpenter Racing’s Josef Newgarden finished eighth in a decent reward for his brave comeback from shoulder and hand fractures at the recent Texas race.

Spencer Pigot (Ed Carpenter Racing) and Carlos Munoz (Andretti Autosport) completed the top 10.

See below for full results

Points standings