March 28, 2024

Will Power wins IndyCar race at Pocono

LONG POND, Pa. (AP) — Will Power continued his late-season surge, holding pole-sitter Mikhail Aleshin at bay after a final restart and won the IndyCar race at Pocono Raceway on Monday.

It was the fourth win in the past six races for Power, 29th of his career, and cut the lead of Team Penske teammate Simon Pagenaud to 20 points in the standings with three races remaining in the season.

After crashing late, Pagenaud finished 18th in the 500-mile race, which was postponed a day by rain.

Defending race winner Ryan Hunter-Reay finished third, Josef Newgarden was fourth, and Sebastien Bourdais fifth thanks to late-race tire strategy. Scott Dixon, Carlos Munoz, Juan Pablo Montoya, Tony Kanaan and James Hinchcliffe rounded out the top 10.

A year ago, Hunter-Reay won a crash-filled race at Pocono that took the life of Englishman Justin Wilson. He suffered a severe head injury when struck in the helmet by debris from a late-race crash and died the day after the race.

Pocono Raceway painted JW on the track at the finish line and Union Jacks flew at half-staff in honor of the Englishman. Both Wilson and open-wheel driver Bryan Clauson, who was killed two weeks ago in a crash in Kansas, were remembered in the pre-race prayer and with a moment of silence.

Hunter-Reay and Aleshin took turns in the lead for the first two-thirds of the race, with Hunter-Reay content to ride second as both drivers methodically had a flawless race on the track and in the pits.

Hunter-Reay passed Aleshin for the lead on lap 134, and the 29-year-old Russian began dropping back. He was fourth on lap 142 after Power surged past.

The complexion of the race and the points race changed after Pagenaud hit the wall to bring out a caution. His No. 22 bottomed out and he lost the steering before crashing.

Hunter-Reay took the lead on the restart, and after zooming through the first turn began to slow with electrical problems. He coasted through the pits trying to restart it, got it going again, but fell a lap down.

That gave Power the lead, and after a debris caution on lap 176, Power exited the pits in first place as Hunter-Reay got back on the lead lap with a chance. He just ran out of laps after weaving his way back to third.

Aleshin tried to challenge one final time but Power pulled away over the final 20 laps.