Power wins shortened IndyCar race at Pocono

LONG POND, Pa. (AP) — The black clouds that enveloped Pocono and officially brought the IndyCar race to a premature end didn’t appear until the halfway point. But they’ve really been hanging over the track since the series returned to the mountains in 2013.

A fatal crash. A promising career wrecked by paralysis. And again Sunday, a first-lap demolition derby that sent another driver to the hospital and stirred an angry mob howling for IndyCar to get the heck out of town once and for all.

It may be a moot point, IndyCar and Pocono don’t have a deal for a 2020 race.

But for Robert Wickens, the Canadian confined to a wheelchair after last year’s accident, IndyCar has no place on the 2 1/2-mile superspeedway.

“How many times do we have to go through the same situation before we can all accept that an IndyCar should not race at Pocono,” he tweeted.

The counter argument was posed from the Australian snapping victory lane photos inside a cramped Pocono media center as rain pounded the track outside. Will Power was in the right position Sunday to claim the win when lightning struck in the area to not only win the race, he ended the potential for his first winless season since 2006 and he took the checkered flag at Pocono for the third time in four years.

“I really hope we come back, I do,” Power said. “It’s hard for us to find good ovals that suit our cars.”

IndyCar races Saturday at Gateway International Raceway. Power won the race.