Power Romps In St. Pete

Will Power in victory lane with runner-up Ryan Hunter-Reay and third-place driver and teammate Helio Castroneves. [Joe Jennings Photo]

St. Petersburg, Fla. – Will Power romped in the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, the 110-lap street race that marked the opening of the Verizon IndyCar Series season.

Ryan Hunter-Reay finished second followed closely by Helio Castroneves and Scott Dixon.  Simon Pagenaud earned the fifth spot.

Starting fourth in the Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet, Power moved into contention early and overtook Takuma Sato on the 33^rd lap for the lead.  From that point on, he was untouchable while racing to his 22^nd career victory and second triumph on the 1.8-mile street course.  Including the final two events in 2013, Power has a three-race win streak going.

Said the jubilant winner, “It is the perfect way to start the season.  We struggled a little bit earlier in the weekend, but we made a good race car.  I didn’t think anyone had anything for Takuma Sato as he was so fast, but we worked hard to do it today.  It was a real team effort.”

Going into the race, Power wasn’t expecting to be competitive.  “Today, we had good team strategy and good pit stops.  I had a good car and did mistake-free driving.  Our hard work paid off.”

Power’s margin of victory was 1.9475 seconds, and he led 74 laps in the convincing win.  However, he also stirred up controversy for his action on a late-race restart.  Several of his foes thought he may have brake-checked the field, triggering an accordion effect on the tightly bunched line-up.

The race was caution-free for the first 75 laps, and the first yellow was for a spin-out.  On the restart, Power didn’t seem to charge ahead as everyone behind him thought he would, setting up an accordion effect on the field and eliminating two cars far back in the field.  The incident triggered the only controversy of the race, as more than one driver thought Power was toying with them.

Power rejected the notion and indicated he was minding his own business.  “When the pace car pulls off, you set the pace and I wasn’t even in the (restart) zone,” he said.  “They threw the green before I was in the zone, which was confusing to me.  And to me the only problem people would have is if they laid back to get a big run.  I didn’t touch the brakes, and I was in first gear.

“Helio (Castroneves) was getting out of line, which is why I lifted off the throttle.  I thought he was going to jump the restart like he did last year and get the lead, so I wasn’t going to let that happen.  Thereafter, I just went.”

Ryan Hunter-Reay gained one spot and made a valiant but unsuccessful attempt to catch Power.   He finished second followed by Helio Castroneves, Scott Dixon and Simon Pagenaud.

Said Hunter-Reay, “This is our first race with Honda, and it is great to get some early points on the board, as they are difficult to come by later on.  It was a good day for the No. 28 DHL team, and we had to fight pretty hard for it.  The Penske cars were quick, and we really had to hustle the car to keep up with them.”

Regarding the late-race restart, Hunter-Reay stated, “I had a feeling after the pace car pulled off, he (Power) was going to stack up everybody, slow down to his own pace to get an advantage.   I was expecting it, but I guess Helio wasn’t.  We’ve always had stack-ups, but it’s just that this one was pretty bad.”

On that restart, Castroneves was in second but dropped back a spot when Power slowed.  “I wasn’t expecting him to do what he did,” he said.  “I expected constant speed, and we didn’t have it.  You just have to learn from your competitors¸ and I am glad I wasn’t back in the field.  This little trick didn’t take anything away from the good job he did.”

Behind the front five were Tony Kanaan, Sato, Justin Wilson, Josef Newgarden and Ryan Briscoe.

Juan Pablo Montoya was never in contention, ending up 15^th.   “There are a few things we have to do better, but I don’t think my pace was too bad there at the end,” he said.  “It’s going to be a lot of work, but I am very excited.”

The series races next in the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach in two weeks.

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