Power Races To Victory At Watkins Glen
by Joe Jennings
7/4/2010

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Watkins Glen, N. Y. - Will Power celebrated the 4th of July in Watkins Glen with a resounding victory in the Camping World Grand Prix at The Glen, the ninth race of the IZOD IndyCar Series season. Driving for Team Penske, which had won six consecutive poles at Watkins Glen International, Power gave the super team its first IndyCar triumph on the historic circuit.

A large, sun-baked crowd endured 90 degree temperatures to watch the 60-lap race run on the 3.4-mile road course.

Starting from the pole, Power led three times for a total of 45 laps, to include the final 16 circuits.

Power scored his third IZOD IndyCar Series victory of the season and his fourth in two years. In his IndyCar career, he has earned 25 top-five finishes for a .400 record.

Although Team Penske hadn't won an IndyCar Series race at The Glen, it had won three CART events dating back to the 1979 to 1981 era with Bobby Unser winning twice and Rick Mears once. The powerhouse team now has 59 road course/street track wins out of its 149 career victories, the most of any open-wheel race team.

"I wanted to win this race badly, as I haven't won in a long while," Power said. "And I enjoyed the race a lot. I won on determination as I wanted it very much."

Concerning his pass of teammate Ryan Briscoe for the lead on the 44th lap, Power stated, "I knew my only chance for passing Ryan (Briscoe) was on the restart. The track was very slippery at that point, so I attacked very hard, and that was the key to winning the race."

Power enjoys a 32-point advantage in the run for the championship but said he doesn't feel comfortable with the lead margin. "You can have a bad race and it all goes away," he said. "This year the way the point system is you have to win races to win the championship."

As the race wound down, Briscoe dropped to third behind Dario Franchitti after Power took the lead, but he driver stepped up the pace at the end, re-passing Franchitti on the last lap to claim the runner-up position for Team Penske.

"Will (Power) was strong," Briscoe said. "We had a lot more down force in the car, and I was just a big parachute going down the back straightaway. Power and Franchitti came from nowhere to drive around me. It was a little bit frustrating, but with the down force I was able to look after my red tires more than Dario. He was hanging on for dear life at the end, and his tires went off a lap sooner than mine, so I was able to get him."

Franchitti persevered for third place in the Target Chip Ganassi Racing car. Said the 2010 Indianapolis 500 winner, "I was catching Will (Power), but I used up my tires too much, over using them. Ryan (Briscoe) was getting closer to me, and I made a mistake, allowing him to get past me. I'm disappointed with the last lap, but it was a fun race and a fun place to race."

Raphael Matos earned fourth place, tying his career-best finish. He drove the HP de Ferran Dragon.

Mario Moraes raced the KV Racing Technology entry to fifth place, which was a season-best finish.

Sixth through 10th were Dan Wheldon, 2008 winner Ryan Hunter-Reay, Scott Dixon, Helio Castroneves and 2009 winner Justin Wilson.

Early in the race Dixon and Castroneves tangled, forcing both to the pits for new tires and putting them out of sync with the rest of the field.

Two caution flags slowed the race for five laps, for a spin by Wheldon and a minor incident involving Simona de Silvestro.





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