Will Power wins the IndyCar Series race at Iowa Speedway, which ended with a crash involving all four cars on the last lap

JOHN BOHNENKAMP, Associated Press

10 minutes ago

Alex Palou (10) leads Will Power during an IndyCar auto race Sunday, July 14, 2024, at Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

NEWTON, Iowa (AP) — On Sunday, Will Power was responsible for Team Penske’s success at Iowa Speedway.

Power made his breakthrough on the 1.44-kilometer oval and took his first IndyCar Series victory in Iowa. The race ended with all four cars crashing on the final lap.

Power had already crossed the finish line when Sting Ray Robb’s car overturned after clipping Alexander Rossi’s car in the second turn. The car slid down the back straight on its roof while Rossi’s car collided with the cars of Kyle Kirkwood and Ed Carpenter, with Carpenter’s car landing on top of Kirkwood’s.

Robb gave a thumbs up as he was carried on a stretcher into an ambulance. He was then flown to Mercy Medical Center in Des Moines for further evaluation, although IndyCar Series officials said he was in good condition.

Power won by 0.3915 seconds over second-place driver Alex Palou. Scott McLaughlin, who won Saturday’s doubleheader, finished third.

Power, who led 50 laps of the 250-lap race, has always been quick on the 1.44-kilometer oval – he has won seven pole positions here in his career – but has only finished on the podium five times in 18 starts. He finished 18th in Saturday’s race after starting fourth.

“I’m excited to have checked that box,” Power said. “I’ve won a lot of races at a lot of tracks. When you check a box at a track you haven’t won at yet, it feels pretty good.”

But this weekend, Penske drivers reached milestones at a track where the team has had such success. McLaughlin took his first career oval win on Saturday, and then Power took his victory at a track that was partially repaved in the spring, limiting the space for passing.

“It’s funny because I’ve been trying to win this for so long,” Power said. “I think I finished second a couple of times before the resurfacing and I was really trying to win. I didn’t really think I would win today. You know how life is, it just happens.”

It was Powers’ 43rd career IndyCar victory, his first on an oval since his victory at Pocono in 2019.

It was Penske’s ninth win in IndyCar races at this track and the team’s third win at this track this season – Ryan Blaney won the NASCAR Cup Series race in June.

Power, who started from 22nd on Sunday, moved up to second place on the first round of pit stops and then took the lead on lap 209 after being almost nine-tenths of a second faster than Palou during his second pit stop three laps earlier.

“My plan from the beginning was to sit back and save a lot of gas, just do the best number (of laps) I could by using the speed and pushing the throttle,” Power said. “I felt like we had a better car than Alex. … Great stops as always from my guys. They’re the best on pit road. You don’t have to just take my word for it. Just look at the times every time. I’m lucky with that.”

Fears that the partial resurfacing of the corners in May would turn the oval into a single-lane track persisted throughout the weekend. There was little change among the top 10 drivers until the first round of pit stops, which began on lap 94, and then Palou was able to take the lead.

Palou stayed out until lap 100 and as he was coming down the pit lane, Agustin Canapino spun exiting the pit lane, which triggered a yellow flag and gave Palou an advantage over the cars that had pitted. Power only pitted after the yellow period and came out of the pit lane second behind Palou.

Palou, who led 103 laps, said the race had become “boring” due to the lack of overtaking.

“This is the most boring thing I’ve ever done,” he said. “It was the same yesterday. Yes, it’s a shame we couldn’t put on a better show. I think everyone will agree that it was a very boring race.”

Palou left the doubleheader still leading the series standings with 379 points. Power is second with 344 points and Pato O’Ward is third with 327 points.

“Yeah, the guy next to me doesn’t make many mistakes,” said McLaughlin, who closed the gap to Palou by 64 points after the weekend and is fifth in the overall standings. “When he makes mistakes, you have to capitalize on them.”

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