IndyCar Iowa: Power wins from 22nd on grid, race ends in big pile-up

Will Power produced a masterful drive to capture victory in the second race of IndyCar’s double-header at Iowa Speedway.

After starting 22nd in the #12 Team Penske entry, Power vaulted up the field with an overcut pit strategy and then grabbed the lead before ultimately besting Alex Palou by 0.2590 seconds on the 0.894-mile oval.

It was the second win of the season for Power, but his first-ever at Iowa Speedway.

“Massive fuel save,” Power said, when asked by NBC how he won the race. “Just sitting in the pack, I had a really good car, really fast car, so I used that to just sit back and used that pace to save fuel and get a massive number.

“Then, once those guys pulled in, I can go hard and then we caught a yellow and that was the sort of thing we were hoping for to put us to the front and then we were able to get better fuel behind Palou and then go a couple laps longer than him and jump him.”

Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin, the winner of race one, finished third after starting on pole.

Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon was fourth, followed by Andretti Global’s Colton Herta in fifth.

Pato O’Ward (Arrow Mclaren), Josef Newgarden (Team Penske), Graham Rahal (Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing), Rinus VeeKay (Ed Carpenter Racing) and Romain Grosjean (Juncos Hollinger Racing) made up the rest of the top 10.

Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske Chevrolet

Photo by: Phillip Abbott / Motorsport Images

McLaughlin had led the field to the green flag and rolled out to a lead of six tenths through the opening 12 laps over front-row mate Palou.

Newgarden was among the early movers over that stretch, up to 10th after starting 14th.

But the key moment came when the #78 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet of Agustin Canapino spun off Turn 2 on the apron after exiting the pits shortly after McLaughlin and Palou had stopped, which brought out the caution.

Power inherited the lead and was still out on track, having yet to pit when the yellow occurred. Palou cycled back as the leader, with Power pitting on lap 107 but returning in second as a result of his overcut strategy and the well-timed caution. McLaughlin and Dixon lined up third and fourth.

Palou’s lead over Power subsequently began to shrink as the two were separated by 0.452s on lap 136. Power began to apply the pressure on Palou by lap 165, inching to within a car length before settling in behind and rolling in and out of the corners with delicate throttle control.  

McLaughlin pitted from third on lap 197, Dixon followed on lap 203, while Palou and Power remained out on track.

Palou then pitted from the lead on lap 205, while Power went one extra lap before coming in for a 5.8s stop. Power’s pitlane advantage was 0.888s over Palou, which was enough for him to cycle out ahead once both came up to speed.

Lapped traffic became the theme with 40 laps to go as Power came up on Arrow McLaren rookie Nolan Siegel, who was running 16th. The gap between Power and Palou was 0.470s with 20 laps to go, while McLaughlin was 2.9s back in third.

Palou started to close to within two car lengths with five laps to go as the lapped traffic started to mix it up and slow the pace of the leaders.

But Power remained unchallenged despite Palou closing in, coasting to his second win of the season.

A massive multi-car crash happened on the backstretch as Sting Ray Robb drove over the rear of Alexander Rossi’s slowing car. Ed Carpenter and Kyle Kirkwood spun in avoidance but all collected each other on the apron.

Robb’s #41 AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet machine flipped and rolled until coming to a stop at Turn 3. Robb needed to be assisted by the AMR Safety Crew in getting the car back upright.

He was awake and alert during medical checks but will be airlifted to hospital for further tests.

Carpenter’s left-rear tyre was on top of Kirkwood’s car, partially blocking the top of the aeroscreen, but they were unhurt.