Cheating scandal scars stopped Aussie's charge
Will Power has admitted the cheating scandal hanging over Team Penske changed his approach to racing teammate Scott McLaughlin for the win at Barber Motorsports Park.
All three of Team Penske’s entries were impacted by the investigation, which found the cars had been in breach of the rules.
Former IndyCar series leader Josef Newgarden was disqualified as was teammate McLaughlin, both for using Push-to-Pass when it wasn’t available.
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Power was not disqualified having not used Push-to-Pass illegally, but was docked 10 points for having the capacity to do so.
Despite the controversy hanging over their head, Team Penske stood on top of the podium in Alabama with McLaughlin leading Power to the chequered flag.
The pair engaged in a brief but fierce battle in the final stanza of the race that ultimately ended with McLaughlin prevailing.
“It was aggressive. It was combative, actually,” Power explained.
“The thing is, when you’ve been running at the front in very clean air and hard, you get back there with all that dirty air, how much the car moves around… you’re not ready for it when it first restarts.
“You’ve got to get used to the car being very much on top of the road again. You’re also thinking in your head Scott and I (are) racing potentially for the win, but we’re in the pack. The risk versus reward, you’re kind of trying to decide.
“I think I wasn’t aggressive enough. I should have worked harder to keep Scott behind. I didn’t block him. With everything that’s happened this week, I just didn’t want to bloody have two Penske cars off in turn one. I just kind of let it go.
“I was happy for the team to get that, though. I was. I’ve been around long enough where you actually are happy for the team. You’re not so selfish. When you’re young like him, you’ve just got to go. Understandably, because you want to have a long time in this series.”
“Man, I’m knocking on the door of a win” 👀
Hear from second-place finisher @12WillPower after the #INDYBHM.#INDYCAR // @Team_Penske pic.twitter.com/XuuAcTZ6BR
— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) April 28, 2024
If not for the 10-point deduction, Power would be atop the points heading into the all-important month of May.
Instead, he sits second on 100 points behind Andretti Global’s Colton Herta who has a one-point advantage.
First through fourth is covered by a meagre seven points with Chip Ganassi Racing duo Alex Palou and Scott Dixon holding down third and fourth respectively.
Power is still searching for his first win of the year but is conscious that finishing at the pointy end of the field will put him in the best position for a third IndyCar title.
A new championship points leader, and some major Top-10 shakeups 📈
Here’s how the standings stack up after 3 races. #INDYCAR // #INDYBHM pic.twitter.com/gtWngdxUwj
— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) April 29, 2024
“It kind of feels like business as normal, but the one thing that I’m missing is a win,” he said.
“That’s really starting to add weight to me. I want to get a bloody win.
“I was a little disappointed not to win when I have the chance like that. On the other hand, you look at the championship points and it’s a smart day, another smart day.
“We’re in a good spot going into the month of May. It would be nice to sweep it. That would be big.”
IndyCar resumes on May 12 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.