IndyCar: Power Wins Thriller at Road America

The Verizon IndyCar Series’ return to Road America may also be the return of Will Power. The Team Penske ace erased memories of his early struggles with a dominant performance in the rolling hills of Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin.

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Power, whose season turnaround started with a win just weeks ago at the Dual in Detroit, stormed to the pole position in qualifying and never looked back after the green flag fell on the Kohler Grand Prix on Sunday.

Early in the race, Power held off Chip Ganassi Racing teammates Scott Dixon and Tony Kanaan before a broken header took Dixon out of the race and allowed Power to build a gap on the field. By the halfway point of the race, he held a five-second lead on the car behind him.

Team Penske’s usual brilliant work in the pits and Power’s ability to stretch an extra lap out of each stint allowed the number 12 car to maintain the advantage.

The only caution of the day came when Dale Coyne Racing driver Conor Daly had a component on the rear of the car break while trying to drive deep into Turn 1, causing him to spin into the tire barrier.

The resulting caution bunched up the field and set up a seven-lap shootout between Power, Simon Pagenaud, Kanaan, and Graham Rahal.

It became a sprint for second place, as Power jumped ahead at the line and left no doubt he would win the race. But behind him, the action was furious.

Rahal dove to either side of Kanaan but he couldn’t get the pass completed. Then Kanaan, who was on the softer and faster red sidewall tires, got a huge run on Pagenaud. He put a wheel in the grass as he strong-armed his way around the Menards car. Rahal followed suit just a few turns later.

The injured Josef Newgarden fought through painful injuries for his Top Ten finish in the KOHLER Grand Prix at Road America. Credit: Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports /

Pagenaud’s engine began to misfire and he was swallowed up by the field, causing him to drop all the way from second to thirteenth.

The injured Josef Newgarden, who started the race with serious hand and clavicle injuries due to a crash at Texas Motor Speedway, was among those who slipped past. Newgarden was able to fight through the pain and earn an eighth place finish.

At the front, it was only Kanaan who could get close to Power. With just two laps to go, Kanaan stalked the Verizon car through each corner and down every straight.

The two drivers laid down some of the smoothest laps of the day as they played a game of cat and mouse all the way to the finish. In the end, Power took the top step on the podium and Kanaan and Rahal filled out the other two spots.

The Kohler Grand Prix may turn out to be the beginning of a championship comeback for Power. The win catapults him to third in the standings behind his teammates Pagenaud and Helio Castroneves, despite missing the first race of the season and struggling for much of the early part of the schedule. In three weeks, he now has two victories and is just 81 points back of Pagenaud.

Here are the full results from the 2016 Kohler Grand Prix at Road America:

Will Power, Chevrolet, Team Penske
Tony Kanaan, Chevrolet, Chip Ganassi Racing Teams
Graham Rahal, Honda, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
Ryan Hunter-Reay, Honda, Andretti Autosport
Helio Castroneves, Chevrolet, Team Penske
Charlie Kimball, Chevrolet, Chip Ganassi Racing Teams
Juan Pablo Montoya, Chevrolet, Team Penske
Josef Newgarden, Chevrolet, Ed Carpenter Racing
Spencer Pigot, Chevrolet, Ed Carpenter Racing
Carlos Munoz, Honda, Andretti Autosport
Jack Hawksworth, Honda, A.J. Foyt Racing
Marco Andretti, Honda, Andretti Autosport
Simon Pagenaud, Chevrolet, Team Penske
James Hinchcliffe, Honda, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
Alexander Rossi, Honda, Andretti Autosport
Mikhail Aleshin, Honda, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
Takuma Sato, Honda, A.J. Foyt Racing
Sebastien Bourdais, Chevrolet, KVSH Racing
Gabby Chaves, Honda, Dale Coyne Racing
Max Chilton, Chevrolet, Chip Ganassi Racing Teams
Conor Daly, Honda, Dale Coyne Racing
Scott Dixon, Chevrolet, Chip Ganassi Racing Teams

Next: IndyCar Race Day Rewind: Road America 2001

The next race for the Verizon IndyCar Series is the Iowa Corn 300 at the Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa. The race is scheduled for Sunday, July 10. It will air on the NBC Sports Network with the broadcast beginning on 5:00 p.m. ET.