Will Power Believes Second Championship Is Within Reach
After collecting his third race victory in four outings, Team Penske driver Will Power thinks the five races left on the Verizon IndyCar Series calendar are more than enough to close the gap between himself and points leader Simon Pagenaud.
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After winning at the 2016 Honda Indy Toronto this weekend, Will Power managed to chip away another chunk of the points that separate him and Simon Pagenaud in the championship standings. He entered Sunday’s race 75 points behind Pagenaud, and is now just 47 points out with five races remaining.
“It’s good to get this momentum for the team going forward for the rest of the championship,” Power said at the post-race press conference. “[There are] five [races] to go, all good tracks for me. If we can close that gap going into Sonoma, we can do this. We can win this championship, absolutely.
“As long as it’s mathematically possible, you should never give up,” he continued. “[Scott] Dixon has been the example of that, year after year. He said to me the other day, with six to go [in 2015], he was 90 back. Just shows you how quickly that can change. He’s got to keep at it and not get desperate.”
While it might be mathematically possible, Power told reporters that the arithmetic of the situation is the least of his concerns. Execution will be the main focus moving forward for the 2014 IndyCar champion.
“It’s impossible. How do you know where [Pagenaud]’s going to finish and where you’re going to finish? You just have to execute week in and week out.
“Yeah, you can look at the points at the end of each weekend, but it’s absolutely the wrong focus to be looking at points,” he explained. “You know your limits. You know your risks. You know what is a 50/50 move, you know when to take those risks.
“If you’re taking them all the time, you’re going to get caught out half the time or more. If you do it at a time when it’s necessary to take that risk, you have a good chance of pulling it off. That’s how you’ve got to do it.”
Power commented that his race victory was likely fueled by the experience of his teammates on the pitwall — the execution of his second pit stop was a display of veteran savvy.
When Josef Newgarden‘s wreck occurred, drawing a full-course caution – a scenario which automatically closes the pit lane – Power was already there.
The drivers ahead of him, polesitter Dixon and Pagenaud, fell victim to a compacted race field behind the pace car. The two emerged from their final pit stops in 13th and 14th.
“There’s always a risk to stay out. We had enough fuel to go a couple more laps [in the first stint] but we opted to pit on the same lap as Dixon,” Power reflected. “It didn’t give us a chance to jump those guys. But, you know, that worked out for us in the last stop.
“The team called me in just at the last minute. Perfect timing. I mean, I can’t tell you how many times it has gone the opposite way for me at this place, and many other places. I was so stoked to see yellow lights as I was going down pit lane. It’s not often you catch a yellow like that.”
Power empathized with the situation Dixon was presented with, especially after the New Zealander led 56 of the opening 58 laps of the race. Dixon was in full control of his No. 9 Chip Ganassi Racing machine with the Penske tandem behind him, and was just a single lap away from making his pit stop when Newgarden brought out the yellow.
“It’s just frustrating. I’m the one that’s been pushing in the series to leave the pits open so people who have done a good job, like Dixon was doing, don’t literally get a drive-through [penalty],” Power told reporters.
“It’s happened to me so many times. I reckon I’d have ten more race wins or something if that didn’t happen. There’s nothing you can do about it.
“You know the risk, though – that’s the one thing,” he continued. “The risk is you can stay out longer and you’ll jump the guy because you’re on warm tires and low fuel, the guy is coming out on cold tires and full of fuel. But if the yellow falls, you know how many people would pit and how far you’ll go back.
“This year, my team, we’ve been conservative in that respect. We’ve always pitted early. We’ve had the fuel to go further, but we’ve just pitted early.”
Pit strategy certainly worked out for Power at the 2016 Honda Indy Toronto, as the Australian leaves Canada with three victories and will be looking to make it four when IndyCar heads to Mid-Ohio in two weeks.