The Australian Will Power (Penske) won Sunday’s second race held on the short oval at Iowa Speedway after recovering 22 positions with heavy strategy and driving that took victory in the closing laps from Catalan Àlex Palou (Chip Ganassi).
It was the second victory of the season for Power, and the first time he managed to win on an oval as iconic as Iowa, which is considered the fastest in the world.
“I had a very fast car, I saved fuel and in one of those yellows I knew I would be first. I have been waiting for this victory for years. Palou and I are in the championship game,” Power commented after the race.
For Àlex Palou, the reaction after leaving the race on Saturday was great: “It’s been a good weekend, yesterday was bad, there were a lot of mistakes. Today we recovered. We almost won. It’s hard to overtake Power today, he has more fuel. Solid second place, we continue next week.”
New Zealander Scott McLaughlin (Penske), winner on Saturday, closed a great weekend with third place ahead of Scott Dixon (Chip Ganassi), who finished in fourth position.
Palou maintains the lead
Àlex Palou maintains the lead in the fight for the championship with 379 points, with Will Power rising to second position: 35 behind the Catalan.
Mexican Pato O’Ward (Arrow McLaren) finished sixth on Sunday and retained third position overall. He closed the day feeling like he could have climbed a few more positions, but was pleased with the loot collected between the two races: “It was a solid weekend in terms of points.”
O’Ward is 52 points behind Palou; and Dixon, at 57.
The next race is in just one week in Toronto, on the final street circuit of the championship.
The race, cleaner, but with the last fear
Unlike Saturday’s race, Sunday’s start was clean and uneventful, with McLaughlin and Palou leading the way and Dixon and Herta less than a second ahead of them. The first speeds marked were lower than the previous day, influenced by the weather conditions, with more light and more wind.
Because of this, tire consumption is lower and the approach is more focused on saving fuel than changing tires. The first pit stop for the leader, McLaughlin, occurred on lap 95, putting Palou in the lead.
Palou took a few more laps before visiting his mechanic and battled for first place with a Will Power coming from behind. He became stronger in the lead after an incident involving the Argentine Agustín Canapino, who crossed his car on the track and caused a yellow card.
The next pit stop would mark the race: McLaughlin stopped on lap 198, Dixon on lap 204 and Palou pushed as hard as possible until lap 205, with Power again leading for one lap, and endorsing that position after he hits the track. before the Spanish passed through their area.
Another battle began, with only forty laps of the oval, between Power’s Penske and Palou’s Chip Ganassi. The distance was always less than a second between them, with McLaughlin and Dixon battling to complete the podium.
The career could have ended in disgrace with a multiple accidents involving Alexander Rossi (Arrow McLaren), Ed Carpenter (Ed Carpenter), Kyle Kirkwood (Andretti) and Sting Ray Robb (AJ Foyt)the latter blinked twice, and had to be carried off on a stretcher.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
