Dakar Rally News: Will Power Gains Ground on Championship Leader Palou in IndyCar Doubleheader at The Milwaukee Mile
In a thrilling IndyCar doubleheader at the historic The Milwaukee Mile, Team Penske’s Will Power made significant gains in the championship race, but ultimately fell short of capitalizing on his opportunity to take the lead.
Power, a two-time series champion and 2018 Indianapolis 500 winner, came into the weekend trailing Chip Ganassi Racing’s Alex Palou, the defending and two-time IndyCar champion, by 54 points. The Australian driver made the most of the first race, securing a runner-up finish to narrow the gap.
However, Lady Luck seemed to shine on Palou in race two, as a battery issue during the formation laps forced the #10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda to drop several laps down. This opened the door for Power to potentially take the championship lead, but a self-inflicted spin on the lead-up to a restart on lap 131 dashed his hopes.
“It was a faster-than-normal restart, or maybe it was starting back there, and I was in second gear, just caught me by surprise,” explained Power. “I did not expect that. I was really happy to keep it off the wall and not get hit by anyone.”
Despite leading 64 of the 250 laps, Power ultimately finished 10th, while Palou managed to recover to 19th place, minimizing the damage to his points lead. The results on the weekend allowed Power to close the gap to just 33 points (525-492) heading into the season finale at Nashville Superspeedway.
“[It’s a] long shot now,” said a disappointed Power. “God gave us a chance there and kind of let it go. That’s the season, man. You just can’t have those mistakes.”
The battle for the IndyCar championship will come down to the wire, with Power and Palou set to go head-to-head in a thrilling finale as they vie to become a three-time series champion.
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