No. 12 Verizon 5G Dallara/Chevrolet – Will Power
Start: 2nd
Finish: 2nd
Laps Led: 2
Point Standings: 1st (+20 pts)
Race Rundown: Will Power and the No. 12 Verizon 5G Chevrolet team more than held serve in the push for the 2022 NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship by finishing second in Sunday’s Grand Prix of Portland at Portland International Raceway. The 2014 series champion increased his lead to 20 markers over teammate Josef Newgarden and Scott Dixon entering the season finale next weekend at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Power, along with the rest of the field, made it through the treacherous first corner at Portland without incident as the race ran caution-free for the first 85 laps. When the lone yellow flag flew, it gave Power his best shot of the day to get around teammate Scott McLaughlin on the ensuing race restart. Once the green flag flew to resume the race with 22 laps to go, McLaughlin was able to pull away from Power and the rest of the field. After collecting his eighth podium finish of the season, Power and the No. 12 Verizon 5G Chevy team put themselves in a good position to win their second series title with a good performance next weekend.
Power’s Thoughts: “The red (tires) were a lot better for us. The black tires just never really came on and we never really had a good balance with it. It was a tough decision because those reds had a lot of laps on them, but I still feel like we would have been quicker over the stint. It was the right move and a good move. It would have been tough on the restart without it, so it was a good call by the guys. We had good strategy all day. If (Christian) Lundgaard hadn’t gotten us at the start, we could have had a shot at Scott (Dixon). It’s another day where we did everything we could. We had a little get-together with Pato (O’Ward) so luckily that came out alright. I just want to win this championship for the guys who have been with me for more than a decade, like my engineer Dave (Faustino) and my data acquisition guy Robbie (Atkinson) and the group. It’s a lot less selfish for me this time around because they deserve it. I feel their pain over the years of losing so many. I’d love to win it for them.”
TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!
