WILL POWER No. 12 VERIZON 5G DALLARA/CHEVROLET
START – 13TH
FINISH – 6TH
POINTS – T-9TH (-42)
RACE RUNDOWN: Will Power and the No. 12 Verizon Chevrolet team had a rather uneventful day on Sunday at the Grand Prix of Long Beach, surviving a fuel mileage affair to finish sixth. Power and team elected to start the race on primary Firestone tires and held court to his starting position of 13th through the first two cautions. After switching to alternates, Power survived a number of close calls to jump up to eighth. The second half of the race was a battle of fuel mileage and hitting a fuel number, as Power and his Team Penske teammates had to conserve fuel to try and make it to the end of the race on two stops. Power was able to hit the fuel number, while holding off a strong challenge from Felix Rosenqvist and taking advantage of the mistakes of others, to grab the sixth position as the checkered waved. Along with being the top finishing Chevrolet driver, Power moved up to ninth in the INDYCAR point standings, 42 points behind leader Marcus Ericsson.
POWER’S THOUGHTS: “It was good fuel save and tire conservation, there. We said in our strategy meeting if we got a yellow around lap 20, that’s the worse for us starting on black tires. It’s very common just on the restart and everything not to slip the tire. Just tried to look after it best I could and get the number, and that’s what we did. Drove as hard as I could like doing a qualifying lap. Every lap you’re lifting early to conserve fuel. Saving fuel is right in my wheel house. I’ve been doing it for so many years. It’s a very big part of INDYCAR racing, is saving fuel. I’m pretty happy when I hear the whole fields’ got to get this number because usually we can go a bit quicker and get the number at the same time.”
TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!
