WILL POWER No. 12 VERIZON 5G DALLARA/CHEVROLET
START – 11TH
FINISH – 3RD
POINTS – 7TH (-26)
RACE RUNDOWN: Will Power and the No. 12 Verizon Chevrolet team might have been the fastest car at the end of Sunday’s Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix at Barber Motorsports Park, finishing in the third position after starting 11th. In the end it was too much track position to make up in the 90-lap event that took on one hour and 48 minutes to complete. The Verizon team also benefitted from the three pit stop strategy, cycling to the fourth position on Lap 32 following his first trip to pit lane. The reigning NTT INDYCAR SERIES Champion was especially quick in clean air, allowing Power to save his push-to-pass seconds. Power eventually took the lead on Lap 63, just prior to his final pit stop of the day. A solid pit stop by the Verizon pit crew resulted in Power cycling to the fourth position for the final stint. Using all of the tools at his disposal, Power began to record outstanding lap times to drive to the rear bumper of the second-place finisher, Romain Grosjean. Unfortunately, he could not make the pass before the checkered flag to come home in the third position.
POWER’S THOUGHTS: “Yeah, it was an extremely good day. When I saw everyone saving fuel there, we talked about doing a three-stop and I felt like it was better to do that, but the guys made the call. It was just super-fast when we got clear air. That was the key to getting up to third. I had a real fast car and it’s a pity we didn’t start further up. Chevy did a great job with the engine and obviously got to thank Verizon for all the support because we are on another championship run. We are just chipping away here, and we are going to get a win soon. We just have to keep at it, improve in qualifying, and just having fun. Enjoying it a lot.”
WHAT’S NEXT: The next event for the NTT INDYCAR SERIES will be the GMR Grand Prix on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course on Saturday, May 13.
TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!
