Will Power ended a two-year winless streak in impressive fashion by leading Team Penske to a podium sweep at the XPEL Grand Prix of Road America presented by AMR. Power’s victory marks his first since June 2022, bringing an end to a 34-race drought.
Two-time series champion Power started the race from fifth position and expertly navigated his No. 12 Verizon Business Team Penske Chevrolet to a 3.2609-second win over teammate Josef Newgarden in the No. 2 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet. Scott McLaughlin completed the Team Penske podium trifecta, finishing third in the No. 3 XPEL Team Penske Chevrolet.
Power’s 42nd career victory ties him with Michael Andretti for fourth on the all-time INDYCAR SERIES wins list. The emotional victory saw Power celebrated by his wife Liz and son Beau, making it a heartfelt moment for the driver and his team.
“Massively special,” Power said of the win. “We’ve worked so hard to try to get wins. I worked really hard in the offseason. Obviously, last season was very stressful. Had half a mind at home and half at the track, so it was very difficult to perform at a high level there. Man, I’m just stoked. I’m very happy, man. That was very well deserved for the whole team. We worked so hard for that.”
The race saw Team Penske achieve its first podium sweep since September 2017 at Sonoma Raceway. This was also the first team podium sweep in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES since Andretti Global drivers Colton Herta, Alexander Rossi, and Ryan Hunter-Reay secured the top three spots at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in September 2020.
Power’s triumph also propelled him to the top of the championship standings, leading by five points over Alex Palou, who finished fourth. Kyle Kirkwood rounded out the top five.
The race began with early chaos on Lap 1 when pole-sitter Linus Lundqvist’s No. 8 American Legion Chip Ganassi Racing Honda was spun by teammate Marcus Armstrong in Turn 1. Newgarden narrowly avoided the incident but later nudged Colton Herta’s No. 26 Gainbridge Honda into a spin.
Kirkwood initially took the lead but was soon overtaken by McLaughlin on Lap 4. Newgarden then moved to the front on Lap 16 after McLaughlin’s pit stop. As the race progressed, tire strategies came into play with Newgarden opting for Firestone Firehawk alternate tires early, while Power and McLaughlin began on primary tires.
The decisive moment occurred during the final pit stops. McLaughlin switched to primary tires at the end of Lap 42, followed by Newgarden one lap later, also on primaries. Power made his stop at the end of Lap 44, and his strategy allowed him to rejoin the race ahead of Newgarden, securing his path to victory.
“It was a really good team day,” Newgarden said. “Will did a great job, too. Look, he deserved to win that race, as well. We put together a great day. We just probably misstepped there at the end. I feel bad that I came in a lap early. I probably should have stayed out.”
The next NTT INDYCAR SERIES event is the Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey on Sunday, June 23 at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Live coverage starts at 6 p.m. ET on the USA Network, Peacock, and the INDYCAR Radio Network.
