Power wins as Newgarden edges closer to Dixon ahead of finale

IndyCar

Posted on

| Written by

Reining IndyCar champion Josef Newgarden will go into the title-deciding race 32 points behind Scott Dixon after trimming the season-long leader’s advantage further in the weekend’s second event at Indianapolis.

Newgarden’s team mate Will Power controlled proceedings in the series’ third race this year on the road course, leading all 75 laps on the way to his second win of the year.

Power led the field to turn one from pole position while Colton Herta and Alexander Rossi took up the chase. Herta and Rossi swapped places during the race, and Power took the chequered flag less than nine-tenths of a second ahead of Herta.

Title rivals Newgarden and Dixon started the race in the middle of the pack and edged their way forward. Nergarden did so more successfully, rising to fourth place behind Rossi at the end of a race which was 10 laps shorter than the encounter he won yesterday.

Dixon could only manage eighth place. He tangled with Ryan Hunter-Reay early on, leaving the Ganassi driver with a significant chunk missing from the left-hand edge of his car’s floor. Pato O’Ward, Jack Harvey and Graham Rahal separated him from his title rival at the end.

Alex Palou ran fifth early on but slipped to ninth at the flag ahead of the third Penske of Simon Pagenaud. Following his podium finish from pole position yesterday, Rinus VeeKay could only manage 17th.

The championship will be decided in a street race at St Petersburg, which was originally due to hold the season opener in March, but was postponed to October 25th due to the pandemic.

This article will be updated.

Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and go ad-free

IndyCar

Browse all IndyCar articles

Author information

Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

Got a potential story, tip or enquiry? Find out more about RaceFans and contact us here.

2 comments on “Power wins as Newgarden edges closer to Dixon ahead of finale”

  1. I watched Power craft a masterful race at Indy. To bad F1 way back when in the 2000s was offered a much lesser version of the layout they ran on today. The course today FINALLY makes Indy a proper multi category racing site. It looks right and the racing was good. Lots of power slide corners through the race.
    But Power today showed me to be a smart racer who kept it all together as the laps wound down. I kept thinking this guy was missed by F1. WHY? Maybe his growth as a racer came later in life unlike the the preteen newgen kids in F1. Someday a five year old will ask Toto Wolf if they can drive the Merc in the future.
    But the IndyCar provided a very good show today at this marvelous racing facility. A true American place of Worship said with respect. Hey nothing touches a Formula One Race and it’s been that way to me for over the last fifty years.
    But Indycar is very good at what it does within the rules it was born from. Don’t follow it? You might give it a try. Actually there are many series that show the viewer what the viewer will likely never experience going much faster than rich guys cars can go. WEC IS very very cool. The Cars are like Spaceships. NASCAR surprisingly is very competitive and the race coverage is superb. The level of IMSA brings it closer to the west coast and so attending is more regular. But once Inside an event access to all things is welcomed. Still in my blood is the NHRA and it’s mind boggling performance with STUNNING sounds and speed unlike anything but LSR.
    Like I said I change all plans to watch Formula One but as a race fan I also choose to absorb many varied forms of racing. Jesus those Aussies have a stock car race, their type of Stockcars that race up the side of a mountain and back down the steep hills in a twisting route crazy route back to a normal racing facility. It’s crazy!!
    Can’t go to races so TV is my only option and I find the varied series interesting because it’s about racers trying to be faster than everybody else and once in a while you cross paths with witnessing machines whose sole intent is to be mastered by a driver who just wants to race the crap out of the machine he sits inside. Just follow Racing It’s a good escape in today’s new world.

    1. As an Aussie, Bathurst is one of the pinnacles of Motorsport. The intro to last years race gives me chills
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qaWbH53tK7Q

Comments are closed.