Power earns easy win at Indy Toronto

[July 18, 2016]  TORONTO -- This might have been the easiest Verizon IndyCar Series victory of Will Power's career.

Team Penske's driver caught a major break Sunday at Exhibition Place as he was on pit road for his final service when a caution came out. Because Power hadn't lost a lap while pitting, his car cycled to the front when race leader Scott Dixon and other frontrunners made their stops.

When the race went back to green, Power stood second but was essentially the leader because Tony Kanaan didn't have enough fuel on board to complete the 85-lap race. Several of the drivers behind Power were in fuel-saving mode, so they couldn't match his pace.

Power won by 1.5 seconds in what became a one-lap shootout due to Jack Hawksworth and Juan Pablo Montoya running into a tire barrier.

The win not only was good for Power in the short term - it earned him his 28th career victory and third in four starts - it pulled him ever closer to teammate Simon Pagenaud for the series lead. The separation is now only 47 points with five races to go.

Pagenaud was trailing Dixon at the time of the untimely caution, forcing him deep in the pack when he stopped under caution. At the restart, Dixon was 13th, Pagenaud 14th when moments earlier they were first and second.

They finished eighth and ninth, respectively.

Dixon did not give interviews immediately after the race.

"We did need a break," said Power, who won this event for the third time. "That was a great call (to pit). Just a fantastic day."

Power said he saw the caution laps flashing on his dash as he approached his pit box, and he thought, "Man, when does this ever happen for us?"

It's easy to forget that Power missed the first race of the season with an inner ear issue. He has finished first, first, second and first in the past four races.

"Obviously we've been playing catch-up all year," he said. "Every race we're executing, getting great strategy and great cars. We'll keep chipping away to see if we can have a shot at this (title)."

Power was IndyCar's champion in 2014.

Like Power, Helio Castroneves benefited from the caution, which was called for on Lap 59 when Josef Newgarden hit the wall. Castroneves had pitted a lap before then, which allowed him to cycle forward ahead of many of his rivals. He finished second.

Castroneves was due that break. In the second Detroit race last month, he was the race leader who hadn't pitted when the caution came out, and that shuffled him deep in the field. He finished 14th.

 Sprint Cup Series driver Kyle Busch (18) and Sprint Cup Series driver Jimmie Johnson (48) and driver Kurt Busch (41) lead at the start of the New Hampshire 301 at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Also in this race, Castroneves bounced back from a front left tire on Lap 26. Now, Castroneves is third in the standings, 74 points out of the lead.

James Hinchcliffe, a native of the Toronto area, finished third for the final spot on the podium. Kanaan finished fourth with Takuma Sato fifth.

Poor Newgarden. Already nursing a sore right wrist from that vicious crash June 12 at Texas Motor Speedway, Newgarden lost control of his steering wheel in Turn 5 when his car ran over left-side curbing, and the car shot straight to the right-side wall.

Newgarden's quick hands tried valiantly to grab the wheel, but it was moving too quickly, and it appeared to shake the wrist. Meanwhile, the car careened off the wall with significant right-front force, ending his day. Sitting in the car in the immediate aftermath, Newgarden flexed the wrist to test its usage, then he lifted his helmet visor. The pain in his eyes was apparent.

Afterward, Newgarden said his wrist was fine, but he was mad at himself for running over the curb that upset the car.

The crash delivered a hit to Newgarden's championship chances, too. The July 10 win at Iowa Speedway had pushed him to second in the standings, 73 points behind Pagenaud, but finishing last here was a big blow. He fell to fifth, 88 points back.

NOTES: This track's reconfigured and extremely tight pit lane wasn't the problem some people feared. Pit road had to be moved due to a hotel construction project in the former spot used for the past 29 years of the event. ... Hinchcliffe's third-place finish was the best of his career at his home track. He had twice finished eighth. ... Hinchcliffe drove with a race suit signed by race fans, who got the chance to put their autographs on it by making a donation to his foundation. The other drivers even signed it.

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