Will Power had an easy Sunday afternoon drive to win the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama at Barber Motorsports Park.
Power started on the pole and led all 90 laps for his seventh career IZOD IndyCar Series win and his 10th overall in major open-wheel racing. All of his wins have come on road/street courses. Power became the first driver to lead wire-to-wire in an IndyCar race since Dario Franchitti did it in August 2009 at Sonoma, CA.
“That was one of the most relaxing races I ever had,” Power said.
Scott Dixon attempted to catch Power in the closing laps, but finished 3.4 seconds short. MiamiHerald.com
Scotland’s Dario Franchitti, the two-time defending IndyCar champion who won the season-opening race at St. Petersburg, Florida, was third.
Power had dominated in practice and qualifying the past two years here on the 2.38-mile road course at Barber Motorsports Park.
He admitted his disappointment last year—which proved so costly in his pursuit of the series title—left him hungry for an Alabama victory. AFP
“That is one of the easiest races I have done physically,” said Power, whose 3.3828-second victory over Target Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon gave him a seven-point advantage in the driver championship heading into the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach on April 17. “I have been training really hard for the season and Scott Dixon was pushing me to the limit at the end. It was a lot of fun and I am really happy for the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske car.
“Leading the race from flag to flag just came down to getting the jump start and staying consistent the whole time with where I started. It came down to holding Scott Dixon off until the end.”
Dixon kept the pressure on through the final round of pit stops, trailing by less than a half-second before letting up on the final lap when the rear tires started to lose grip.
“It was a tough day for us,” said Dixon, the runner-up for the second consecutive year. “We cruised around and saved a bit of fuel and I gave it all I could with Will Power. I was trying to give as much pressure as I could on the restart with 20 laps to go and he just didn’t give any. It was an overall good day for Target and we earned ourselves some points.”
Eight different teams were represented in the top 10 for the second event in a row.
Marco Andretti, who wound up upside down on the first lap at St. Pete, finished fourth for Andretti Autosport and Oriol Servia continued to impress with a fifth place for Newman/Haas Racing. IndyCar.com
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IZOD IndyCar Series: Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama - Race Results
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