His goal was to cut that number by a quarter.
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After so losing a couple of championships to Dario Franchitti with late fades, Power finally claimed his first and only IndyCar title in 2014.
Alexander Rossi’s win in the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500 the only victory to show for the Andretti Autosport organization in 2016.
The series faces two key challenges in proceeding with some form of cockpit protection for its open-wheel cars. That one was weird. Unfortunately, in the end, I just couldn’t get Will. If you’ve got it, you’ve got it. “I think he’s doing all the right things to get back to where he needs to be mentally and emotionally”. “You just have to play the game right”.
But after Team Penske continued to make adjustments to Power’s vehicle the Australian racer soon found himself in the lead of the race and with a flawless opportunity to secure his fourth victory of the season after a late caution caused by championship leader and team-mate Simon Pagenaud.
“Certainly a real shame for the championship”, Pagenaud said. “Last year we were very strong in the race”.
“It nearly brings you to tears, leading the race and engine shuts off – what more can happen?” said Hunter-Reay. This will be the first of four races to end the season. He said his vehicle came to life around the midway point, which put him within reach of pole victor Aleshin and Hunter-Reay, who crashed in practice but drove through the field to lead several times Monday in an Andretti Autosport Honda that looked like the fastest auto in the field. But at the end of 500 hard-fought miles, Aleshin finished 1.1459 seconds behind race victor Will Power, while Hunter-Reay finished third after two thrilling charges from the back of the field.
It’s a step up the ladder for Aleshin, who returned to the series in 2016 after a forced year off. It felt okay leaving the pits. The engine shut off.
“It was hard, it was really hard”, Hunter-Reay said. We just can’t seem to catch a break. “If there’s an ounce of that, I think you should just give it up”. “It’s very frustrating. I’m trying to smile about it, trying to be upbeat about it, but after the season we’ve had this year, it’s very disheartening”.
It is the first career pole for Mikhail Aleshin, with Josef Newgarden in a Chevrolet beside him.
The usually stoic Aleshin said, “It’s a lot of emotions definitely”. “I woke up today already with a fresh mind – today we have a completely different mind, a completely different story”. “Finally, when I was nearly stopped in pit lane, I tried it one more time and it fired”. “The vehicle bottomed and I went straight to the wall”. That ties him for 11th on the all-time IndyCar wins list with Team Penske teammate Helio Castroneves and Rick Mears.
With Penske’s Helio Castroneves crashing out in a pit incident that also ended a promising run for Indy 500 victor Alexander Rossi, the championship is turning into a two-driver showdown between Pagenaud and Power. Rounding out the field in the final two positions were Ed Carpenter and Takuma Sato.
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Power’s surge has moved him into a tie in all-time wins with Rick Mears and Scott Dixon, and also includes second-place finishes at Iowa and Mid-Ohio. “But now I understand it and now I like ovals I like them even more than most of the road courses”.
