Power Rebounds from Opening Lap Spin to Finish Third at Mid-Ohio

By David Morgan, Associate Editor

Will Power has made a habit of charging through the field after issues in qualifying on numerous occasion this season and Sunday at Mid-Ohio, added another charge from the back to his resume.

Starting the day in 21^st after incurring a penalty in qualifying, Power’s tough task of making a run to the front got even tougher when he spun in Turn 9 on the opening lap. Fortunately for Power, the off-track excursion didn’t collect any other cars or damage his No. 12 Team Penske Chevrolet, only dropping him to dead last in the running order.

Despite the setback, Power set his sights on the task that lie ahead, catching back up the field in short order, working methodically to pick off the cars ahead as he advanced forward.

“The spin, I went up the inside. Everyone was very choked up and just got someone’s back wheel, trying not to take them out,” Power explained. “Spun, kept it running, kept going, and had passed a few cars then and then pitted again, went to the back, and then yeah, just started passing cars.”

Climbing into the top-10 by lap 27, Power used the cautions to his advantage as the race played out, advancing up the leaderboard on each subsequent restart. Power would move into the top-five for the first time on lap 56, but his charge forward wasn’t done yet.

The final caution of the day gave Power the opportunity he needed to take over third position, where he would remain all the way to the finish – his fourth podium finish and seventh finish of fourth or higher this season.

“Amazing day,” Power said. “Amazing day for the Verizon 5G Chevy. I said in a strategy meeting, which I have a few times this year we’ve qualified badly, a top-10 would be great. That yellow when we were 12^th, I said OK, this is pretty good. I think we can get in the top-10 here.

“Some good restarts, good exchanges, good pit stops, good strategy, and a great job by the team. Over the moon, loving it, man. Starting at the back is certainly more entertaining than leading from the front.

“We’ve got to get on top of the qualifying. Obviously, this week, it wasn’t a pace issue at all, just a bit of a miscommunication. Stoked. Can’t thank the Verizon Chevy team enough, we’re having such a great year.”

Power now sits second in the points standings, just 20 points in arears of championship leader Marcus Ericsson as the NTT IndyCar Series heads north of the border to Toronto in two weeks’ time.