SPEEDWAY, Ind. — Will Power led every lap from the pole position to win the second race of the IndyCar Harvest Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Saturday.
It’s his second win of the season and his 39th win of his career. The win ties him with Al Unser on the all-time IndyCar wins list. It’s also his fourth win on the IMS road course.
“The tires were going away and it was a very tough battle (with Colton Herta),” Power said. “Overwhelmed to get another win. The guys had great stops and we had a good car the whole race.”
The win is the second in a row for Team Penske as Josef Newgarden won the first race on Friday.
Andretti Autosport swept the remaining podium spots as Colton Herta came home second and Alexander Rossi was third to secure his fourth straight podium finish.
“Things started out pretty poor. We needed a little bit more tires,” Herta said of the battle. “We needed a little more time, but still a good finish. Good to have two Andretti cars on the podium. Looking forward to St. Pete now.”
Newgarden was fourth and rookie Pato O’Ward was fifth. Championship points leader Scott Dixon finished eighth, which allowed Newgarden to again shave a few more points off his points lead.
Newgarden will go into the final race of the season at St. Petersburg just 32 points behind Dixon in the points standings.
“We were a little shy of where we needed to be. We were mediocre today. I think we had a car to compete with Will (Power) and Herta, but we didn’t start high enough,” Newgarden said. “We go to St. Pete now with a shot to win this championship. I just wish we were a little closer.”
Dixon sustained some damage midway through the race in a collision with Charlie Kimball, which hampered his ability to move up any further.
“I was loose the whole race,” Dixon said. “We tried everything and we were flat out. We’re 32 points out in the lead now. It’s nice to be on the leading side at this stage, but they’ve (Team Penske) been good at St. Pete so, it will be interesting.”
At one point in the season, Dixon had more than 100 point cushion on second place in the points.
Dixon could have clinched the championship Saturday had he finished 55 points ahead of Newgarden. He will have to finish ninth or better to clinch the championship at St. Petersburg.
Graham Rahal finished seventh, James Hinchcliffe was 13th, Sebastian Bourdais came home 18th, and Conor Daly finished 20th. Three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves finished 21st in his second race filling in for Oliver Askew in the Arrow Mclaren #7-car.
The final race of the season on the streets of St. Petersburgh, Florida will take place Oct. 25. It was previously the season-opening race but was postponed to the end because of the coronavirus pandemic.
