Will Power became the fifth different winner in as many races as he clinched victory around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course on Saturday, his second Verizon IndyCar Series victory at the circuit.
The Team Penske driver came out on top following a battle with team-mate Helio Castroneves and Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon, with Power ultimately taking the win by just over five seconds from the New Zealander.
Castroneves led early on after jumping Power in the pit stops, but fell down the order later in the race to ultimately finish fifth, with Power jumping into the lead after Tony Kanaan delayed his fellow Brazilian whilst being lapped.
Dixon passed Castroneves for second with fifteen laps remaining, while Ryan Hunter-Reay also found a way ahead of the Brazilian to take the final spot on the podium five laps later for Andretti Autosport.
The decision to run the slower tyre in the final stint continued to backfire on Castroneves as Simon Pagenaud also jumped his team-mate with five laps to go to assume fourth, with the Brazilian finishing more than three seconds behind the Frenchman at the chequered flag.
Graham Rahal drove strongly to climb from twentieth on the grid to finish sixth for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, made even more impressive that for the first time, the race around the road course at Indianapolis went caution-free.
Finishing on Rahal’s tail was Max Chilton, with the Briton following the American’s lead on starting on the slower tyre to climb from fourteenth for Chip Ganassi Racing.
Alexander Rossi finished eighth for Andretti Herta Autosport after a strong performance from the American, while Spencer Pigot took ninth for Ed Carpenter Racing despite stalling in the pits during one of his pit stops.
Juan Pablo Montoya completed the top ten for Team Penske in his first race of the season, with the Colombian finishing ahead of team-mate Josef Newgarden, who took two pit lane speeding penalties during the race.
Despite it being caution free, the race saw two retirements with engine problems affecting both Charlie Kimball and Sebastien Bourdais, the latter lasting just three laps before he pulled off the race track.
Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course Race Result
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