Will Power became a two-time IndyCar winner at Road America. Who is he and how did he win the XPEL Grand Prix?
ELKHART LAKE – The wait was worth it for Will Power.
Looking for his first NTT IndyCar Series victory in a full two years, Power made his final pit stop later than his two Team Penske Chevrolet mates, came out in front and held on to win the XPEL Grand Prix at Road America.
He led the final nine laps and finished 3.2609 seconds ahead of teammate Josef Newgarden.
More: From celebration to excruciating stress, Will Power has experienced more at Road America than most
“I felt good about today, had a very fast car,” Power said in his NBC television interview. “Great strategy.
“Massively special. Massively special. We worked so hard to try to get wins, and I worked really hard in the offseason. The whole season last season was very stressful (with wife Liz ill). Had half a mind at home and half at the track. …
“That was very, very well deserved for the whole team.”
Who is Road America winner Will Power?
The 43-year-old Australian is the 2014 and 2022 champion and the winner of the IndyCar Series’ first race at 4.014-mile Road America in 2016. With his 42nd victory, Power moved into a tie with Michael Andretti for fourth on the all-time win list.
Despite Power’s previous success at the track, the fresher and more vivid memories were of a horrible 2023 race weekend, when he got caught in a freak crash in practice, later went off track and wasn’t competitive.
Power had won a race in 16 straight seasons before being shut out last year. The victory ended a 34-race drought since the 2022 Detroit street-course race.
How did Will Power win the 2024 XPEL Grand Prix at Road America?
The race came down to strategy. He made the last of his pit stops at the end of the 44th of 55 laps, and came out ahead of Josef Newgarden, who’d stopped one lap earlier, and Scott McLaughlin, who had stopped a lap before Newgarden.
Team Penske did sweep the podium with Newgarden – a two-time Road America winner – second, 3.2609 seconds behind, and McLaughlin third. It was the team's first 1-2-3 since 2017.
What did the XPEL Grand Prix do to the IndyCar Series championship?
Power moved into the points lead, five points ahead of Alex Palou, who finished fourth. Scott Dixon, who came in as the points leader, finished 21st and dropped to third, 11 points out of the lead.
Are there other multiple winners in Indy cars at Road America?
Newgarden, Dixon and Palou all won two IndyCar Series races.
There were three drivers to win three CART races, Mario Andretti, Emerson Fittipaldi and Michael Andretti.
In all, there have been 35 races for Indy cars under the CART, Champ Car and IndyCar banners.
Road America, IndyCar announce extension
IndyCar will return to Road America in 2025 and for an unspecified number of years after, the track and series announced Sunday morning.
IndyCar has raced at Road America since 2016, and Indy cars in general – under the CART and Champ Car banners, as well – 26 times since 1982.
The 2025 race does not yet have a specific date, but Road America did put full-weekend tickets on sale. A four-day pass is $140, which is $55 less than the 2024 weekend cost at the gate.
Road America announced a similar extension with MotoAmerica and corresponding ticket deal.
Jamie Chadwick earns Indy Lights victory
Jamie Chadwick led all 20 laps from the pole to become the first woman to win an Indy NXT race since Pippa Mann in 2010.
Chadwick, 26, a three-time champion of the international Formula W series, took off in the two-lap dash after a red flag and finished 0.8203 of a second ahead of Louis Foster, who edged points leader Jacob Abel.
Indy NXT is the top rung on IndyCar's development ladder. Danica Patrick is the only woman to win an IndyCar Series race. Two women won in the Atlantic Championship when it was Champ Car's top steppingstone series, Simona di Silvestro and Katherine Legge.
Oconomowoc native and University of Wisconsin graduate Yuven Sundaramoorthy finished a career-best ninth.
Lochie Hughes sweeps USF Pro 2000
Australian Lochie Hughes picked up his third victory of the weekend in USF Pro 2000, which is one rung on the development ladder below Indy Lights.
Logan Adams OK after frightening crash
Eighteen-year-old rookie Logan Adams escaped uninjured from a triple rollover into the Turn 14 gravel trap in Sunday’s USF Pro 2000 race.
USF 2000
Driving for Pabst Racing of Oconomowoc, 16-year-old Sam Corry of Cornelius, North Carolina, won the first race Saturday and finished fourth Sunday behind winner Max Taylor.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Will Power ends 2-year IndyCar drought with Road America victory
