Will Power in the No.12 Verizon Business Team Penske Chevrolet marched through the field in Iowa race two on Sunday. He came from 22nd place on the grid to claim his second win of the season, having won at Road America last month. The victory was Power’s first oval victory since Pocono in 2019. The result also means that the Australian has shrunk his deficit in the championship to 35 points to leader Alex Palou who finished the race in Iowa in second place.
Speaking following the race, a delighted Power said:
We had a really good car, a really fast car, so just sat back to use that pace to save fuel. It was getting a massive number, and I knew once all those guys pulled in, I could go hard, and then we caught a yellow, which was sort of the thing we were hoping for. To sort of get those yellows, put us to the front, and then we were able to get better fuel behind (Alex) Palou and go a couple of laps longer than him and jump him. I’ve been trying to win this race for years, years. Over the moon. The guys did a great job. I felt bad for them yesterday when I accidentally buttoned off on the pit speed limiter. Ruined their day, but we’re right in the game. I want to thank Verizon, Chevy, such tremendous support. We’re going to fight this hard to the end.”
Scott McLaughlin in the No.3 XPEL Chevrolet, who took victory here in Iowa on Saturday night, started the race from the pole position and came home in third place. Speaking following the action, he commented:
We probably caught the yellow just a bit at the wrong time there on the first run. A first and a third with the XPEL Chevy, I’ll take that. Best thing is I can have a beer now and enjoy the concert, so I’m excited. Got a lot of friends here, have a lot of people out here supporting the Thirsty 3’s. Nice to get the championship back on track and we’re right in the game. We’ll keep coming. We’ve got ovals that we like coming up, and I feel good on Toronto, too. I’m just going to keep driving the way I can, no mistakes, and execute the best I can and hopefully it bodes well.
Josef Newgarden in the No.2 Astemo Chevrolet started the race from 14th place, came home in seventh place, and is now in ninth place in the championship, 132 points behind Alex Palou. Speaking following the action, the Tennessee native commented saying:
I really feel like the Astemo Chevy was the best race car in the field today. We just can’t qualify mid-pack on this racetrack right now and expect to be able to drive through the field. I think that will come back in a couple of years when the new pavement wears, or maybe there is something that INDYCAR and Firestone can come up with on a downforce/tire package that will extend the life of the second groove a bit. We were plenty fast today but just couldn’t find a way to finish off any passes. Still, we had two solid finishes after qualifying pretty poorly and that says a lot about this team.”