Power in control to close points gap with Palou

Will Power dominated the IndyCar Series Grand Prix of Portland to take victory and close the gap to Alex Palou in the championship.

The Team Penske driver took the lead from polesitter Santino Ferrucci going into the first corner and drove relatively unchallenged to victory. The 43-year-old was the closest rival, Palou, who started third and quickly moved up to second. However, he was unable to challenge the Australian.

Power led 101 of the 110 laps and beat Palou by 9.8267s to take his third win of the season and the 44th of his IndyCar career. Power also moved back into second place in the title race, now 54 points behind Palou with three races remaining.

“Very rewarding,” Power said of the win. “I came here determined, as did the whole team. (We) did well in qualifying and ran the race as, not a last-ditch effort, but really if Palou finished ahead of us today it would be very difficult (in the title fight).

He added: “A few bad races before this, but I really, really love this series. I feel privileged to be a part of it and race with all these great drivers and see if we can get a championship.”

Power’s Team Penske teammate Josef Newgarden finished a distant third, while Andretti Global’s Colton Herta finished in fourth, ahead of Chip Ganassi Racing’s Marcus Armstrong in fifth.

Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing Honda

Photo by: Phillip Abbott / Motorsport Images

But it was a nightmare race for Chip Ganassi’s Scott Dixon, who retired on the opening lap.

The seven-time IndyCar champion was forced off the track by an aggressive push from Andretti Global’s Kyle Kirkwood, causing the Kiwi to lose momentum and two corners later he collided with Pietro Fittipaldi, sending him into the Turn 8 barrier. Fittipaldi was given a drive-through penalty for the crash.

At the restart on lap five, Power managed to maintain his lead, but he continued to move further back as Herta passed Christian Lundgaard to take fifth place.

In a relatively quiet race, Romain Grosjean spun midway through the race exiting Turn 1. As he got going again, he crossed the racing line and hit Ed Carpenter Racing’s Christian Rasmussen.

Grosjean suffered damage to the right front and briefly went off the track before entering the pits. The former Formula 1 driver was later given a drive-through penalty for the incident.

IndyCar Portland – Race Results