Will Power – XPEL Grand Prix at Road America – Photo by Chris Owens

By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio

Team Penske ace Will Power says he and wife Liz have been through “a rough trot” _ Aussie-speak for an 18-month journey that took the family from a hospital emergency room in North Carolina to Victory Lane in Wisconsin.

Will Power – XPEL Grand Prix at Road America – Photo by James Black

Power posted his first NTT IndyCar Series win since June 2022 in Detroit _ a drought of 34 races _ to lead a Team Penske podium sweep during Sunday’s XPEL Grand Prix of Road America presented by AMR. Power had won at least one race for 16 consecutive seasons from 2007-2022 before going winless in 2023 as his wife dealt with a rare Staph infection.

A two-time series champion, Power drove his No. 12 Verizon Business Team Penske Chevrolet to a 3.2609-second victory over teammate Josef Newgarden in the No. 2 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet. Native New Zealander Scott McLaughlin finished third in the No. 3 XPEL Team Penske Chevrolet, 8.0148-seconds behind Power.

His 42nd career victory tied Power for fourth with Michael Andretti on INDYCAR’s all-time wins list and touched-off an emotional Victory Lane celebration. Power was embraced tearfully by Liz, whom Will cared for during her serious illness last year, and son, Beau, along with team members and friends.

Will and Liz Power and son Beau – XPEL Grand Prix at Road America – Photo by Joe Skibinski | IMS Photo

Liz Power was diagnosed with a Staph infection in January 2023 during an emergency room trip to a hospital near their home on Lake Norman in North Carolina. The Staph infection had settled in her spinal column, a condition requiring immediate surgery. As Will recounted on Sunday, his wife nearly died on the operating table during that procedure on Jan. 17, 2023.

“You start thinking. When that was going on, you start thinking, ‘Should I be racing at all?’^” Power said during his post-race presser in Elkhart Lake, Wis. “If something happens to Liz and something happens to me, is she going to get better, what’s going to happen? The doctor said this can come back at any time. Should I be racing? That was the thing that was planted in my mind last year.

“You certainly don’t perform at your highest level because you don’t want your son to have no parents. That is sort of the thing you’re thinking. Yeah, tough wrestling with that. Ultimately, yeah, if she wasn’t getting better, I would stop (racing). I would have to stop for my son. Simple as that.”

Will Power – XPEL Grand Prix at Road America – Photo by Joe Skibinski | IMS Photo

Power led the first podium sweep by a series team since Andretti Global’s Colton Herta, Alexander Rossi and Ryan Hunter-Reay took the top three spots in September 2020 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio. Team Penske’s most recent podium sweep occurred in September 2017 at Sonoma Raceway in Northern California, with Frenchman Simon Pagenaud, Newgarden and Power finishing in that respective order.

Power also took the championship lead by five points over Spaniard Alex Palou, the two-time/reigning series champion who finished fourth in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. Kyle Kirkwood completed the top-five in the No. 27 AutoNation Honda of Andretti Global.

“Massively special,” said Power, at 43 the senior member of Roger Penske’s open-wheel juggernaut. “We’ve worked so hard to try to get wins. I worked really hard in the offseason. Obviously, last season was very stressful. Had half-a-mind at home and half at the track, so it was very difficult to perform at a high level there.

Will Power – XPEL Grand Prix at Road America – Photo by Chris Owens

“(Liz) was in tears. So was her mother. Had Beau there. Yeah, been a rough trot. It was last year we didn’t get a win. She wasn’t at a lot of the races.

“Yeah, good stuff. Good stuff. Very positive.”

Power won his championships in 2014 and 2022, sandwiched around a victory in the 2018 Indianapolis 500. He is the sport’s all-time qualifying king with 70 poles, and counting.

Power said Liz’s improving health allowed him to begin the 2024 season better-prepared for the grind.  “I was just back to how I prepared for a year, which is constantly improving on my craft,” Power said. “I have to say I’m a better driver again this year than I was in ’22 when I won the championship. Last year was sort of a stall-out here. Not much I could do. Spending a lot of time at home, looking after Liz, making sure everything was going well for her.

“Also, like, it’s a long process. Once they put the metal plates and all that, you have that infection in the blood, it can stick to the metal, come back. It’s like, ‘What’s going to happen?’ Continual blood tests. You just got to be on top of it. If it comes, you have to be very quick to have the antibiotics reduce it, I guess. You got to be quick to catch it.”

Josef Newgarden – XPEL Grand Prix at Road America – Photo by James Black

The race on RA’s 4.014-mile/14-turn natural-terrain layout started in chaotic fashion on Lap 1 when NTT P1 Award-winner Linus Lundqvist’s No. 8 American Legion Chip Ganassi Racing Honda was hit from behind and put into a spin in Turn 1 by the No. 11 Ridgeline Lubricants CGR Honda of teammate Marcus Armstrong.

Newgarden narrowly escaped that incident, as the accordion effect forced his nose to hit the rear of front row starter Colton Herta’s No. 26 Gainbridge Honda of Andretti Global with Curb-Agajanian, sending Herta’s car into a spin.

Kirkwood took the lead after that incident, with McLaughlin right behind. McLaughlin passed Kirkwood in Turn 1 for the lead on Lap 4 and stayed there until Lap 16, when Newgarden took the top spot after McLaughlin’s first pit stop.

By that point, Power had crept into the top-five, and tire tactics began to unfold in the leaders’ respective pit boxes. Newgarden completed the first 17 laps of the 55-lapper on Firestone Firehawk alternate tires, while McLaughlin and Power stayed on Firestone primary tires for their first two stops. INDYCAR rules state drivers must use both tire compounds for at least two laps in each road or street- course race.

Scott McLaughlin leads the field – XPEL Grand Prix at Road America – Photo by Joe Skibinski | IMS Photo

Alternate, red-sidewall tires offer more speed but less durability. So, it appeared Newgarden was in good shape to drive to victory since he had used his alternate tires early, while his two teammates had to run a stint on the alternates during the race’s second half.

The pivotal point came on the final pit stops by Penske’s lead three. McLaughlin came to pit road first, shedding his alternate tires for primaries at the end of Lap 42. Newgarden pitted one lap later, staying with a final set of primary tires. He exited pit road well ahead of McLaughlin, as the “overcut” strategy worked.

Power waited until the end of Lap 44 to replace his alternate tires with a fresh set of primary Firestones. The deepest of the “overcuts” prevailed, as Power exited pit lane ahead of Newgarden.

A two-time series champion, Newgarden made one final attempt to pass Power at the start of Lap 46 but couldn’t complete the move. Power then cycled to the lead on Lap 49 as slower drivers on alternate pit strategies made their final stops. Power never was challenged again.

“We put together a great day,” said Newgarden, 33, who rebounded physically from a massive crash during practice on Saturday. Damage to his car’s chassis forced Newgarden into his backup No. 2 machine, which was built-up overnight with the help of crew members from all three Penske teams.

“It wasn’t a car issue, I can tell you that,” Newgarden said. “At Team Penske, certainly me, I’m not ever concerned if we have to build-up a new car. We have great consistency across the board. This team I think is the best as far as putting another car on-track, and it’s going to be the exact same thing. It’s the same product every time we put it on the track.

“I don’t think that would have made a difference. I think we just all had a really good day. We got a 1-2-3 for the team. We just probably mis-stepped there at the end. I feel bad that I came in a lap early. I probably should have stayed out.”

Newgarden’s race-day strategist is Tim Cindric, President of Team Penske.

“It was literally nearly three seconds of an advantage on an overcut,” said Newgarden, reviewing the decision-making. “Two-and-a-half, three-second advantage. You can’t get overcut on a day like today. You got to work that problem out. We pretty much had it worked out. It’s all part of INDYCAR racing. You got to sort of manage the situation. I felt like I didn’t make the right call there. We could have kept going, and we should have. So when you go for the undercut, that’s what happens. You just get burned. We got burned at the end.”

Newgarden added Power’s win was the feel-good moment of the weekend _ and maybe the season. “One hundred percent,” Newgarden said. “We love Will. I think another point to hammer home is Will drove just as good of a race as anybody today. He was very deserving to win the race. His pace was just as good as anybody. He did a great job. He just kept clean, was there at the end, got it right. That crew, they deserve to win a race. They’ve been close here for a while.

“From that standpoint it’s nice. It’s tough. I think we let it go, but at the same time you feel really good for the No. 12 crew because they deserved it, too. They did a good job today.”

Next NTT IndyCar Series event is the Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey on Sunday, June 23, at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in Northern California. Live coverage will start at 6 p.m. (EDT) on the USA Network, Peacock and the INDYCAR Radio Network.

Pole-sitter Jamie Chadwick completed an historic INDY NXT by Firestone weekend sweep Sunday with her victory in the Grand Prix of Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wis.

Jamie Chadwick – Indy NXT By Firestone Grand Prix at Road America – Photo by Joe Skibinski | IMS Photo)

Chadwick is the first woman to win a race in INDYCAR’s developmental series since 2010 and only the third female overall. She led all 20 laps from pole in the No. 28 VEXT car of Andretti Global to become the first female winner in INDY NXT since Pippa Mann, also of Great Britain, in September 2010 at the 1.5-mile Kentucky Speedway. Brazilian Ana Beatriz is the other female winner in the series, with single victories in 2008 and 2009.

Chadwick is the first female to win an INDY NXT race on a road or street-course, as Beatriz and Mann won on ovals.

“I have no words,” said Chadwick, a 26-year-old native of Bath, Somerset, England. “Honestly, I’m a bit emotional. We’ve had an unbelievable car this year and just haven’t been able to do anything about it. I’m just so happy we held on there.”

Chadwick drove to victory by 0.8203-seconds over Andretti Global teammate Louis Foster in the No. 26 Copart/Novara Technologies car. Foster edged series-leader Jacob Abel in the No. 51 Abel Construction car fielded by Abel Motorsports by 0.0236-seconds at the finish to hang onto second and cut into Abel’s championship lead. Abel now leads Foster by 19 points.

Jamie Chadwick- Indy NXT By Firestone Grand Prix at Road America – Photo by James Black

“Massive congratulations to Jamie,” Foster said. “She’s done an amazing job. She was the woman to beat this weekend. Really, really fast. More than happy for the team. One-two, you can’t ask for anything more.”

Reece Gold finished a season-best fourth in the No. 10 HMD Motorsports car, while teammate Caio Collet placed fifth in the No. 18 car as the race’s leading rookie.

Chadwick, first woman to win a pole on a road or street-course in INDY NXT history on Saturday, never relinquished that spot during the race. But the drive was far from easy for Chadwick, who is in her second INDY NXT season after winning three championships in the European-based, all-female W Series.

Abel jumped from the fourth starting position to second and immediately applied pressure to Chadwick on Lap 1 after Foster’s move for the lead went wide in Turn 1. Chadwick was able to maintain a gap of about seven-tenths of a second through two caution periods in the race’s first half.

Foster passed Abel with an inside move in Turn 1 on Lap 13, giving Chadwick 1.3-seconds of breathing room as the two title rivals dueled side-by-side. Foster drove right up to Chadwick’s gearbox two laps later, but she parried the move for the lead through Turn 13.

Foster and Abel continued to dice side-by-side for second on Lap 15, giving Chadwick a margin of seven-tenths of a second. Series rookie Myles Rowe then spun off-track in Turn 1 in the No. 99 HMD with Force Indy car on Lap 16, collecting the No. 21 ABEL Motorsports machine of Jordan Missig. Neither driver was injured.

That incident triggered a red flag from race officials to provide time for a green-flag finish. Chadwick led the field to green on Lap 19 in a two-lap dash around the 4.014-mile/14-turn layout for the checkered. She built a lead of seven-tenths of a second over Foster as the white flag flew and never was challenged on the final lap.

“With the red flag at the end, I was like, ‘Come on!’^” Chadwick said. “We started to lose the tires a little bit. So, I just knew I had to be aggressive. I knew they (Foster and Abel) have a championship to worry about, and I just had to get my head down. I really wanted to win today.”

Results of the XPEL Grand Prix at Road America presented by AMR NTT IndyCar Series event on the 4.014-mile/14-turn Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wis., with order of finish, starting position in parentheses, driver, engine, laps completed and reason out (if any):

1. (5) Will Power, Chevrolet, 55, Running
   2. (6) Josef Newgarden, Chevrolet, 55, Running
   3. (8) Scott McLaughlin, Chevrolet, 55, Running
   4. (7) Alex Palou, Honda, 55, Running
   5. (4) Kyle Kirkwood, Honda, 55, Running
   6. (2) Colton Herta, Honda, 55, Running
   7. (14) Romain Grosjean, Chevrolet, 55, Running
   8. (11) Pato O’Ward, Chevrolet, 55, Running
   9. (15) Marcus Ericsson, Honda, 55, Running
   10. (24) Graham Rahal, Honda, 55, Running
   11. (13) Christian Lundgaard, Honda, 55, Running
   12. (1) Linus Lundqvist, Honda, 55, Running
   13. (18) Theo Pourchaire, Chevrolet, 55, Running
   14. (22) Felix Rosenqvist, Honda, 55, Running
   15. (19) Santino Ferrucci, Chevrolet, 55, Running
   16. (25) Pietro Fittipaldi, Honda, 55, Running
   17. (26) Sting Ray Robb, Chevrolet, 55, Running
   18. (9) Alexander Rossi, Chevrolet, 55, Running
   19. (27) Helio Castroneves, Honda, 55, Running
   20. (16) Christian Rasmussen, Chevrolet, 55, Running
   21. (10) Scott Dixon, Honda, 55, Running
   22. (23) Luca Ghiotto, Honda, 55, Running
   23. (21) Nolan Siegel, Chevrolet, 54, Running
   24. (17) Rinus VeeKay, Chevrolet, 53, Running
   25. (20) Jack Harvey, Honda, 51, Running
   26. (3) Marcus Armstrong, Honda, 35, Mechanical
   27. (12) Kyffin Simpson, Honda, 5, Contact

Race Statistics
Winner’s average speed: 126.154 mph
Time of race: 1:45:00.0267
Margin of victory: 3.2609-seconds
Cautions: 3 for 6 laps
Lead changes: 13 among 7 drivers

Lap leaders
Kirkwood, Kyle 1 – 3
McLaughlin, Scott 4 – 15
Newgarden, Josef 16
Palou, Alex 17 – 18
Herta, Colton 19 – 20
Rosenqvist, Felix 21 – 23
McLaughlin, Scott 24 – 29
Newgarden, Josef 30 – 31
Palou, Alex 32
Herta, Colton 33 – 35
Newgarden, Josef 36 – 42
Power, Will 43 – 44
Herta, Colton 45 – 48
Power, Will 49 – 55

NTT IndyCar point standings _ 1, Will Power, Team Penske, 236; 2, Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing, 231; 3, Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing, 225; 4, Pato O’Ward, Arrow McLaren, 184; 5, Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske, 179; 6, Kyle Kirkwood, Andretti Global, 179; 7, Colton Herta, Andretti Global, 176; 8, Josef Newgarden, Team Penske, 169; 9, Alexander Rossi, Arrow McLaren, 162; 10, Felix Rosenqvist, Meyer Shank Racing, 157;

11, Christian Lundgaard, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, 141; 12, Santino Ferrucci, A.J. Foyt Racing, 132; 13, Marcus Ericsson, Andretti Global, 130; 14, Marcus Armstrong, Chip Ganassi Racing, 121; 15, Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, 121; 16, Romain Grosjean, Juncos Hollinger Racing, 112; 17, Rinus VeeKay, Ed Carpenter Racing, 109; 18, Linus Lundqvist, Chip Ganassi Racing, 100; 19, Kyffin Simpson, Chip Ganassi Racing, 81; 20, Pietro Fittipaldi, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, 81;

21, Theo Pourchaire, Arrow McLaren, 75; 22, Augustin Canapino, Juncos Hollinger Racing, 74; 23, Sting Ray Robb, A.J. Foyt Racing, 68; 24, Christian Rasmussen, Ed Carpenter Racing, 65; 25, Jack Harvey, Dale Coyne Racing, 65; 26, Tom Blomqvist, Meyer Shank Racing, 46; 27, Callum Ilott, Arrow McLaren, 39; 28, Helio Castroneves, Meyer Shank Racing, 26; 29, Luca Ghiotto, Dale Coyne Racing, 22; 30, Conor Daly, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing-Cusick Motorsports, 21;

31, Kyle Larson, Hendrickcars.com Arrow McLaren, 21; 32, Takuma Sato, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, 19; 33, Nolan Siegel, Dale Coyne Racing, 17; 34, Ed Carpenter, Ed Carpenter Racing, 14; 35, Tristan Vautier, Dale Coyne Racing, 12; 36, Colin Braun, Dale Coyne Racing, 10; 37, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing-Cusick Motorsports, 6; 38, Marco Andretti, Andretti Herta with Marco & Curb Agajanian, 5; 39, Katherine Legge, Dale Coyne Racing with Rick Ware Racing, 5.