INDIANAPOLIS GRAND PRIX - Will Power Dominates 2017 Indy GP
INDIANAPOLIS - RIS - May13, 2017 - The 2017 Indianapolis Grand Prix started under bright sunny skies with a mediocre crowd at best, in attendance.
On lap one at turn seven, Marco Andretti and Tony Kannan had minor contact. Race control charged Marco with a drive through penalty for avoidable contact. The rest of the field quickly snaked their way into a line with Will Power in command of what turned into what became a procession for the next 85 laps.
Power continued at the front until the first round of pit stops on lap 20, when Penske teammate Heilo Castroneves took the point. Only to trade spots again on the second stop on lap 42. The noted difference at this point Helio, in second, still needed to run the black harder tires. It is looking like Power will be in victory lane.
The third round of stops started on lap 63, on the following lap, 42, Powers’ team pulled off a Penske Perfect pit stop, giving the lead back to Helio. On the next lap Castroneves stop, gave the lead back to Will resulting in a five second lead.
In the meantime, Scott Dixon set off in hot pursuit of second place, Helio with 16 laps to go. no contest here. To a great extent Castroneves was a sitting duck as the only car on the track on Firestone Blacks.
With 10 laps to go in the caution free race Power built a 7 second lead over Dixon as the Penske crew asked Will to back off a bit to save the Firestone reds, in case of a late yellow. Power’s lead dropped to 5 seconds with 7 laps to go, to match lap time with Dixie.
With five to go Dixon, driving hard closed to 4 seconds of Power, who was just playing with the Ganassi driver like a kitten with a stuffed mouse. This was truly no contest. Yet another INDYCAR road race with not a single on-track pass for the lead. A parade interrupted by a few pit stops.
The final lap at the line, the differential between Power in first and second place Dixon was 5.2830 seconds. “Yeah, that was hard work. The car was great. Just a perfect day. It was just our day. Now if we can do this next week.”
This was Powers 30th win, the 190th for Team Penske, and the second race in a row that Penske drivers led every lap.
No Question, Will Power was in a class by himself today. It was a Penske Perfect day.
IMS historian Donald Davidson, was asked for his impression of today’s race, his answer...”The weather was nice.” That says a lot in this reporter’s mind.