Sonoma IndyCar: Will Power finally wins again in contentious race
Will Power ended a 16-month winless streak with his victory in a controversial IndyCar race at Sonoma
The Penske driver crossed the line 1.1 seconds ahead of Justin Wilson.
But most talk afterwards was of the pitlane collision between Scott Dixon and three members of Power's pit crew that resulted in a penalty for the New Zealander, relegating him to 15th on an afternoon that he'd otherwise controlled.
The incident happened when Dixon was exiting his pit box and clipped a tyre being carried by Power's right-rear tyre changer, skittling he and two other crew members.
None were hurt, and there were wildly differing opinions regarding whether Dixon had any opportunity to avoid the Penske personnel. But race control decided against the Ganassi driver, summoning him in for a penalty that initially dropped him to 21st.
Up to that point Dixon had been the dominant driver of the afternoon, and his exit proved to be a boon for his two closest title rivals in Helio Castroneves and Ryan Hunter-Reay.
Both men had stood to lose a huge pile of points to the Kiwi, and instead came out of the weekend having extended their advantage.
Power kept himself in the hunt with the help of some aggressive restarts - one perhaps too aggressive in the view of Dario Franchitti - but Wilson took a very different route to second place.
The Brit had gone against the grain by starting on the black tyres, and then had his pit strategy thrown into disarray when he was turned around early on and stopped out of sequence.
But the combination of late-race cautions, a good car from Dale Coyne Racing and, during a couple of key points, better tyres than the guys around him allowed him to work himself back into contention.
It was a more frustrating afternoon for Franchitti, who had led early on but then made a mistake and conceded a spot to Dixon.
The Scot admitted later that he would have fought harder had it been anyone other than his team-mate trying to pass him.
Later, he was forced onto the grass by Power on a restart, a move that he felt should have earned the Australian a penalty.
A Sonoma record of seven cautions punctuated the afternoon, although Sebastian Saavedra was the only driver to exit the race as the result of contact. The Colombian hit the barrier at Turn 9 after being tagged by James Davison.
Debutant Lucas Luhr's day in the second Sarah Fisher entry was cut short by a late mechanical problem.
Results - 85 laps:
Pos Driver Team/Engine Time/Gap
1. Will Power Penske/Chevy 2h20m46.8226s
2. Justin Wilson Coyne/Honda +1.1930s
3. Dario Franchitti Ganassi/Honda +3.4036s
4. Marco Andretti Andretti/Chevy +4.1266s
5. Simon Pagenaud Schmidt/Honda +4.7042s
6. Ryan Hunter-Reay Andretti/Chevy +5.1074s
7. Helio Castroneves Penske/Chevy +8.5383s
8. James Hinchcliffe Andretti/Chevy +9.0231s
9. Simon de Silvestro KV/Chevy +9.2858s
10. Sebastien Bourdais Dragon/Chevy +11.2082s
11. Graham Rahal Rahal/Honda +12.0359s
12. Tristan Vautier Schmidt/Honda +15.1056s
13. Tony Kanaan KV/Chevy +17.7606s
14. EJ Viso Andretti/Chevy +18.5207s
15. Scott Dixon Ganassi/Honda +20.2165s
16. JR Hildebrand Herta/Honda +20.7611s
17. Ryan Briscoe Panther/Chevy +29.4788s
18. James Davison Coyne/Honda +43.7768s
19. Ed Carpenter Carpenter/Chevy +1 lap
20. Charlie Kimball Ganassi/Honda +2 laps
Retirements:
Sebastian Saavedra Dragon/Chevy 81 laps
Lucas Luhr Fisher/Honda 81 laps
Takuma Sato Foyt/Honda 67 laps
Josef Newgarden Fisher/Honda 56 laps
James Jakes Rahal/Honda 28 laps
All drivers use Dallara DW12 chassis
Sonoma IndyCar: Dario Franchitti heads Ganassi qualifying one-two
Oriol Servia to complete IndyCar season with Panther
Title-winning Newman/Haas Indycars to be auctioned
Indycars raced by Mario Andretti, Michael Andretti, Nigel Mansell and Sebastien Bourdais are among artefacts of the legendary Newman/Haas Racing team to be auctioned by RM Sotheby's in October.
Ganassi will support Palou’s IndyCar title bid despite contract dispute
Chip Ganassi Racing won’t waver in its support of Alex Palou’s IndyCar title defence, despite being locked in a legal dispute with the Spaniard who intends to join McLaren.
Why the 2022 IndyCar title fight is Penske vs Ganassi yet again
There have been wins, poles and promise from others, but the 2022 IndyCar Series championship battle has distilled down to a fight between old rivals Team Penske and Chip Ganassi Racing once more. A principal from each explains what has elevated their teams beyond other rivals ahead of the final three races
Nashville IndyCar winner Dixon feared race was ruined by shunt
Scott Dixon was convinced that car damage had ended his victory hopes at IndyCar's Nashville round, before working his way to the front to eventually claim his 53rd series win.
How Ericsson achieved Indy immortality as Ganassi's main man stumbled
Chip Ganassi Racing team was strong again in the Indianapolis 500, with poleman Scott Dixon and reigning champion Alex Palou leading almost three quarters of the race between them. But when dominator Dixon was penalised for pitlane speeding, ex-Formula 1 driver Marcus Ericsson stepped up to score the biggest win of his career and seize the IndyCar points lead
Ranking the top 10 IndyCar drivers of 2021
In an enthralling 2021 IndyCar campaign, the series bounced back from its COVID-19 truncated year prior and Alex Palou defeated both the established order and his fellow young guns to clinch a maiden title. It capped a remarkable season with plenty of standout performers
How F1's other IndyCar exile finally unlocked his potential
Romain Grosjean's swashbuckling rookie year in IndyCar captured the imagination of many in 2021. But another ex-Formula 1 driver whose potential was masked by five years of toil in, at best, middling machinery also enjoyed a breakout year in 2021 - winning twice and finishing sixth in points. Here's how Marcus Ericsson finally delivered on his promise
How Ganassi's relentless new champion outfoxed IndyCar's best
IndyCar sophomore Alex Palou stunned by overcoming team-mate Scott Dixon and the rest of a white-hot field in 2021. He was consistently fast and crucially showed a level head, rebounding well from setbacks to put himself in a near unassailable position entering the final round
Have Harvey and RLL formed IndyCar’s next winning match-up?
Despite appearing to have an IndyCar job for life with Meyer Shank Racing, Jack Harvey’s departure and move to Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing sparked plenty of debate. However, Harvey's and RLL's combined strengths could prove to be a winning combination - if they get the balance right
Remembering Dan Wheldon and his last and most amazing IndyCar win
Saturday 16 October marks the 10th anniversary of Dan Wheldon’s death. David Malsher-Lopez pays tribute, then asks Wheldon’s race engineer from 2011, Todd Malloy, to recall that magical second victory at the Indianapolis 500
Why Kyle Kirkwood is America's new IndyCar ace-in-waiting
Kyle Kirkwood, the record-setting junior formula driver, sealed the Indy Lights championship last weekend. But despite an absurdly strong junior career and scholarship money, his next move is far from clear
Why IndyCar title glory is just the start for Ganassi's new star
Newly-crowned IndyCar champion Alex Palou has been lauded as a complete driver and veteran-like in only his second season. The 24-year-old is still in the early days of his career, but the parallels are there for all to see with his six-time champion Chip Ganassi Racing team-mate who has been CGR's team leader since 2014