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| Having the best name ever for a race car driver in this competitive era, 2022 NTT INDYCAR SERIES Season Champion Will Power is resolute in his ambition to continue to battle for wins against what appears to be the stacked deck of cards held by Chip Gaassi Racing. Image Credit: Chris Owens - NICS (2023) |
Will Power's Pre-Race Hy-Vee Event Weekend At Iowa Speedway ZOOM Call
[includes event qualifications update at article end]
A decent conversation with Will Power is always a treat. In a pre-race(s) Iowa
Speedway event ZOOM Call, Will covered a wide range of subjects from team
miscalculations on fuel that ended his podium effort on the streets of
Toronto, the character in the type of racing Iowa Speedway sets up (INDYCAR
racing there since 2007), Go Kart chassis business that still carries his
name, the growth of Hy-Vee, Inc. - an employee-owned chain of supermarkets and
title sponsor through the advancement of infrastructure and concert activity
surrounding the two-race weekend event, as well as some music selections along
the way.
What sticks out the most at this time of the season - ten race events complete
with seven race events to go - and nearly 30% of the competition happening
this weekend in Iowa. The championship points opportunities are beginning to
dry up and Will is beginning to feel that the field is now just looking for
wins - just wins.
Chip Ganassi Racing's Alexander Palou, driving the No. 10 American Legion
sponsored Dallara Honda seems to be walking away from everyone having
increased his substantial points lead in the last race (Toronto) where he
qualified P15 and finished P2 on the podium. Alex went from leading
everyone by 110 points before the race to leading the field by 117 point with
his closest rival being his teammate, six-time series season champion, Scott
Dixon.
We took this opportunity to ask Will Power his thoughts on why we find
ourselves with an overpowering performance by the Chip Ganassi Racing
organization and drivers.
Edmund Jenks - Motorsports Journal BEGIN:
Q. I'm sitting there looking at the drivers' stat rankings, and 3 of the top
4 drivers are Chip Ganassi. I guess, if Palou doesn't show up for two races,
it still goes to Ganassi. What is Ganassi doing over the rest of the field
that has them in this position?
WILL POWER: They have the best cars right now. They do. They're able to
extract the most out of qualifying. Their cars look good off the tires,
they're very fast in the race, and their strategy's good -- they're just
simply the best team right now. They are.
Q. You think this is more than just a Honda-Chevy thing?
WILL POWER: Yeah, I do. No, I don't think much to do with the engines. I
think the engines are pretty equal. I think the Chevy has a bit more top
end. Honda might have a bit more torque down low. But all in all over laps,
it's probably pretty similar.
Ganassi definitely have good cars right now.
Q. I guess what you're saying is it's coming down to teamwork.
WILL POWER: They've got good cars, good drivers. You think about Palou and
Dixon and even Ericsson. Marcus Armstrong is a rookie, but also very quick.
They've got a very tough group. Really you're looking at all teams now have
got -- man, the drivers, anyone who's not performing is replaced pretty
quick these days in INDYCAR.
You can't really look at any team with an average -- you look at Andretti.
He's got Herta. Grosjean is very quick, obviously not that consistent in the
races. And Kirkwood, who's exceptional. McLaren's group. And you've got
Lundgaard and Rahal now. It's just a very, very tough field.
Q. So I guess your best strategy is to follow your teammate and then catch
him at the end?
WILL POWER: I think you've got to take care of it sooner than that. I think
it's all said and done by the last stint although you can be sort of called
out any time with the way the traffic runs. I think you need to be on top of
that before you even get there.
As you know, it's not all over if he's leading at the beginning. There's
many strategy plays and obviously a lot of traffic to get through. Just
never lose hope. Keep pushing, pushing real hard and just being smart about
it.
Q. Good luck in two races, and I guess go for the lead.
WILL POWER: Thank you. Will do.
ENDS
NTT INDYCAR SERIES ZOOM Call News Conference
Wednesday, July 19, 2023
Will Power - Press Conference
THE MODERATOR: Needless to say, it's an exciting weekend for the NTT INDYCAR
Series, the height of the race weekend featuring not one, but two races.
Friday it's the Hy-Vee Homefront 250 presented by Instacart. Saturday it's the
Hy-Vee One Step 250 presented by Gatorade. Coverage of both will be on
national television with NBC set to showcase each race for the weekend.
Our guest today knows a thing or two about the fastest short track on the
planet. He's a five-time pole winner at Iowa and has three straight podiums on
the 7/8 mile oval. He drives the No. 12 Verizon 5G Team Penske Chevrolet, the
reigning NTT INDYCAR Series champion, Will Power. Thanks for joining us, Will.
WILL POWER: Hello.
THE MODERATOR: Heading back to Iowa. How much are you looking forward to that?
WILL POWER: Heading back to Iowa. Yeah, yeah, yeah, one of my favorite tracks.
Been trying to win there for years. There's one guy that seems to prevent it.
Yeah, it's going to be fun.
THE MODERATOR: And who would that one guy be?
WILL POWER: A guy that hasn't lost an oval race maybe that he's finished in
about three years.
THE MODERATOR: You got to be nice, though, he's your teammate. Or maybe you
don't have to be nice. I don't know.
WILL POWER: No, teammates are actually worse to each other on track, aren't
they? If you watch the McLaren boys.
THE MODERATOR: You might have something there. Tell me about your comfort
level at Iowa. Maybe just your comfort level on ovals in general. It certainly
has changed through the course of your career, hasn't it?
WILL POWER: Yeah, it kind of goes in and out. I actually made -- like I really
struggled at Texas and then made a big adjustment. Even at the Indy test I
struggled.
Made an adjustment in driving, and it significantly helped. I was a lot better
at Indy this year in the race, like a lot better. I felt like, if I hadn't had
the weight jacker failure, which ultimately sent me very loose in that stint,
I feel like we would have been the front group fighting or top sort of three
positions.
Yeah, felt very good. Always feel good at Iowa. We have great cars there.
Yeah, it's an interesting race. It's quite difficult to win.
If Josef wasn't there, maybe I would feel very confident. But, yes, I've been
runner-up, I think you said, last three races I've been on the podium. Is that
right?
THE MODERATOR: Yes.
WILL POWER: I just keep knocking on that door. So, yeah, looking forward to
getting there, seeing where we stack up. I feel like we'll stack up there.
I feel all of these other teams will have closed the gap a bit because it is a
doubleheader race. If you're going into off-season after last year, you would
focus pretty hard on that because of the points available. Maybe Ganassi is a
bit better, and we know McLaren is good there.
I don't think Andretti tested there. Oh, yes, they did. They did. Yeah, it
could be pretty -- it will be a pretty fierce race.
THE MODERATOR: And not one, but two for that matter. Let's go ahead and open
it up for questions.
Q. Will, I got one for Iowa, but first just to go back to Toronto, obviously
not the way the strategy wanted to unfold for the Penske teams. Just curious,
like did you guys figure it out in the debrief? Was it just a fuel number you
were missing? What happened with Toronto?
WILL POWER: No, I was -- the fuel estimation was 2 percent wrong. That was the
problem. We had a 2 percent error. Even if it was just a 1 percent error
wrong, we're making it, but 2 percent is -- yeah, we're making it -- we were
on par for the numbers that were given to me. Everyone was expecting that we
would make it.
So it was such a surprise when we saw a fuel light come on, which is triggered
by the fuel -- what's the name of it now? I can't even believe I'm forgetting
that. There's a little canister in the car. Once there's 1.8 gallons left,
that gives you the first indication of exactly where your fuel's at.
Otherwise, you're only guessing at what the engine manufacturer tells you.
God, what is the name of that? How could I actually forget that? The whatever
drops, the --
THE MODERATOR: Do we need a lifeline for this? Should we call somebody for
this?
WILL POWER: I just can't believe I'm forgetting that. How bad is my mind that
I can't even remember that? The canister drop. Once the -- anyway, that
canister thing in the fuel tank, that trigger came on much earlier than we
expected, which is from the 2 percent error, which is just so hard to --
INDYCAR should allow fuel flow meters. They should. Because the amount of
money teams spend on building the canister in there, the whatever it is, the
fuel flow meter, because then you know exactly where it is. I think they don't
do it for cost reasons because it's probably around ten grand for a fuel flow
meter. Yeah, it would make the strategy much easier, much easier.
Is that good or bad? You just wouldn't have that error in there. You wouldn't
have that estimation of when the -- the only thing you get is that canister
full of fuel when it gets to that point, when the whole fuel cell is empty,
the bottom of that canister, which is about 1.8 gallons or something.
Yeah, unfortunate. That was maybe a potentially top three or maybe even
second. But to how much more -- you know, heard it running out lifting on the
back straight. If we don't have that error, we're pushing pretty hard on those
last couple laps.
That's no one's fault. It's just one of those things. Who would think 2
percent error -- 1 percent error, yeah, fair enough. But 2, unfortunately.
Q. Is it 2 percent off, is it just a data miscalculation?
WILL POWER: No. It's not a -- like I said, we don't have fuel flow meters. So
when the -- what is the name of that thing? I know it. I know it. I talk about
it all the time. Yeah, you don't have a fuel flow meter.
So you get, I think it's 18.4 gallons. So you're guessing the 17, 16.6 gallons
you're guessing. You're at the mercy of what they've seen all weekend of how
much fuel it has used over those practices, and then you can guess through
that 16.4 till it gets down to the canister.
Yeah, you can guess -- you're only guessing. So, yes, we always factor in a 1
percent error or so. If it had been 2 percent, good, we're really lucky. Yeah,
there's always a slight error, but that was big for us. We kind of have to
look into why.
Q. Along with what the name of that thing is.
WILL POWER: Yeah, the -- God.
Q. Sorry to cause so much consternation. I'm not going to ask you about it
again.
THE MODERATOR: Is it the collector pot, Will?
WILL POWER: The collector! The collector drops. Oh, my God. How did I not know
that? Once the collector drops. The collector, yeah, there you go.
Q. Our stories are now complete. On Iowa, kind of a two-part question, I
guess. One, you said it's so hard to win there. Dixon doesn't have a win there
either, and he, I think, has an average finish of sixth. What makes it so hard
to win there? And are you concerned at all -- Penske and McLaren didn't test.
Everybody else tested, including Ganassi, Andretti. Any concern at all that
you guys are going in there -- or were Penske and McLaren so good, winning
both races last year, that you guys don't have any worries?
WILL POWER: We would use that test day on a track that we really would
struggle at. Unfortunately, we used one of our tests at Road America, and the
tie was different, and it really didn't work out, which happens sometimes.
We have very good cars there, so we're hoping that we turn up and have to make
minor adjustments, slight tire changes, track degradation.
Those guys, for sure, I would expect, have improved, which makes it -- yes, it
will be a tougher race. I think track position is pretty big there because
it's kind of like Texas. If you're at the back, you're sitting in very dirty
air and tires deg a lot sooner. And guys up front, they don't, so when they
get to the back of the train, they can murder through traffic.
Yeah, you know how INDYCAR is. What makes it difficult to win? Josef is one of
the reasons. He's just been very good there. He's just very good at putting it
together. That certainly was the closest I'd ever been to him last year. We'll
see if I can improve more this year.
Q. Will, last year you won the championship with consistency. We've seen other
drivers win championships by racking up the most wins. This year it seems that
Alex Palou is doing it with consistency and the most wins. When you put those
two together, is that almost an unbeatable championship combination?
WILL POWER: Yes, absolutely, if you're winning and you're consistent, you're
definitely going to win the championship. Certainly, as a team, that group on
that car, their strategies, pit stops, full package. Obviously, Palou, full
package as a driver. Extremely tough to beat that this year.
I think the thing that's hurt us the most is qualifying because our race pace
has been really good, strategy has been really good, pit stop's been great. As
a team, we have all struggled the most to extract the most out of the car in
qualifying.
Q. Used to go to Iowa, and it would be a nice little race in front of
grassroots fans, maybe 17,000, 20,000 fans. It would be a nice event. It would
be a good race. Now you're getting out there, it's almost like a mini
Indianapolis in many ways with so much stuff, so much construction going on
out there, temporary grand suites, big name concert acts. How much of a big
event feel do the drivers feel now going to Iowa?
WILL POWER: Yeah, huge amount of money put in by Hy-Vee. Infrastructure looks
great, and obviously some pretty big names from the music industry there
performing. Yeah, it's sort of a dream promoter really, dream sponsor for the
race right there with Hy-Vee. We're certainly lucky to have them.
Yeah, the feel is it brings a lot more people. Should look pretty good on TV.
Q. Finally, it doesn't happen very often, but if it happens again, it could be
potentially devastating to the sport, but earlier today INDYCAR announced the
strength of wheel retainer nut to keep the wheels from getting off the car,
like what we saw at the Indianapolis 500 this year. Your thoughts on INDYCAR
making a change so important that quickly after what happened with Kyle
Kirkwood and Felix Rosenqvist in this year's Indianapolis 500?
WILL POWER: Let me tell you, that's the top of the list in importance is that
those wheels don't go flying. They've done a great job in the past with the
tethers. So I'm sure there was a big investigation into how that wheel came
off and why.
Sounds like the tether must have worked, but it must have actually pulled --
it must have pulled the wheel nut and the wheel bearing off the axle upright.
Yeah, I can see -- yeah, massively important, that stuff. Like flying wheels,
flying debris into big crowds is just all bad.
Got lucky there that that wheel that came off ended up going through a gap.
And they were very quick to investigate and make a change, so it will be
safer.
Q. I lied. I've got one more question. With Palou's lead and with the schedule
winding down, nobody ever wishes bad luck on a fellow competitor, but you kind
of hope he gets lost on his way to the starting grid one of these races?
WILL POWER: He'll probably have a bad race. He could have a couple to not even
turn up and still win the championship. Now I think everyone is just
absolutely going for wins. It's not even -- you know, you're not really
championship racing anymore. You're just going for wins.
Hence what happened at Toronto. Running out of gas, you're willing to take
more of a risk on strategy and so on. Yeah, just all about winning now, like
try to rack up some wins.
It is possible to catch him obviously, mathematically, for probably a top ten,
but that's a big gap. That's a lot of bad races for a guy that's very
consistent. But who knows? Say you won both races at Iowa and he DNF'd both,
suddenly it starts to look a little more realistic.
But, oh, man, that's a very solid first, I guess slightly over halfway.
Q. To piggy-back off of that question, Will, these are some good tracks for
you coming up. I think you won 2 of the last 3 return trips to the Indy road
course. With Gateway and Iowa coming up here, do you feel your group can
rattle off some wins here swinging for the fences?
WILL POWER: Yeah, very good tracks coming up for us. Series is ultra
competitive, so I really don't see -- I don't see many weak teams out of the
big four teams: Penske, McLaren, Andretti, and Ganassi. That's just not -- you
might start to add Rahal into that now. Lundgaard is starting to be more of a
regular top five finisher.
Yeah, pretty tough field, toughest in the world actually. That's why, if you
can win one, it's such a big deal. It's a big deal now to win in INDYCAR.
Q. How do you feel this year a pair of 250-lap races, instead of one 250 and
the next one 300. Do you feel similar race both days? Is there anything, it's
a quick turnaround to the next day, you can learn from Saturday and apply it
to Sunday?
WILL POWER: Okay. I didn't even realize last year we had one -- I thought -- I
knew one was shorter. I thought one was like 200, and now they're 250, yeah.
It doesn't truly change much. It probably changes strategy a bit. To me, it
comes down to traffic position, running through that traffic well. Yeah, it's
more of -- yeah. Getting through traffic. The higher the grip, the higher
level of grip, the cooler it is, the harder it is to pass.
Q. Speaking of track position, ask about qualifying. You obviously swept both
poles last year. It's a unique format with lap 1 obviously first race, lap 2
second races. I'm assuming the qualifying draws on entrant points. So you're
kind of towards the top. Is there an advantage to going early since it's 8:30
Iowa time? More rubber on track going later? Is there kind of a strategy? Any
philosophy behind qualifying this weekend?
WILL POWER: You have to see, because I thought about that. You have to see how
cool it is at the beginning because, yes, if it is a sudden temperature rise
-- I don't know where the steepest slope of temperature rise is in the
morning, but cool conditions does help, I'll give you that.
The qualifying line goes through pretty quickly because two laps -- it's going
through pretty quick. So maybe the rubber does mean more, maybe going last or
later helps.
I think, if you're in that top ten, you're pretty good. You always like to go
after your teammates because you get the info, but yeah, so I'm at a bit of a
disadvantage in that respect. I've got two teammates who can learn off of what
I did, but it's a couple of quick laps right there. It's straight out of bed
into the car. Try to drive around that track wide open, it's pretty straight
out of the box, no practice, turn up, and go. So, yeah, pretty hard.
THE MODERATOR: Make sure your alarm clock is on Saturday morning. You don't
want to oversleep that.
WILL POWER: No.
Q. How crucial will it be for you guys to roll off the truck well, going
straight into qualifying? Given that it's two races, you're going to have to
be pretty consistent going into Saturday when it comes to running in traffic
as well, right?
WILL POWER: Yes, you've got to try to balance qualifying versus getting race
work done in that one practice we have. Pretty important to roll off the truck
in a good spot, which I can't see why we wouldn't.
Yeah, that's the advantage of testing. You're going to turn up and just go
straight out of the box and do a quality run on a new set, whereas we're going
to waste a set of tires just getting up to speed. And you need your tires
because you're limited because you've got two races.
Yeah, that's -- yeah, that's the disadvantage of not testing, but I expect the
car to be good out of the box.
Q. And in terms of traffic, how difficult do you think it's going to be to get
through traffic in the races? Given the number of cars we have on the grid
this year.
WILL POWER: I think it will be similar to the way it's been because it's a
two-lane track. It's almost a 2 1/2-lane track. I think it will be your normal
-- if you've got two cars running side by side, you really can't do anything.
You've just got to sit there. As soon as there's another lane, it's sort of
single file, you can motor through traffic.
That is the advantage of starting up front is the fact that you've just been
running in clean air and not degrading tires. There's so much more grip to be
out front in the clear. So when you get to that traffic, they've been running
the heaviest traffic at the very back so their tires have degraded
significantly more. And the fact that they're at the back is usually they
haven't got as good of a car unless something happened in qualifying.
Yeah, so you get to the first few pretty easy. Obviously the further up you
get, the harder it gets. Yeah, that's the challenge of that place. You've got
to work the traffic well while covering the guy behind you who's attacking
you. Yeah, good fun. Very, very good fun race and track.
Q. Dave kind of touched on it a little bit. It is the fastest short track on
the planet. Will, what do you do, if you can verbalize it, what do you do to
suspend the fear factor in such a tight racing environment?
WILL POWER: It's actually -- yeah, it's got less daunting, I'd say, since it's
become more abrasive and a lot more bumpy because you're not wide open. You're
not like on this string with a weight on the end waiting to snap. It used to
be way more physically daunting because you were almost wide open for a whole
bloody race.
It's more -- yeah, it's not -- in the race it's not that daunting. More in
qualifying where you really can almost go wide open, but the fact the car
slides a bit more forgiving, you feel it, and it doesn't have as much
downforce as it used to. It's actually quite enjoyable racing. The racing is
the fun part.
Q. Scott Herta told me you were a better drummer than him. Is that true?
WILL POWER: Colton Herta?
Q. Yes, sorry.
WILL POWER: You think so? I actually haven't heard him drum. Yeah, I don't
know. We should have a drum-off. I don't think he plays that much anymore
actually since he moved to Nashville. Yeah, you've got to be on the drums
every day to keep improving or at least keep what you've got.
Q. Back in 1968 a group called Gary Puckett and The Union Gap had a No. 2
single with a song called Will Power. Have you ever heard it?
WILL POWER: The one, Will Power is now or never?
Q. That's exactly it, yes.
WILL POWER: I have heard that, yes. Isn't it called Lady Willpower or
something?
Q. It's officially called that, but every time I hear that song, I think of
you.
WILL POWER: Yeah, it's a real pity. It's a real pity. It's not what I want to
be known for.
----
Q. I'm sitting there looking at the drivers' stat rankings, and 3 of the top 4
drivers are Chip Ganassi. I guess, if Palou doesn't show up for two races, it
still goes to Ganassi. What is Ganassi doing over the rest of the field that
has them in this position?
WILL POWER: They have the best cars right now. They do. They're able to
extract the most out of qualifying. Their cars look good off the tires,
they're very fast in the race, and their strategy's good -- they're just
simply the best team right now. They are.
Q. You think this is more than just a Honda-Chevy thing?
WILL POWER: Yeah, I do. No, I don't think much to do with the engines. I think
the engines are pretty equal. I think the Chevy has a bit more top end. Honda
might have a bit more torque down low. But all in all over laps, it's probably
pretty similar.
Ganassi definitely have good cars right now.
Q. I guess what you're saying is it's coming down to teamwork.
WILL POWER: They've got good cars, good drivers. You think about Palou and
Dixon and even Ericsson. Marcus Armstrong is a rookie, but also very quick.
They've got a very tough group. Really you're looking at all teams now have
got -- man, the drivers, anyone who's not performing is replaced pretty quick
these days in INDYCAR.
You can't really look at any team with an average -- you look at Andretti.
He's got Herta. Grosjean is very quick, obviously not that consistent in the
races. And Kirkwood, who's exceptional. McLaren's group. And you've got
Lundgaard and Rahal now. It's just a very, very tough field.
Q. So I guess your best strategy is to follow your teammate and then catch him
at the end?
WILL POWER: I think you've got to take care of it sooner than that. I think
it's all said and done by the last stint although you can be sort of called
out any time with the way the traffic runs. I think you need to be on top of
that before you even get there.
As you know, it's not all over if he's leading at the beginning. There's many
strategy plays and obviously a lot of traffic to get through. Just never lose
hope. Keep pushing, pushing real hard and just being smart about it.
Q. Good luck in two races, and I guess go for the lead.
WILL POWER: Thank you. Will do.
----
Q. Hi, Will. Enjoying your backdrop there with the hardware. That's pretty
cool. I attended the opening press conference at Iowa Speedway in I believe
that was '06, and Rusty Wallace was there. They were talking about the
grassroots racing culture of Iowa and how this track fit in so well because
they said Iowa had more half mile speedways per capita than any other state in
the country. I'm wondering if, when you're there, you sense that kind of
fundamental enthusiasm from local people?
THE MODERATOR: Looks like Will may have frozen up.
WILL POWER: The wi-fi has been really bad here. I don't know what's going on.
The cell phone connection is phenomenal here with the Verizon 5G.
(Laughter)
THE MODERATOR: Well done. Perfect. Want to ask your question again?
WILL POWER: I know the question. I don't know how much you got of my answer.
Did you get any of it?
Q. No.
WILL POWER: When you go to Road America, Mid-Ohio, some of those tracks where
you can camp out, some of those old school car tracks, there are a lot more
old CART fans and very knowledgeable INDYCAR fans that have been around a long
time.
Iowa, I don't notice -- I suppose there's a few more NASCAR sort of fans
there. But what sort of grassroots racing are you talking of, more stockcar?
Q. The ovals.
THE MODERATOR: Think about all the dirt tracks, and Knoxville is not too far
away, that sort of thing.
WILL POWER: Yeah, that's what I sort of thought. You've got Knoxville close
by. Yeah, I would expect to see -- I don't actually -- because you're always
just in the middle of the track, in your bus. You don't get to interact with
fans all that much, except for the autograph session.
Yeah, but great racetrack. Great racetrack, sort of about the best short track
you could ever have for an INDYCAR with the size of the banking and the
multiple lanes and the degradation. It's tough to get all that formula right,
the downforce versus grip. I mean, it is very hard to get that stuff right,
like it's very finicky.
Q. Got a couple of questions for you. You were talking about CART, and I just
realized it's been 15 years since you joined the INDYCAR Series when the
reunification happened. For some of us who may remember that as fans and now
as journalists, what do you recall about things coming back together and
having the unification happen with INDYCAR? Also, along the same lines, as a
two-time champion, what has INDYCAR given back to you that you're very
grateful for, especially as a competitive driver at this point in your career?
WILL POWER: What I remember from that unification, obviously a really big deal
for open wheel racing in the U.S. It's something that everyone had talked
about since the split. So I think it was a great thing that happened. Going to
the second race -- first race was Homestead.
The second race where you had everyone on sort of equal footing on a street
course was really cool. You had the best of the best as far as road street
course races there all competing, and it was all mixed up. The first race we
did was Homestead. It was all the oval guys at the front and all the new guys
at the back, like us, I was in KV.
It's just been incredible to watch the growth of the series over the last 15
years. I can't tell you how much more quality of drivers and teams there are
now, continuity of drivers. There was a lot of driver turnover back then. It's
at its, I would say, most competitive ever in history simply because of
parity. No one manufacturer has an advantage. All the cars are the same. So I
think they've come up with a great formula there.
Just massively grateful to have been a part of it and had an opportunity with
a fantastic team and be given the chance to win races week in and week out and
win championships, win Indy 500s. Yeah, couldn't ask for a better opportunity
here in the U.S.
Q. I know you're not a fan of Lady Willpower, but you have to be a fan of
Crowded House, right?
WILL POWER: Yeah, I love Crowded House, I do.
THE MODERATOR: Just reminded me I need to listen to my Crowded House CDs when
I get back.
WILL POWER: They're great.
Q. Will, as we already have discussed this evening, straight into qualifying,
lots of or very little practice. Is there any difference in approach to these
races in this doubleheader given they're a little bit different in distance?
Or is it just simply a case of adding another stint to the strategy?
WILL POWER: They're the same length, aren't they, this year? Am I right?
THE MODERATOR: Correct. Both 250-milers -- laps rather.
WILL POWER: But there is a difference. After qualifying, you have to put the
car -- the car goes straight into -- what do they call it?
THE MODERATOR: Impound.
WILL POWER: Lockdown. Impound.
THE MODERATOR: I'm here to help you all day, Will. Whatever you need, brother.
WILL POWER: Yeah, impound. You race what you qualify, which is really tough
because there's a massive speed difference for when you qualify. For one,
you're running the lowest fuel level, so you can't adjust ride height. At the
high speeds, the car bottoms a lot, and I kind of wish INDYCAR would allow us
to change ride heights before the race because, man, you're just smacking the
bottom because of the difference in speed.
So you're starting that first race probably with a bit of a compromise, but
everyone's in the same boat. Then the second race, you've got the history of
the first race to sort of understand where you're strong and weak and make
adjustments. So the second race in general is just tougher because everyone
comes out a little better.
Q. Myles Rowe is doing an amazing job on IndyCar's Force bill this year. What
do you think of his performances? I know you're still in contact with him a
lot. Are you following his career closely?
WILL POWER: Yeah, I still have a lot to do with his career. Yeah, just killing
it. Very happy, impressed, and expect him to be in Indy Lights next year. If
he did what he did this year, he'd be in INDYCAR in '25.
That's the plan. Yeah, he's doing the business. That's the main thing. Excited
to see. Very, very excited to see it.
Q. And with your kart brand, how much daily involvement do you have that given
you have a really long -- not long in duration, but a very intense INDYCAR
schedule now. I'm sure you don't get much time to get to the kart tracks and
check out how your chassis is doing?
WILL POWER: The chassis, yeah, I don't sell it anymore. I think they're using
the name in Australia. They're still selling it there, but I don't have
anything to do with it.
I've actually raced a different car brand. The reason, I just did not have
time to do a good job with that stuff. I had to be fully committed to racing,
and I just had to -- I just let it go. I actually just kind of handed it over
to Billy Vincent, who's high up there at McLaren INDYCAR. He's turned it into
the MPG brand and team.
Q. And the first international kind of demo show later this year with TCR
World Racing tour is there. Are you going to be involved? I understand some
INDYCAR cars are going to be heading over to that event potentially with
INDYCAR drivers as well, but they haven't teased who's going to be at the
wheel and which chassis is going to be used.
WILL POWER: Actually, I haven't heard that. I would love to be the one. I
don't know what date that is.
Q. It's like the 11th and 12th, I think, because TCR World Tour is racing, and
they're going to do demo runs of the best single seaters you can find.
WILL POWER: Oh, wow. Oh, man. Well, they should call me up. I want to take my
car down there. I am the only Australian in this series, so I'll be really
disappointed if they send a Kiwi.
THE MODERATOR: One last thing before we go to Asher. If Myles makes it to --
if and when he makes it to INDY NXT by Firestone Series next year, would that
intensify maybe your relationship or your advice you would give him? Because
obviously INDY NXT races along with the NTT INDYCAR Series, so you'd see him a
little bit more as his career progresses.
WILL POWER: Yeah, I already do see him quite a bit. Yeah, as it gets -- we
still talk -- I'll call him and see him at the track. He's a pretty smart kid.
He's got to understand how tough it gets once you start getting to these upper
levels because everyone that goes -- the further up you get, the better the
drivers are, the tougher it is.
In particular, when you get to INDYCAR now, it is extremely hard, extremely
hard. So you got to be doing the work.
THE MODERATOR: He's been fun to watch this season, last couple years as well.
Q. With this being the only doubleheader of the season, how do you plan to
keep your mind and body sharp so you're just as strong in race 2 as you were
in race 1?
WILL POWER: You've got to hydrate very well. Obviously try to sleep well. It's
pretty tough after a race. I think your mind knows that you've got to complete
two races, so it leaves some in reserve for the second race.
But we're all pretty fit in this series. You've got to be because the cars are
extremely physical. Physically I'm in great shape. So I expect to have no
problems during the two races.
THE MODERATOR: Again, driver of the No. 12 Verizon 5G Team Penske Chevrolet,
it is Will Power. Will, thanks for doing this.
WILL POWER: No problems.
THE MODERATOR: A reminder, the Hy-Vee Homefront 250 presented by Instacart is
Saturday at 3:00 p.m. eastern on NBC. And the Hy-Vee One Step 250 presented by
Gatorade comes up an hour earlier on Sunday at 2:00 p.m. eastern. INDYCAR
Radio Network has coverage as well.
[ht: FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports]
QUALIFICATIONS UPDATE:
Qualifications format has each driver turn two flying laps, with Lap 1 setting the grid for Saturday’s Hy-Vee Homefront 250 presented by Instacart race and Lap 2 determining the starting lineup for Sunday’s Hy-Vee One Step 250 presented by Gatorade race.
Double NTT P1 Pole Award performance by Will Power - sets another new INDYCAR Series Pole Setting Record from 68 to 70 to add his margin against the next closest record holder - Mario Andretti at 67 Pole Awards..
“Yea I figured (teammate Josef Newgarden) would be the toughest guy,” Power told NBC. “I know my car had a good balance, there wasn’t much left in it. Great job for the Verizon 5G Chevy. Been trying to win this race for a long time but I know Newgarden will be the guy to beat and put it all together, so we will do our best today.”
Will Power, the defending series champion who has never won at Iowa, led the Team Penske sweep of the top three spots for Saturday's race. His first lap was 181.426 mph, and he followed that with a lap of 181.578 mph, securing him the pole position. Power expressed his excitement about finally having a chance to win at Iowa after attempting to do so for a long time.
His teammate, Scott McLaughlin, achieved a lap speed of 180.334 mph, securing the second position, while Josef Newgarden, a four-time winner at Iowa, was third at 180.081 mph. The three drivers were the only ones to average above 180 mph in their two laps.
Scott McLaughlin humorously remarked, "I won Class B," referring to being second behind his teammate, Will Power, whom he praised as a "genius."
Overall, Team Penske dominated the qualifying session, and all three drivers were looking forward to the race with high hopes for victory.
... notes from
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