Power wins IZOD IndyCar race at Toronto
TORONTO (Sunday, July 18, 2010) – Will Power claimed his fourth IZOD IndyCar Series win of 2010, taking the Honda Indy Toronto, after overtaking polesitter Justin Wilson on a late-race restart.
Wilson looked to be on his way to victory with 20 laps left in the 85-lap event on theExhibition Place street circuit. But Will Power overtook Wilson on Lap 72 of a restart on the 1.75-mile, 11-turn circuit and went on to a 1.7-second victory over Dario Franchitti.
Ryan Hunter-Reay was third, Andretti Autorsport teammate Tony Kanaan finished fourth and Graham Rahal – making his season debut with Newman/Haas Racing — was fifth. Danica Patrick finished sixth – the same as last year.
This is Will Power’s fourth win of the season. He previously won at Sao Paulo, St. Petersburg and Watkins Glen. “I’m just really happy to be in the Verizon car.” (Power said about his start going from 2nd to 6th): “I saw Ryan and Helio going for a big move and I didn’t want to be taken out so I just said well that’s enough and got out of the way. It’s such a wild race that a lot of stuff plays out.” (About restart on lap 71): “I knew just from the marbles and the pick -up that the restart was going to be really slippery. I saw him make a mistake coming off the straight so I got a run on him and pulled it off.”
Power has won back-to-back races twice this season (Sao Paulo – St. Petersburg, Watkins Glen-Toronto) This is Team Penske’s 41st win in the IZOD IndyCar Series, further extending a record for most wins by a team.
2010 race winner Dario Franchitti finished second, his fifth podium finish of the 2010 season.
Tony Kanaan’s fourth place finish is his best finish on a road/street circuit this season.
Graham Rahal, in his first race of the season with Newman/Haas Racing, finished fifth, a season best finish. “It feels really good to be back with Newman/Haas Racing and finish fifth with Quick Trim on board. A top-five finish is a great way to start off and move forward. The guys worked really hard this weekend. When we showed up the car wasn’t close. In the race it was a lot better. It will be great going to my home race next at Mid-Ohio coming off of some momentum like this. The car was only put together Monday and left Tuesday afternoon without an engine. For us to throw this together and be as successful as we have been in the first outing hopefully means it will only get better from here. It’s definitely comforting to come back. When I sat in the car for the first time it was really good. I was right at home just with different colors on the car. Literally, I came here and just jumped in the car. The seatbelts fit; the mirrors were right. It was almost too good. Even on a normal weekend you have to adjust something so that was great. (About contact with Ryan Briscoe): “I was a lot quicker than Ryan and I had a really good run down the back straight. I got on Push to Pass right out of the corner and he just blocked me. He blocked me all the way into the braking zone and he broke on the inside and I wasn’t expecting him too so I just punted him. He was against the wall and I was waiting for him to move out. Then he hit the brakes before he ever moved. That’s what happened and I hate hitting anybody; that’s not my style. But seriously, if you’ve got a run on someone like that and they’re blocking you, that’s what’s going to happen.” Rahal’s previous best finish this season was ninth at St. Petersburg and Iowa.
Danica Patrick finished sixth, her best finish on a road/street circuit this season. Her previous best road/street finish was seventh at St. Petersburg. “It’s a great confidence-booster not only for me, but the whole #7 GoDaddy.com team. It’s the best finish we’ve had on a street course this season. We were really happy with the way the car was performing throughout the whole race. This is a good way to end a great weekend since we head to another road course next week in Edmonton. Overall, we were strong as a team with the four of us in the top 10.”
The Next IZOD IndyCar Series race is the Honda Indy Edmonton on July 25 at Edmonton City Centre Airport. The race will be televised by VERSUS at 5 p.m. (EDT).
