Power wins IndyCar Long Beach event

Power held off France’s Simon Pagenaud on the last of 85 laps around the 3.17 km, 11-turn street circuit for the victory despite being among 14 cars that were penalised 10 starting spots for an improper Friday engine switch.

Power, who won from a ninth-place start at Alabama earlier this month, was forced to start 12th despite finishing second in Saturday’s qualifying, but he worked through the field to claim the third of the season’s 16 races.

“We had a penalty but we’ve overcome it,” Power said. “I thought it would be very tough to win the race. That was one of my best wins I reckon. I love it.”

Power seized the season points lead with 127 with Brazil’s Helio Castroneves 21 adrift in second and IndyCar rookie Pagenaud third on 100, four points ahead of New Zealand’s Scott Dixon.

The Aussie led only 15 laps and was low on fuel over the final laps but was still able to stay ahead of Pagenaud on the final turns.

“We ran hard when we had to,” Power said. “The end—I had to save so much fuel, but we got there. Just did everything I could to be as quick as I could and still pass people.”

Pagenaud wished there had been one more lap for him to attack Power.

“One more lap and I would have been able to give him a hard time,” Pagenaud said. “It was great. The car was fantastic.”

American Ryan Hunter-Reay crossed the finish line in third place but was issued a 30-second penalty for initiating avoidable contact with Japan’s Takuma Sato. That dropped Hunter-Reay to sixth, still two spots ahead of Sato.

“He broke for the inside and I figured he would give me a bit of room and he shut the door,” Hunter-Reay said.

Hunter-Reay’s penalty also moved James Hinchcliffe into third, giving the Canadian his first IndyCar podium after four prior fourth-place finishes.

“It’s a shame to get it at the expense of him,” Hinchcliffe said. “He was leading me through the whole way.”

The worst mishap came when Marco Andretti’s car hit the back of Graham Rahal’s car and went sideways in the air before landing on its wheels and skidding into a safety barrier.

“I could have been killed,” Andretti said.

The incident came six months after the death of England’s Dan Wheldon after his car went airborne and slammed into a safety fence in a race at Las Vegas.

The season continues in two weeks at Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Publisher: AAPNewswire

16 Apr 9:59 AM