Power secures fourth podium finish of the season after starting last in Markham

Credit: Julia Bissessar

After a slow start to the inaugural Indy Markham weekend, Will Power raced from 25th to third, marking his best finish in Ontario since 2016. Romain Grosjean finished ahead for his first podium back at Dale Coyne Racing, with Marcus Ericsson taking home the win. 

Moving from the city of Toronto to Markham, a new track gave the drivers a new challenge to overcome, though one that quickly became a favourite across the field. The fans were met with chaos and action throughout the race, while Power deemed the street course a “very cool track. You've got to be so on your toes to drive it.” 

Making up positions

Crashing heavily during Practice 2 forced the Andretti Global team to work hard to fix Power’s car in time for qualifying. Having done so, Power then missed out on the Fast 12 after his lap was deleted for causing a red flag when he spun in Round 1. From then on, the focus was on turning the weekend around and recovering.

“A lot of those guys got two hours' sleep last night,” he said after the race. “Repaired a car from Practice 2, did an engine last night. I wanted to have a good day for them. You have to put everything out of your mind, head down.”

A caution-filled race helped the Andretti Global driver make up positions on the restarts, putting him close to the top amid attrition as the laps wound down. 

“We had a really good car on restarts,” Power said. “Made a lot of positions there, then it was about making good strategy calls.”

Power also commended teammate Ericsson - whose lunge into the hairpin late on led to contact between the pair - for taking off out front “because he had the pace” after the team did not take the decision to pit under the penultimate caution, as most of the leaders did. 

The No.26 team had followed the same strategy, albeit they bailed on it during the subsequent, final caution, after which Ericsson excelled in clean air. After his stop, Power looked after his tyres and fuel-saved expertly, fighting back onto the podium, as he edged his way past championship leader Álex Palou on Lap 88.

“My tyres were pretty done at the end there, sort of holding on,” Power said. “But the others had to save fuel so that helped get us up to third.”

Credit: Roberto Baldea

A positive click

Markham marked another good day for Power and his team, marking a fourth podium of the season, as he noted “that's all we're looking for: really good race pace, good strategies”. His other podiums came at Portland, Road America and Arlington - all third-place finishes.  

As the series heads into the final four rounds of the season, Power’s move from Team Penske to Andretti Global has pushed him and the No.26 team to fight at the front of the field. Internal chemistry has given them the momentum to aim for podium finishes. 

“The team's really clicking. I would say Mid-Ohio and Portland, we started to gel. It's been a good year. Four podiums in a year in IndyCar, it's very tough,” Power said. “As bad as it has looked at times, we've had great potential. We're really starting to come on now.”

Power currently sits 11th in the championship with 292 points - just three points away from Juncos Hollinger Racing’s Rinus VeeKay.