FONTANA, Calif. – Three victories, six podium finishes, five pole starts … solid numbers, championship-caliber numbers. Or so Will Power had hoped.
He had similar results the past two seasons, too, but hadn’t been lauded at the INDYCAR Championship Celebration. Would this title-deciding race be different?
There were a myriad of scenarios in which Power would win his first IZOD IndyCar Series championship over Andretti Autosport’s Ryan Hunter-Reay, who entered the MAVTV 500 INDYCAR World Championships at Auto Club Speedway trailing by 17 points. Crashing out on Lap 55, forcing Hunter-Reay to finish fifth to earn the title, however, wasn’t among the considerations.
Power met this season’s fate with resignation after Hunter-Reay finished fourth in the 250-lap race to claim the championship by three points.
“It's definitely frustrating, but when I look at it three years in a row I convincingly won the road course championship, and it's very obvious that the ovals … I just don't know why I can't put my finger on one particular thing that I don't do right.
“Tonight it was just catching a seam and really caught me. Just unbelievable. I just did not expect that to happen. So I feel bad for the team.”
The crew of the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske car went to work to repair the car and put in 11 more laps to surpass the retired car of E.J. Viso. The 24th-place finish would put added pressure on Hunter-Reay to finish fifth.
“I feel bad for my guys to be three years in a row so close, and you see the effort that they put in just to get me out to do 12 more laps in such a short space for a completely wrecked car,” he said.
“I feel sorry for Penske Racing to end up in this position again because of one of my mistakes.”
Power won three races early in the season – all on road/street courses – but had an average finish of 17.75 in the four previous oval events.
“If you look at it, three ovals I crashed out of is a massive hit on points,” Power added. “All of those other things, sixth place in Baltimore is a good finish. If you look at your worst results of the year, my worst with three DNFs there, definitely a big hits on points.
“You can't just look at the last three races and say if this had happened … it's over a whole season that you win a championship, and that was proven tonight.”
Power led Dario Franchitti by 11 points heading into the 2011 season finale, but pit road contact on Lap 49 of 200 – after starting from the pole – significantly impacted his championship aspirations. He finished 19th, Franchitti was second for a 29-point swing.
In 2010, also ahead of Franchitti in the standings entering the final race, Power crashed midway through the race at Homestead-Miami Speedway and Franchitti cruised to his third series title.
“I've done it for two years in a row, so I've kind of learned how to cope with it,” Power said. “I think the way it's worked out in the last couple of years is what's going to happen is going to happen. Then I still look at tonight and think I definitely could have prevented that one.
“No use in dwelling on it. Racing is tough. IndyCar in particular is tough. It's easy to go and point fingers and all that as why we didn't win, but at the end of the day, Hunter Reay did a very solid job. Won more races (four) than anyone. Won on ovals, road courses, and he's definitely a deserving champion. There is no question.”