When he missed the season opening race in St. Petersburg, Florida on March 13 due to an inner ear issue, Will Power was worried he’d never be able to make up the points he failed to gain by not competing.
Four months and nine races later, Power has more than made up what he lost at St. Pete.
And, what’s more, he’s riding a streak that has seen him climb from 12th place in the Verizon IndyCar Series standings to third place in just three races.
Of course, winning two of those races (Belle Isle Race 2 and Road America), and finishing runner-up Sunday at Iowa, have gone a long way towards helping Power roar back up in the standings.
“We’ve worked hard to get to this point after starting in a bit of a hole,” Power said.
Granted, he’s still 75 points behind Penske teammate and series leader Simon Pagenaud, but Power feels strongly that he can keep things going in the season’s six remaining races and potentially take a big cut into his teammate’s points lead in this Sunday’s Honda Indy Toronto.
“The Verizon Chevy team has some really good momentum going right now,” Power said. “We’re in the championship hunt and, as we’ve seen before, anything can happen as the schedule shortens.”
Power has had great success at Toronto. In 11 total races between the Champ Car World Series and Verizon IndyCar Series, he has two wins (one in each series), four podiums, five top-fives, and two other top-10s.
In his last three visits to the temporary street course along Toronto’s Exhibition Place, downtown and along the lakeshore, Power has finished ninth (2014, Race 1), third (2014, Race 2) and fourth (2015).
“The results in Toronto have been good over the last couple of years,” Power said. “The circuit is challenging. There are several spots where you can find trouble.
“Track position will be really important. The whole team has been great over the last few races. We know how to win there, so I’m really looking forward to getting up there.”
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