Championship Points Race Tightens Between Chevrolet Drivers

Championship Points Race Tightens Between Chevrolet Drivers

· Will Power closes on title front-runner Simon Pagenaud
ᴏ Team Penske teammates are separated by 20 points
· Chevrolet drivers occupy top six spots in the standings
ᴏ Three races remain in quest for driver championship
· Chevrolet drivers prepare for completion of Firestone 600
ᴏ Race at Texas Motor Speedway will resume on Lap 72
· Power running fourth and Pagenaud is 15th when green flag flies

DETROIT (Aug. 25, 2016) – Will Power has been chasing down Verizon IndyCar Series (VICS) championship points leader Simon Pagenaud throughout the season. For 177 laps on Aug. 27, Pagenaud will be chasing his Team Penske teammate in an effort to keep his grip on first place with two races left.

Power, driving the No. 12 Verizon Chevrolet, will restart fourth and Pagenaud will restart 15th in the No. 22 Hewlett Packard Enterprises Chevrolet when the 20-car field takes the green flag for Lap 72 to complete the Firestone 600 at Texas Motor Speedway. The race was red-flagged June 12 because of rain.

Power, the 2014 VICS champion, closed to 20 points of Pagenaud with his fourth victory in the past six races Aug. 22 at Pocono Raceway. Pagenaud, who entered the 500-mile outing at the “Tricky Triangle” 58 points clear of Power, was involved in a single-car incident on Lap 158 of 200 and was credited with an 18th-place finish.
“Pocono didn’t go very well, but that happens. I wish it hadn’t, but we have to move on and put it behind us,” said Pagenaud, who has stood atop the standings since the second race of the season. “The Hewlett Packard Enterprise Chevy will (re)start 15th, but that’s not indicative of the car we had or will have. There’s a lot of racing left. It’s going to be an exciting race.

“We don’t lose sight of the big picture, but that’s not the strategy. We got to where we are by attacking and being on the offensive. That’s not going to change. We’ll focus on winning races.”

Following the showdown under the lights, the Verizon IndyCar Series will travel to Watkins Glen International Raceway on Labor Day weekend before concluding the season with a double-points title shootout at Sonoma Raceway in mid-September. All 11 drivers of the Chevrolet IndyCar Aero Kit with integrated 2.2-liter, V6 engine are mathematically eligible for the title.

Power’s victory at Pocono was the fourth of his career on an oval. He won at Texas Motor Speedway in 2011.

“The Verizon Chevy was awesome in Pocono and (re)starting fourth in Texas puts us in a great position to continue our momentum,” said Power, who led a total of 55 laps after starting eighth on the 2.5-mile Pocono Raceway tri-oval. “Everything has been feeling great recently after starting off the season in such a bad place, personally. The whole team is clicking on all cylinders now and you have to get all you can when it’s going that way.”
Team Penske’s Helio Castroneves, who qualified fourth at Pocono, also was involved in contact, and the early exit dropped the three-time Indianapolis 500 winner from third to fifth in the championship (113 points behind Pagenaud). Castroneves, a four-time winner at Texas Motor Speedway, will restart seventh in the No. 3 AAA Insurance Chevrolet.

Josef Newgarden, No. 21 Fuzzy’s Vodka Chevrolet, finished fourth at Pocono and vaulted to third in points (100 out of the lead). But the Ed Carpenter Racing driver will take a points hit this weekend because he won’t be permitted to restart the race following heavy contact on Lap 42.

Team owner/driver Ed Carpenter, No. 20 Fuzzy’s Vodka Chevrolet, will restart fifth.

“It is an odd circumstance to go back and pick up a race that began such a long time ago, but we are determined to go get a result for Ed Carpenter Racing, Fuzzy’s, Chevrolet and for Josef (Newgarden), who will not be competing in the remainder of this event,” said Carpenter, who competes on ovals. “It is also the last race for me of 2016, so I want to go out on a high note after what has been a challenging season for the (No.) 20 car.”

Scott Dixon, who won the 2015 at Texas Motor Speedway in the No. 9 Target Chevrolet, also moved ahead of Castroneves in the standings (111 behind Pagenaud) and will restart 14th.