Power masters Milwaukee both on pace, fuel saving for crucial win (VIDEO) - MotorSportsTalk

WEST ALLIS, Wis. – Will Power used a mix of domination and fuel saving in equal measures to score his third win of the 2014 Verizon IndyCar Series season, and his first at Milwaukee.

The polesitter led 229 laps, but still had to run more than 60 laps in his final fuel stint to bring his No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet to the checkered flag in the ABC Supply Co. Wisconsin 250 at Milwaukee IndyFest Presented by the Metro Milwaukee Honda Dealers.

As Power was able to hang on on fuel for the final 62 laps, all under green, he also withstood the advances of Team Penske teammate Juan Pablo Montoya and Montoya’s old CART sparring partner Tony Kanaan, who each gave Power fits throughout the 250-lap race.

Montoya was second with Kanaan third. Scott Dixon was fourth with Josef Newgarden fifth; Ryan Briscoe was sixth.

While Power was able to make his fuel, Newgarden came up snake eyes on a strategic gamble of his own from the Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing crew. Newgarden ran third most of the final stint but needed to pit on Lap 236. He finished fifth after running faster in the final 10 laps and gaining five more positions.

With Simon Pagenaud seventh, Helio Castroneves 11th and Ryan Hunter-Reay failing to finish, this was a big points day for Power.

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An IndyCar executive said there is “absolutely” disappointment that its long-awaited video game recently was delayed beyond its target date, but the series remains optimistic about the new title.

“Well, I don’t know how quick it will be, but the whole situation is important to us,” Penske Entertainment president and CEO Mark Miles said during a news conference Monday morning to announce IndyCar’s NTT title sponsorship. “Motorsport Games has spent a lot of money, a lot of effort to create an IndyCar title. What we’ve seen of that effort, which is not completely obvious, is very reassuring.

“I think it’s going to be outstanding. That’s our shared objective, that when it is released, it’s just widely accepted. A great credit both to IndyCar racing, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, something that our fans love.”

In June 2021, IndyCar announced a new partnership with Motorsport Games to create and distribute an IndyCar video game for the PC and Xbox and PlayStation consoles in 2023.

But during an earnings call last week, Motorsport Games said the IndyCar game had been delayed to 2024 to ensure high quality.

Somewhat compounding the delay is that IndyCar’s license for iRacing expired after the end of the 2022 season because of its exclusive agreement with Motorsport Games.

That’s resulted in significant changes for IndyCar on iRacing, which had provided a high-profile way for the series to stay visible during its 2020 shutdown from the pandemic. (Players still can race an unbranded car but don’t race on current IndyCar tracks, nor can they stream).

That’s helped ratchet up the attention on having a video game outlet for IndyCar.

“I wish we had an IndyCar title 10 years ago,” said Miles, who has been working with the organization since 2013. “We’ve been close, but we’ve had these I think speed bumps.”

IndyCar is hopeful the Motorsports Game edition will be ready at the start of 2024. Miles hinted that beta versions could be unveiled to reporters ahead of the time “to begin to show the progress in a narrow way to make sure we’ve got it right, to test the progress so that we’re ready when they’re ready.”

It’s been nearly 18 years since the release of the most recent IndyCar video game for console or PC.

“(We) better get it right,” Miles said. “It’s something we’re very close to and continue to think about what it is to make sure we get it over the line in due course.”