Power keeps season winning streak alive after changing the way he thinks - MotorSportsTalk

LONG POND, Pennsylvania – It was midway through the season and with each passing race, Team Penske driver Will Power was falling farther back in the NTT IndyCar Series championship standings. It was shaping up to be one of the most disappointing seasons of his career and his first winless season since he was a Champ Car Series rookie in 2006.

When he became mired in fifth place and was well over 150 points out of the championship, the Team Penske driver from Toowoomba, Australia knew he had to shift his focus to winning again and forget about the championship.

That’s exactly what he did in Sunday’s ABC Supply 500 at Pocono Raceway.

“I just let go,” Power said. “I just let go and said it’s not going to happen for me this year. Just whatever. I still did my homework. We definitely had the car today, great strategy, great stops. I feel like I worked harder for it this year than any other year and it just didn’t work for me.”

By letting go, Power was able to race with a clear mind at Pocono.

Despite the calamity of another massive crash at the start of the race for the season year in a row at the triangle-shaped speedway in Pennsylvania, Power’s No. 12 Chevrolet was at its best when it mattered the most.

With a severe storm on the horizon, it became obvious the race would not make the full 200-lap, 500-mile distance. So, teams changed their strategy and for Power, he was comfortably in the lead by 5.4688 seconds over second-place finisher Scott Dixon when the race was Red Flagged for lightning after 128 laps.

Once it began to rain, the race was called official and Power kept his streak alive of 13 straight seasons with at least one victory.

“It’s a big relief,” Power said. “It’s just one of those years that hasn’t flowed very well for me. I’ve been quick, I’ve been there. A few errors on my part, things not falling our way.

“I’m absolutely over the moon to finally win a race this season.The guys working on the car, they’ve worked their asses off this year. I’ve just had bad runs.”

It was Power’s third win at Pocono in the last four years. It was also the 36th career victory for the 2014 NTT IndyCar Series champion and winner of the 102nd Indianapolis 500 in 2018.

Power’s strategy had him make five pit stops to race to big leads while drivers in positions 2-7 were playing the fuel savings game with only four pit stops.

“I was very determined today, especially knowing I had the car to do it,” Power explained. “I sat back and saved fuel a lot. When I got shuffled back second or third stop with the yellow, we were able to move forward pretty quickly and get back to these guys.

“I got the car right. The car was very fast, as well. When my spotter said, the rain is coming, I just turned the fuel up and I went as fast as I could. Yeah, it was good, good day.

“As soon as the race started, I knew we had a good car. I knew we had a good car going in. We just made some adjustments, kind of had a lot of push. Obviously back in traffic there, I ended up trimming out a little bit at the end there.

“All the right moves.”

Power was in front for 31 laps. That was half of teammate Simon Pagenaud, who kept his No. 22 Chevrolet in front for 64 laps.

“Will was definitely extremely strong today,” Dixon said after finishing second. “It was good to see him get another victory this season. Had we gone back out, even with headlights on, I think Will was going to take the race.”

In the middle of July, Power was in the midst of a miserable season. He has been able to turn that around with a top-five finish at Mid-Ohio at the end of July and a win at Pocono in August.

It’s far too late to challenge for the championship because there are only three races left. But there are certainly three more chances for Power to “get it right” and get a win.

“It turns around eventually,” Power said. “If you keep performing and doing the work, eventually it turns around for you. You can’t have bad luck all the time. It’s not all bad luck, believe me. There’s always a reason. It’s rarely bad luck, honestly. Always put it down to something that wasn’t done right.

“This sport has become so tough these days; you can’t leave anything on the table in any way. If you do, you’re simply not going to win.”

Jett Lawrence remains perfect in the Pro Motocross series after recording another perfect round at Hangtown in Rancho Cordova, California. In his second start on a 450, Lawrence won his second National with his fourth consecutive moto win. It is getting increasingly difficult to find the right superlatives to describe the exploits on the reigning 250 West Supercross champion.

“The track was so brutal out there,” Lawrence told NBC Sports Jason Thomas. “The bike handles amazing even when it’s not too friendly. You had to be really patient; you couldn’t take too much. I didn’t eat enough before that second moto. I kind of lost energy halfway through, but luckily I could use technique and balance and just keep that flow going.”

Lawrence leaves Hangtown with an 18-point advantage over Ferrandis in the 450 Motocross standings, but perhaps more importantly, he climbed to 19th in the SuperMotocross standings and should he stay there, he has an automatic invitation to the Main events in the SMX Championship.

“On this track, you just have to manage,” Lawrence continued. “If you try to take too much and not respect the track, it will bite you very quickly. It was humbling on the first few laps. I got kicked on the cutout at the start of the third section, the tabletop going to the left. I had to get my focus because the boys were coming.”

Still in his first few races since returning from a concussion suffered at Houston in the Supercross series, Dylan Ferrandis finished second with results of third in Moto 1 and second in Moto 2. While Ferrandis was happy with the result, he remains hopeful that he will contend for victory shortly.

“The first moto was very hard for my physically, Ferrandis said. “I got arm pump and when you get arm pump your body gets tired. But I’m very happy because we made a big change for the second moto. We tried stuff every session today and in the last moto the bike was much better, but unfortunately I wasn’t sure what I could do with this bike because the track was very hard and difficult to pass.”

RESULTS: How they finished in the 450 Overall at Hangtown

With the rash of injuries at the end of the Supercross season, the podium was filled with heartwarming stories. Cooper Webb returned to action last week in Pala and failed to make the podium. He is steadily improving with a third-place finish in Hangtown. after finishing with a 4-2.

“It’s incredible what seven days can do,” Webb said. “Last week I felt like I was going to get lapped in the second moto. This week, I could see the leader. It was nice. I fought hard, learned how to suffer again there and that felt nice.

Moto 2 wasn’t pretty for Lawrence. On several occasions in the opening laps, he nearly high sided as he rode the front wheel through the ruts. The reward was worth the risk. By the halfway point, Lawrence had 4.5-second lead over Webb, who was embroiled in a tight three-rider battle for second with his teammate Aaron Plessinger pressuring him and Ferrandis ready to take advantage if those made contact.

It took 20 minutes for Plessinger to get around Webb and once he did, he trailed Lawrence by four seconds. But then, with three minutes remaining, Plessinger crashed and had difficulty restarting the bike, handing second back to Webb who has seven seconds behind Lawrence. Plessinger fell to fourth with results of third and sixth.

Adam Cianciarulo rounded out the top five with a 5-4.

Heartbreak for Aaron Plessinger as he was charging forward 💔#ProMotocross #SuperMotocross #HangtownMX pic.twitter.com/vQtKIsuhVg

— Pro Motocross (@ProMotocross) June 4, 2023

Last week Hunter Lawrence won the overall with a 3-1. He repeated that feat in Hangtown in an exact replica of his Fox Raceway results last week. In Moto 1, Lawrence got off to a slow start and lost 10 seconds in the opening laps. Forced to overcome a sixth-place position in the race at the end of Lap 1, he once again caught the riders ahead of him when the field hit heavy traffic. For the second week, scored another 3-1 for the Hangtown National win.

“The start was crucial’ I knew I had to go,” Lawrence told NBC Sports’ Jason Thomas. “They laid a lot of water down, so I didn’t want to be behind any longer than [I was]. First hot one of the year, was a bit of a wakeup call, so I’m happy to get out of here safe and healthy.”

Lawrence’s third-place finish in Moto 1 featured a fierce battle for final spot on the podium when he caught Spain’s Guillem Farres and France’s Tom Vialle. With Lawrence hailing from Australia, the international nature of the sport was highlighted.

Lawrence left Hangtown with a 10-point advantage over Haiden Deegan in the Pro Motocross championship battle.

Click here for 250 overall results

Justin Cooper finished second in both motos to finish second overall. Hangtown represented a huge improvement from Fox Raceway where he finished fifth overall with a 5-4 finish in the two motos. Cooper pressured Haiden Deegan in the second half of Moto 1 and he earned the holeshot in the second moto and stayed within three seconds of Lawrence in that race.

“He was following me a little bit, checking out my lines, seeing where he was better,” Cooper said. “It’s disappointing to give up the lead like that but it was way better than last weekend. I will definitely take two seconds. I want to be on the top of the step. I feel like I get close to the top step but I never get it done. That’s building up the frustration – the fire. I really want to get one of these wins, so it’s time to start digging.”

Haiden Deegan earned the first holeshot of his career in Moto 1 and rode away from the field, building a four-second lead in the opening laps. Cooper trimmed the lead at the halfway point and for a while it leveled off at two seconds. Then Cooper made another charge with three to go and closed to within a second. Deegan was biding his time, however.

“I was saving a little. I knew at the end Justin was going to try and put a charge on. I let him get up close and then sent it super hard at the end to break him a little at the end.”

Deegan’s first moto win comes in only his fourth National and he remains perfect in regard to podiums this year.

“This was a dream since I was a little kid, to win,” Deegan said. “And in my fourth race, it’s gnarly. I was just sending it. I was getting a little tired at the end becasue I left my mouth open the whole time. It’s unreal; I’m so hyped. I wanted to win bad and I proved it to you guys.”

Chaos erupted in turn 1 in Moto 2 Jeremy Martin went and another rider ran over his arm. Michael Mosiman crashed further down the track on that same lap. Both riders were helped off course by the Alpinestars Medical team.

Deegan grabs his first 250 Mx moto win!1️⃣#ProMotocross #SuperMotocross #HangtownMX pic.twitter.com/1FH5s1ZHfn

— Pro Motocross (@ProMotocross) June 3, 2023