Will Power has had some good outbursts over the years. Saturday night at World Wide Technology Raceway was one of the Team Penske veteran’s better outbursts, but it didn’t take him long to calm down, process the incidents that led to a caution and another that ended his race, and get to work making amends.
The introspection began with the collision with David Malukas on Lap 239, who shot past Power on the inside in Turn 1, held his position at the bottom of the track as he drove the No. 66 Meyer Shank Racing Honda alongside the No. 12 Penske Chevy, and was hit by Power, who veered, made contact and spun Malukas into the wall.
Convinced it was the MSR driver’s fault, Power was running in fourth place during the caution period he triggered. Then, on the restart, he was caught up in a pile-up led by his Penske teammate Josef Newgarden. Chasing his third NTT IndyCar Series title, the unnecessary and premature end of his race after Arrow McLaren’s Alexander Rossi rammed him from behind – and there were fears that Newgarden was slowing the field, causing an accordion effect and the pile-up that followed – only added to his growing anger.
After yelling at Malukas in the infield following the restart accident, Power had to make some calls and visits, starting with the MSR driver.
“I thought he understeered and ran into me until I saw the replay,” Power told RACER. “I called him and said, ‘Man, I actually clipped you. I didn’t think I did that. My fault.'”
Malukas says there is no ill will toward Power, who he will work with next year at AJ Foyt Racing as part of the technical alliance between the Penske and Foyt teams.
“He reached out and it was really funny, sarcastic, Will,” Malukas said. “We’re definitely all good. And it was a nice message. He said, ‘I sucked. I’m sorry.’ My audience said some crazy and horrible things about him. So I talked to Will that when we show up in Portland, we’ll go and take a picture together and I can actually tell my audience that everything is OK and there’s no fighting.”
Everything was back to normal for Newgarden on Monday as the two spent the afternoon together.
“I was on the boat with him and I was wakesurfing with him,” Power said. “Josef and I are absolutely fine. I’ve been here too long. I don’t stay mad for long.”
In retrospect, Power believes the restart accident was more likely to be blamed on the dynamics of a last-second return to green rather than Newgarden’s tricks to slow down the cars directly behind him before accelerating again.
“He’s not slowing anyone down,” he said. “What made it so bad was that all the restarts were between Turn 3 and 4 and he was on the front straight, but he kept the pace. It’s just all the little gaps that people try to use to get close when you wait so long to get going. So the further back you fall, the more the guys think you’re getting ahead the later it gets. I knew I was going to get hit from behind because for a second I thought they were going there. And I went off a little bit and you’ll hear me go off and then I didn’t and I actually went into the back of Herta. Then Rossi would have thought the same thing because I was just going and he just kept going and went over the back of me.”
IndyCar reviewed Newgarden’s throttle data and cleared him of any wrongdoing during the restart.
“That’s what happens when you get out really late,” Power continued. “I wasn’t out. I was just mad about the restart, that’s all. The leader doesn’t really have to go when it turns green. It’s annoying when you get back in the pack and that happens because the guy behind you thinks it’s going green and people start ramming each other.
“He just started so late, which is his right, and everyone was so desperate at the last restart, all the ingredients for what happened were there. I was obviously disappointed after the race. I threw away a good result. But you always have to check for yourself what you could have done better, and if I hadn’t managed the yellow phase with Malukas, I wouldn’t have been in the position I was in at the restart.”
