Disappointing Day for Will Power in St. Petersburg
March 24, 2013
THE RACE
Grand Prix of St. Petersburg: Streets of St. Petersburg, Fla. (1.8-mile street circuit) – March 24, 2013
THE RESULTS
No. 12 Verizon Dallara/Chevrolet
Starting Position: 1
Finishing Position: 16
Status: Running
Current Series Position: 15
THE RACE REVIEW
· After earning his 30th career IndyCar pole on Saturday, Power led the first 26 laps of the race.
· Power was running in third place while under a caution flag on Lap 81 when the car driven by JR Hildebrand ran over top of the No. 12 Verizon Chevy. Power had to pit twice for repairs and fell to 16th place as a result of the incident.
· Power fought back to 12th place late in the race before making contact with the barrier wall. After another pit stop to repair a damaged tire, Power crossed the finish line in 16th place.
· A four-time pole sitter and the 2010 race winner at St. Petersburg, Sunday’s result marked the first time in six races that Power has finished outside the top 10 on the street circuit.
WHAT THEY ARE SAYING
“Yeah, that’s a tough finish for us in 16th. It’s too bad because the Verizon car was definitely fast. (On the incident with JR Hildebrand) He came over and apologized after the race. He said he was just looking down at his steering wheel and he just ran over the top of me. It’s just a mistake but that happens in racing.”
– Will Power
“I made a mistake there at the end (making contact and going into the runoff) and it cost us four more places. Tough day but we just have to move forward and look ahead to Barber.” – Will Power
“I really felt we could win it. Helio kept going to the outside on the restarts and I felt I could get him to the inside, especially if I was on red tires. It would have been interesting but unfortunately we never got the chance.” – Will Power