Power wins at Watkins Glen04/07/2010

Power wins third race of the 2010 season

Will Power (Team Penske) clinched his third win of the season at Watkins Glen on Sunday 4 July, increasing further his IndyCar Championship lead. Dominating the race from pole position, Power lead an Australian 1-2 result with team-mate Ryan Briscoe; reigning champion Dario Franchitti (Target Chip Gannasi Racing) completed the podium.  

Sunday’s race started with a Penske 1-2-3 on the grid, though the ordered soon changed with Briscoe overtaking Helio Castroneves (Team Penske) for second place. The Target Chip Ganassi duo continued to apply pressure, though not enough to stop Power from taking the victory. Power led 45 of 60 laps over the 11-turn, 3.4-mile layout, beating Briscoe by 1.2 seconds. Dario Franchitti finished third, ahead of Raphael Matos (de Ferran Luczo Dragon Racing) and Mario Moraes (KV Racing Technology).

Power currently leads the championship standings, ahead of Franchitti by 32 points. Powers’ victory gave Team Penske five wins in nine events this season.

I wanted to win so badly at Watkins Glen

"I'm so happy to have the Verizon car back in victory lane, it's been too long.  I just wanted to win so badly, because I hate getting the pole and then not winning the race.  The red Firestone Firehawk tires were really 'grippy,' and they were consistent, too.  I mean, from the beginning of a run to the end, they hardly changed.  They just had a heap of grip.  So we had very good tires, the reds, the blacks, I loved it."
Will Power, #12 Verizon Team Penske Dallara/Honda/ Firestone

Firestone tires worked well at Watkins

"Congratulations to Will Power for putting the exclamation point on a dominating weekend and for getting Team Penske's first win at the Glen since we've been coming back here.  The Firestone Firehawk tires worked out well today.  Looking at our tire use chart, it appears we may have seen the most use of alternate tires ever during a race today.  The alternates got up to speed a little quicker than the primary black sidewall tires, but they didn't last quite as long.  The extreme ambient and track temperatures didn't cause any problems, although I'm sure it was a little more slippery out there for the drivers compared to last year, since we brought the same tire specs."
Joe Barbieri, Manager, Firestone Racing