Will Power Wins Sao Paulo Indy 300
March 14, 2010 at 11:37 AM by AHN · Leave a Comment
Sao Paulo, Brazil (AHN) – Penske Racing’s Will Power may have this turning a negative into a positive thing down.
Power, who sustained a serious back injury last season at Infineon Raceway as a part-time driver, kicked off the 2010 IZOD IndyCar season by winning Sunday’s Sao Paulo Indy 300.
“I feel great. It’s been tough with my recovery on the back and very, very grateful to be given this opportunity,” said Power. “It was a great day; really happy for all of the guys. I knew the win was there to be had and I went for it.”
Power, fastest in practice the day before, almost didn’t get out early Sunday due to a gearbox problem.
As a result, former IndyCar champ Dario Franchitti won the pole, but it was Power who drove his way through the field – on a wet street course no less – and came away with a 1.4-second win over Ryan Hunter-Reay.
“That was a blast all day. I had so much fun with the adverse conditions and things changing all of the time,” said Hunter-Reay, who drove for A.J. Foyt last season. “Clean racing all day. It was a really good time. There was a lot hanging on those last couple of laps. I’m just happy to get Andretti Autosport up here.”
Brazilian Vitor Meira was found teary-eyed on the podium as well.
The home countrymen, driving for Foyt and the ABC Supply Team, battled back from injury and came back in the IndyCar season-opener with a third-place finish in front of his home fans.
“(The team) waited 10 months and they believed in me after four races,” said Meira, who put Foyt on the podium for the first time in two years. “After a big accident and having a team wait for it after almost a year, it’s great to do this back at home.”
Raphael Matos ran fourth and was followed by Dan Wheldon, Franchitti, Scott Dixon, Mike Conaway and Helio Castroneves.
