Search
Close this search box.

Partner

DEHARDE: Five Takeaways from the Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey

Will Power at Monterey.
share it
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Will Power at Monterey.
Will Power was a master of consistency throughout the 2022 IndyCar season. Image courtesy James Black / Penske Entertainment

https://shop.biggreenegg.com/

With Will Power claiming his second IndyCar title and Alex Palou claiming a dominating win, here’s five takeaways from the weekend at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.

  1. Power-ful Consistency

When Will Power said in the post-race press conference that earlier this year he aimed to play the long game for 2022, he meant it with how he drove on track. Instead of trying everything for wins, Power became the Australian version of Alain Prost, adding points to his total without sacrificing his car.

That showed up again Sunday as the Australian finished third in the season finale, ending the season 16 points clear of Josef Newgarden to win his second IndyCar title. Power didn’t need to win the race, and he knew it. All that was required was a podium, and that happened.

2. Palou on a Pa-high

Honda noticed something that they didn’t like on Alex Palou’s engine and decided to change it on Saturday, giving the defending IndyCar Series champion a fresh motor with a six-position grid penalty.

While in a court battle with Chip Ganassi Racing over his future contract, Palou won Sunday’s race by over 30 seconds, a margin that just doesn’t happen that often any more. It would be wise to assume that with no more racing this year that the engine got pushed to the maximum and a good strategy allowed Palou to have a pit stop margin in hand over Newgarden as the race wound down.

3. Newgarden’s Spin Ultimately Didn’t Matter

Josef Newgarden did himself no favors by spinning in the Corkscrew during Saturday’s qualifying session. Newgarden needed a win and a partial collapse by Power in order to take the IndyCar title away from the 2018 Indianapolis 500 winner.

However, with Power’s measured drive during the race, Newgarden was still not going to claim the championship even if he had won the race, as Power still would have been a few points ahead depending on who got the bonus points for leading the most laps.

Sure, Newgarden didn’t help himself with the spin, but the idea that it cost him the championship might not be the best.

4. Charging Christian

Christian Lundgaard’s drive to fifth place wasn’t really tracked by the NBC cameras, but a quiet drive enabled the Danish racer to get the Rookie of the Year crown. It was a measured drive to cap off what had been a season of ups and downs for the Rahal Letterman Lanigan team and this award gives the former Formula 2 driver something to use as a baseline going to 2023.

5. Lights Out for Linus Lundqvist

Linus Lundqvist just had to show up at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca to win the Indy Lights title and show up he did. Sure, sixth and fourth weren’t the results that Lundqvist had in mind coming to the final race weekend, but with five wins in the first 12 races, nobody else was even close to overtaking him for the series points lead heading to the doubleheader weekend.

Now comes the hard part of figuring out where Lundqvist will race in 2023.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Latest Post

TG_CUP_PHX_RACE_BWallaceA
23XI, FRM Withdraw Appeal of Injunction Denial
24TAL1RJ_3100
Jeremy Bullins Joins RFK to Lead Brad Keselowski, No. 6 Team
NASCAR to utilize shorter COTA National Course layout in 2025 for the NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series
NASCAR to Utilize Shorter "National" Course Layout at COTA in 2025
Richard Childress Racing names Richard Boswell new crew chief for Austin Dillon, hires John Klausmeier as technical director, promotes Keith Rodden to VP of Competition
Richard Boswell to Serve as Austin Dillon Crew Chief; RCR Makes Competition Department Moves
Daniel Hemric to drive the No. 19 McAnally-Hilgemann Chevrolet Silverado full-time in the 2025 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series
Daniel Hemric Moves to McAnally-Hilgemann Racing No. 19 Truck in 2025
Kris Wright will run the full 2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series season in the No. 5 Our Motorsports Chevrolet
Kris Wright Joins Our Motorsports for 2025 NASCAR Xfinity Season

Join Our Newsletter

Ready to have NASCAR news hand-delivered to your email daily?

Related Article