Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach: 2-time champ Will Power hopeful of another successful start

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It’s been a frustrating 2021 season for veteran NTT IndyCar series driver Will Power, but he comes to town this week for Sunday’s Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach knowing he has had plenty of success on the popular street course.

Power, 40, of Australia, won the race in 2008 and 2012 and has a total of seven podiums in 14 starts.

“It’s a street course and I certainly like street courses,” said Power, who in 2019 was inducted into the Long Beach Motorsports Walk of Fame.

  • Will Power addresses the crowd as he is inducted into the Long Beach Motorsports Walk of Fame in April 2019. Power has twice won the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. (Photo by Brittany Murray, Press-Telegram/SCNG)

  • Alexander Rossi gets a champagne bath after winning the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach for the second consecutive year in April 2019. He has a chance for a three-peat this Sunday. (File photo by Chuck Bennett, contributing photographer)

  • NTT IndyCar driver Will Power of Australia has two victories and a total of seven podiums at the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. (Photo by, Will Lester- Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)

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“It changes every year, too. You can’t just expect to turn up and be competitive. But, yeah, it’s a track I enjoy a lot. I hope to be really competitive again there this weekend.”

Power won the series championship in 2014 and has also placed second four times, most recently in 2016. But he’s ninth this season with one race left, his worst showing since he finished 19th in 2009 on a partial ride.

From mechanical issues at Laguna Seca (finished 26th) to an engine control unit matter in the first of two races in Detroit (20th) to braking problems in pit lane at the Indy 500 (30th), it’s been one of those bad-luck seasons.

“All those add up to significant drop of points,” Power said. “Yeah, it’s unfortunate.”

Great being a dad

Power was kind of funny when talking about becoming a father to son Beau in December 2016.

“He’s four,” Power said, “goes by real quick. Love it, it’s the best thing ever. I wish I had like six kids. I don’t think my wife (Liz) wishes that, though.”

He laughed.

Rossi goes for three-peat

The last time a driver won three consecutive races at the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach was from 2005-07 when Sebastien Bourdais did the trick.

Alexander Rossi of Andretti Autosport will have the chance to duplicate that this weekend. He won in 2018 and in 2019, the last time the race was contested because it was canceled in 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic; it was pushed back from April this year.

Rossi won the 2019 race by 20.2359 seconds over Josef Newgarden. It was the largest margin of victory in the race since Al Unser Jr. beat Scott Pruett by 23.125 seconds in 1995.

Rossi, 29, of Nevada City (Calif.), is currently in 10th in series points with 304. His highest IndyCar series finish was in 2018 when he took second with three race victories.

Al Unser Jr. has the most victories in Long Beach with six and is the only driver to win four consecutive, beginning in 1988.

 

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